Fead

On this day in 1877, Louis Fead was born. Fead was appointed the 55th Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, by Governor Fred W. Green on February 21, 1928, succeeding Richard Flannigan who had died a few days earlier while still in service to the Court.

Fead is notable for having presided over the trial of “King Ben” of the Israelite House of David on public nuisance charges while he was a judge of the Eleventh Circuit. The Michigan Supreme Court, on hearing the appeal in the case, commended Justice Fead for his handling of a lengthy and complicated trial involving “…51 days of actual trial, 225 witnesses, 500 exhibits, 73 depositions, and 15,000 pages of testimony.” You can read more about this cult here.

Learn more about Fead by reading his biography here.