SBM Blog

Supreme Court Historical Society Elects New Officers

The Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society has elected new officers and its board of directors.

Charles R. Rutherford has been elected president. He will  replace Wallace Riley, who has served as president since the society was founded in 1988. Carl W. Herstein will serve as vice president, Lawrence P. Nolan as secretary and John P. Jacobs as treasurer.

Seven members of the board of directors were reelected to three year terms, including the Hon. Avern Cohn, John G. Fedynsky, Julie I. Fershtman, Frank Kelley, Mary Massaron, John W. Reed and Janet K. Welch. Susan E. Gillooly was elected to her first term on the board.

Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley founded the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society in 1988. The society works to preserve documents, records and memorabilia related to the Michigan Supreme Court. Find out more at www.micourthistory.org.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Happy 80th Birthday to the State Bar of Michigan!

On May 15, 1935, Governor Frank Fitzgerald signed into law the bill establishing the State Bar of Michigan. 

Today, the integrated State Bar of Michigan turns 80. Happy birthday to us! 

Posted by Samantha Meinke

SBM Presented McCree Awards at the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame Banquet

The State Bar of Michigan presented Wade H. McCree Jr. Awards for the Advancement of Justice to 11 journalists at the 2015 Journalism Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on April 19 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. A photo gallery of the evening is available on the SBM Facebook page. 

The first McCree Award went to a Michigan Radio team, including Jennifer Guerra, Sarah Alvarez, and Sarah Hulett. Their series, called "Finding Home: A Documentary about Foster Care in Michigan," investigated improvements made to Michigan's foster care system, which oversees the care of over 13,000 children and has been under federal oversight since 2008. The series of reports introduced listeners to the system by examining the lives of the Kley family, who adopted three foster children. The series also expanded in scope to inform and educate listeners about the difficult situations faced by the children in the foster care system, the role of the law and the courts in the system, a general overview of the state's child welfare system and suggestions to improve it, and legal and legislative efforts needed to update and modernize laws surrounding broken adoptions in the foster care system.

Governor Appoints Hon. George "Jay" Quist to 17th Circuit Court

Gov. Rick Snyder appointed the Hon. George “Jay” Quist to the 17^th Circuit Court seat vacated by Judge James Robert Redford in Kent County.

Judge Quist has served on the Kent County Family Court since 2012. He began his legal career as a civil litigator with Kluczynski, Girtz & Vogelzang in Grand Rapids and then joined Roberts Betz & Bloss. He served on the Workers' Compensation Board of Magistrates from 1999 and then as chief magistrate in 2011. He also served as director of employment services for the Michigan Administrative Hearing System in the Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs.

Quist earned a bachelor’s degree from Hope College and a law degree from George Washington University. 

Posted by Samantha Meinke