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- Description:
- Part 1: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas G. Kavanagh relates his family history and discusses his father's work with newspapers and the Democratic Party, his own early schooling, and his first jobs in law firms. He also discusses his judicial career, starting with the newly created Court of Appeals in 1964 and then running for the Michigan Supreme Court in 1968. He provides an insiders view of the Court during his tenure and discusses the various political and personal differences that arose among the justices. Part 2: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas G. Kavanagh talks about the Justice John Swainson bribery case, his own involvement in the investigation and his view that Swainson was "framed". Kavanagh also discusses the turmoil on the Court in the mid-1970s and talks candidly about his colleagues, including Justices Mary Coleman, Charles Levin, John Fitzgerald, Thomas Brennan, Thomas M. Kavanagh, James Ryan, and Dorothy Comstock Riley. After 1976, Kavanagh says, the Court stabilzed and a new spirit of good will and collegiality was embraced by all of the justices. Kavanagh covers a wide range of general topics, including legislative apportionment, mandatory arbitration, the difficulty of campaigning for election, judicial conferences, the Michigan Supreme Court's involvement with the State Bar of Michigan and its disciplinary procedures, term limits for Chief Justices, and the selection process for Supreme Court Justices. He finishes by describing his speech to the Kalamazoo County Bar Association, which was titled, "Pot, Pornography, and Prostitution," by the program organizers.
- Date Created:
- 1990-11-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices
- Description:
- Part 1: Michigan Supreme Court Justice John B. Swainson discusses his educational background, serving in all three branches of Michigan government, his election to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1970, and his first case on the Court, People vs. Jondreau, which dealt with Native American fishing rights. Swainson also talks about the Joe Smeekens case, his colleague Justice Gene Black, the ramifications of Roe vs. Wade in Michigan, the issue of compensation for lawyers when representing indigent clients, and the famous marijuana possession case of political activist and White Panther Party founder, John Sinclair. Swainson notes that the stated date of the interview is incorrect and that the actual date is October 18. Part 2: Michigan Supreme Court Justice John B. Swainson discusses "Parochi-Aid" school funding, billboard restrictions, drug prosecutions, the case of People vs. Matish, the Detroit Police Officers' Association vs. City of Detroit and his involvement with their arbitration after his court term, the election of judges, the geographic dispersal of judges, the impact of the creation of the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964, and televising trials. He also talks about the importance of preserving judicial history, the career of William A. Fletcher, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the portraits of former Justices, and his view of the function of the judiciary in the state of Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 1990-10-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices
- Description:
- Part 1: In an oral history interview, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John W. Fitzgerald discusses his family background, serving in the armed forces, attending law school at the University of Michigan, the early days of his legal career, and running for the the Michigan Senate in 1958 and the newly created Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964. Justice Fitzgerald also talks about his decision to leave the Court of Appeals to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court, the Supreme Court election process, his own campaigns and his decision not to accept campaign contributions from lawyers. Fitzgerald further provides insight on the Supreme Court's decision making process, the composition of the Court during his tenure and the famous Scholle vs. Secretary of State case. Part 2: In an oral history interview, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John W. Fitzgerald talks about his early days on the Michigan Supreme Court and difficult issues faced by the Court in the nineteen-seventies, including selecting a new Chief Justice in 1974, the death of Justice Thomas M. Kavanagh in 1975, and the investigation of Justice John Swainson later that same year. He says that some cases suffered during that period because the Court was "short-handed". Justice Fitzgerald also discusses memorable cases decided by the Court during his tenure, including People vs. Beavers and the "Poletown" case, the legislative role of the court, and collegiality amongst the justices.
- Date Created:
- 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices