Recent News
Society Hosts 2008 Annual Membership Luncheon
Remarks of Wallace D. Riley at the 2008 Annual Membership Luncheon
Many of you know this afternoon’s performers, A (Habeas) Chorus Line. Formed in 1992, this troupe of nine performers has entertained audiences throughout Michigan and the Midwest, and as far away as San Antonio, Texas. Eight members of the troupe are Detroit area lawyers, while the ninth, was recently retired from the position of case manager for the United State District Court.
While the prospect of lawyers singing may strike some as incongruous, A (Habeas) Chorus Line has proven to audiences that satire is nor necessarily what closes on Saturday night. From local issues to national and international events, from judges to lawyers to politicians to celebrities, our performing troupe today is an equal-opportunity lampooner.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present A (Habeas) Chorus Line! (Chorus Line performs)
(Chief Justice Speaks)
Thank you Chief Justice Taylor, and thanks again to all of the Justices who are here today. It is hard to believe that the Historical Society is entering its 20th year, and as we look back over the past two decades, we are pleased and proud of the work the Society has completed and the role that it has come to play in preserving the history of the Court. I’m sure that Dorothy also would be proud of what has been done.
The Historical Society was incorporated in April of 1988. Then-Chief Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley recognized the need for an entity separate from the Court to collect, preserve, and record its history. She suggested the creation of the Society and invited me to undertake its formation. With the help of many others and the continuous approval of the justices, we have managed to flourish and I have been proud to serve as president.
Our first order of business in 1988 was to establish a nonprofit entity and select a group of attorneys, judges, and interested individuals to be its board of Directors.
Since it beginning, the Historical Society has commissioned and or dedicated 18 portraits, overseen the restoration and repair of three portraits, and maintained an inventory of the location and condition of the Court’s entire collection of oil paintings.
We have participated in the changing of three courtrooms, including the rededication of the Old Supreme Court Chambers in the Capitol, the closing of the courtroom in the G. Mennen Williams Law Building, and the dedication of the new Hall of Justice.
We have participated in the dedication of three legal milestones.
We have gathered, transcribed, and made available the oral histories of 16 former justices.
We have developed three different teaching units for high school and junior high school teachers. We have published three books, one booklet, and over 40 newsletters.
We have sponsored 10 undergraduate interns in their study of specific aspects of Michigan Supreme Court history.
We have sponsored 2 graduate students in their legal history research.
We have created a website that serves as a resource for anyone interested in the history of the Michigan Supreme Court.
And we have done all this with your support Thank you; thank you, for your commitment and your continued support of our organization and our work.
In the spirit of thanks, and there are many to be given, I’d like to specifically thank our 2007 and 2008 corporate and law firm members, each of whom in the past year has donated 1,000 dollars or more to the historical society.
- Appellate practice Section of the State Bar
- Barris Sorr Denn & Driker
- Clark Hill
- Dykema Gossett
- Foster Swift Collins and Smith
- Honnigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn
- Kienbaum Opperwall Hardy and Pelton
- Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone
- Plunkett and Cooney
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
While our organization could not survive without our members, we would be equally lost without the dedication and leadership of the men and women who volunteer their time to serve on our Board of Directors. Over the past 20 years, 57 individuals have served on the Board, including the two newest additions to our 24 member board, Matthew Carl Herstein and Steven K. Valentine, Jr. Would all of the members of the board, both past and present please stand and be recognized?
This brings me to the conclusion of the program with the best for last. In January, the Board voted unanimously to honor Professor John Wesley Reed with the Legal History Award. The Award was created in 2002 to recognize individuals who have greatly impacted Michigan’s Legal History through support of the Society and its efforts, or through their work in the law, John qualifies on all accounts.