Michigan Legal Milestones Resources

1. Ossian Sweet Trial

• Malice Aforethought: The Sweet Trials, University of Detroit Mercy
• American National Biography
• Famous American Trials: The Sweet Trials 1925 & 1926
• The Chronicles of Dr. Ossian H. Sweet—A 30 min. video exploring the story of the Sweet Trials

2. Baseball Reserve Clause

• Stereoscope Magazine: The Catcher, the Quick Lunch King, and Baseball's Reserve Clause: Major League Litigation in Grand Rapids , Winter 2003
• Baseball's Reserve Clause , Speech by Dennis W. Archer to the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, April 13, 2000
• New York Times: Baseball Reserve Clause is Legal , January 31, 1914

3. Cooley Law Office

• Michigan Supreme Court History: Thomas M. Cooley

4. Roosevelt-Newett Trial

• Michigan Bar Journal: Rough Rider Clears Name in U.P.
• Library of Congress: Roosevelt vs. Newett, a transcript of the testimony taken and depositions read at Marquette, Michigan, circa 1914
• NY Times: Bars All Rumor about Roosevelt, May 29, 1913
• NY Times: Roosevelt Wins, Editor Retracts, 1913
• Law Day 2012 Winning Entry

5. Justice William Fletcher

• Michigan Supreme Court History: William Fletcher

6. Sojourner Truth

7. Augustus Woodward

8. Access to Public Water

• Collins v. Gerhardt (1926, Michigan Supreme Court)

9. Ten Hours or No Sawdust

10. Constitutional Convention

• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront June 2007

11. Eva Belles' Vote

12. One Person, One Vote

• Scholle v. Hare (1960, Michigan Supreme Court)
• Scholle v. Hare (1962, U.S. Supreme Court)
• Scholle v. Hare (1962, Michigan Supreme Court)

13. Improving Justice

14. The King's Grant

15. The Uninvited Ear

16. Laughing Whitefish

17. Protecting the Impaired

• The Verdict of History: The History of Michigan Jurisprudence Through its Significant Supreme Court Cases (Supplement from the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society) January 2009
• Haynes v. Lapeer Circuit Judge

18. Rose of Aberlone

• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront March 2008
• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront June 2008
• The Verdict of History: The History of Michigan Jurisprudence Through its Significant Supreme Court Cases (Supplement from the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society) January 2009
• Sherwood v. Walker
• Poem: Rose of Aberlone by Professor Brainerd Currie

19. Emelia Schaub

• Michigan Bar Journal: Michigan Lawyers in History—Emilia Schaub: 100 Years of Leadership January 2000
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society: Women and the Law
• Michigan Women's Hall of Fame

20. Mount Clemens Pottery

21. Pond's Defense

• The Verdict of History: The History of Michigan Jurisprudence Through its Significant Supreme Court Cases (Supplement from the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society) December 2008
• Pond v. The People: Michigan Sets a Legal Precedent By Larry Peterson
  Excerpted with permission from Michigan History Magazine March/April 2011

22. Ending Jim Crow

23. Conveying Michigan

24. Murphy's Dissent

• Defining Moments in Our History , Michigan Bar Journal, May 2004
• Korematsu v. United States
• MGTV: Defining Moments—Biographies

25. Striking Racial Covenants

• Sipes v. McGhee (Michigan Supreme Court)
• Sipes v. McGhee (U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari)

26. Milo Radulovich

• CBS Evening News: Remembering Milo Radulovich

27. Committee of One

28. Mary Coleman

• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society: Biography
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society: Interview with Mary S. Coleman
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society: Women and the Law

29. President Gerald R. Ford

• Michigan Bar Journal: President's Page: Gerald R. Ford—Accidental Hero January 2007
• Michigan Bar Journal: In Memoriam: A Special Tribute January 2007
• Gerald R. Ford Library & Museum
• Gerald R. Ford Foundation

30. Freedom Road

• Michigan Bar Journal: A Stop on the Long Road to Freedom , July 2005
• The Under Ground Railroad in Cass County
• 1847 Kentucky Raid
• A Poem About the Kentucky Raid

31. Otis Milton Smith

• Michigan Bar Journal: A Trailblazing Leader: Otis M. Smith's accomplishments are the focus of the 31st Michigan Legal Milestone June 2006
• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront August 2006
• NY Times Otis Smith
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society Otis Smith
• Audio Interview with Rodger Lane

32. Prentiss M. Brown

• Michigan Bar Journal: A Mackinac Milestone: Visionary Prentiss Brown to be Honored at 32nd Michigan Legal Milestone September 2007
• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront December 2007

33. Poletown and Eminent Domain

• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront January 2009
• Michigan Bar Journal: The Verdict of History: The History of Michigan Jurisprudence Through Its Significant Supreme Court Cases (Supplement from the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society) by March 2009
• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront November 2008
• County of Wayne v. Hathcock
• Poletown Neighborhood Council v. City of Detroit
• Michigan Supreme Court Discussion Guide
• Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy: An Obituary for Poletown Neighborhood Council v. Detroit, March 22, 2005

34. From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry

• Michigan Bar Journal: Killing Spawned Asian American Civil Rights Movement: 34th Milestone to Highlight Vincent Chin Case May 2009

35. Elk, Oil, and the Environment

• West MI Envtl. Action Council, Inc. v. Natural Res. Comm'n
• Historic Dispute Has Lessons for Today—Interlochen Public Radio | or Read the text
• Maps of the area
• Pigeon River Country Association

36. Milliken v. Bradley

• Michigan Bar Journal: Milliken v. Bradley: The Northern Battle for Desegregation
  September 2011
• Full Text of the Opinion
• State Bar of Michigan Press Release

37. Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act

• Michigan Bar Journal: The Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act
• Michigan Bar Journal: UpFront
• Michigan Legislative Website Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act 453 1976
• Michigan Department of Civil Rights

38. Berrien County Courthouse

• Michigan Bar Journal: The 1839 Berrien County Courthouse
• Michigan Bar Journal: Upfront

39. The Great Ferris Fire

• Michigan Bar Journal: Governor G. Mennen Williams and the Great Ferris Fire
• When Fire Struck, The History of Ferris State University
• Video Dedication

40. The Kalamazoo Case: Establishing High School for All

41. First to Abolish the Death Penalty

42. Honoring Frank J. Kelley

• Michigan State University College of Law—Biography
• The People's Lawyer: The Life and Times of Frank J. Kelley, the Nation's Longest-Serving Attorney General

43. Guaranteeing All Defendants' Right to Legal Counsel

• Michigan Bar Journal: With trailblazing 1857 law, Michigan guaranteed all defendants' right to legal counsel

44. Celebrating Percy J. Langster

• Michigan Bar Journal: Percy Langster: America's first Black prosecuting attorney: State Bar of Michigan's 44th Michigan Legal Milestone

 

General Resources

The Verdict of History

• December 2008 1858-1870
• January 2009 1870-1940
• February 2009 1940-1970
• March 2009 1970-1994