JANUARY 5, 1926
Upon the convening of Court for the January term, 1926, on Tuesday, January 5th, WILLIAM L. CARPENTER, of Detroit, a former member of this Court, addressed the Court as follows:
May it Please the Court:
Last Friday, January 1st, Mr. Justice MOORE voluntarily retired from this Bench and from official life, after a judicial service to the State of thirty-eight years—eight years as circuit judge and thirty years as a member of this Court.
On this occasion— the first session of the Court held since his retirement— it is the wish of the lawyers of Michigan, for whom I have the honor of speaking, to testify by appropriate action their appreciation of the valuable service Justice MOORE rendered the State in his long and distinguished judicial career.
The action which we, the lawyers of Michigan, deem appropriate, is to present to the Court the portrait of Justice MOORE with the request that it be hung in this room among the portraits of former members of the Court. We do this to honor Justice MOORE and to preserve his memory to those who come after us. We do it, too, in conformity with an old and admirable custom. This custom is doubtless founded on the belief— the justifiable belief— that these portraits of old judges of this Court on these walls not only honor those judges and preserve their memory, but also contribute to the better administration of justice. Their faces, looking down upon this room, exert a beneficent influence upon the judges and practicing lawyers here engaged in performing their judicial duties. Their presence tends — and the addition of the face of another worthy judge like Justice MOORE strengthens that tendency— to quicken our sense of responsibility and to increase our devotion to the cause of justice, the cause to which Justice MOORE dedicated his life, and the cause to which our lives should be dedicated.
In conclusion, I repeat the request, that the portrait of Justice MOORE be hung in an appropriate place in this room.
Acting Chief Justice NELSON SHARPE:
It is a pleasure for me, in the unavoidable absence of Chief Justice BIRD, to accept on behalf of the State and of my associates this life-like portrait of Mr. Justice MOORE, and to commend the action of the bar of the State in presenting it.
The occasion does not seem an appropriate one for this Court to express its appreciation of the long service rendered by him as one of its members. It is sufficient to say in this respect that we heartily endorse the sentiments expressed by Justice CARPENTER.
It does, however, afford us an opportunity, which we gladly embrace, to give expression to the deep regret which we, his associates, feel over his voluntary retirement. He has earned, and is well entitled to, a rest from the arduous labor which he has so long performed on behalf of the State, and it is our hope and prayer, as I am sure it is yours, that he may long live to enjoy it.
We will not only miss his wise counsel and sage advice in the consultation room, but not less his genial presence, his hearty hand-clasp and cheerful greeting when we assemble each morning to begin our labors.
The work of the Court necessarily brings its members into very close contact with each other. We get to know our Brethren very intimately. Our weaknesses, as well as any of the elements of strength in our characters, become apparent to one another.
Mr. Justice MOORE has been associated with nineteen Justices since he became a member of this Court on January 1, 1896. I very confidently venture the assertion that he has never been more highly esteemed as a man, or his service as a Justice more truly valued by his Brethren, than by those of us who have been privileged to enjoy his friendship and to labor with him during the past year.
The portrait will be assigned a place upon the walls of this court room, and these proceedings will be recorded in the journal of the court and printed in the Reports.