Interview with former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Otis Milton Smith

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Description:

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Otis M. Smith talks about growing up in Memphis, Tenn, his family history, working multiple jobs to pay for college, serving in the U.S. military during World War II, entering law school after the war, and his early professional jobs. Smith says that from a very early age he was filled with a burning desire to succeed in life and to make his mark. Smith also discusses the judicial selection process, his own appointment to the Michigan Supreme Court, the geographic makeup of the Court during his tenure, selection of a Chief Justice, and the interaction of the Justices. He then goes on to discuss his colleagues, including Justices Gene Black, Harry Kelly, John Dethmers, George Edwards, Theodore Souris, Thomas Kavanagh, Michael O'Hara and Paul Adams. Smith speaks eloquently of the serious nature of conducting Court business and discusses his own decision making style, and the issues he dealt with in cases such as Scholle versus Hare, the People versus Lochricco, and the Fenestra, Mallory, and Pittsfield Township cases.

Date Created:

1990-10-23T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices

Place:

Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, and Michigan

Subject Topic:

Officials and employees, Judges, Judges, Friends and associates, Military life, Officials and employees, Selection and employment, Judges, Selection and appointment, Judicial process, and Apportionment (Election law)

Subject Name:

Smith, Otis Milton, 1922-1994, Michigan, Supreme Court, Smith, Otis Milton, 1922-1994, Smith, Otis Milton, 1922-1994, United States, Air Force Reserve, Michigan, and Supreme Court

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, and Biography

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5cf9j64g