MN Supreme Court Historical Society launches fund-raising drive
by Michelle Lore
event info:
As part of the state’s sesquicentennial celebration, several former Minnesota Supreme Court law clerks will discuss the history and evolution of the court at a CLE luncheon on May 14. The event is sponsored by the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society and the MSBA Appellate Practice Section.
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Court-related sesquicentennial events
Minnesota became the nation’s 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The Minnesota Supreme Court, the Minnesota State Bar Association and the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society have planned several activities in celebration of the state’s 150th birthday:
May 8 Minnesota Supreme Court to hold oral argument at Hopkins High School
May 11 Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Loren W. Collins, 1838-1912 (portrayed by Justice Paul Anderson), appears at the Supreme Court in the state Capitol to comment on and answer questions about Minnesota’s first 50 years
May 14 Minnesota Supreme Court law clerk reunion luncheon and CLE
May 16 Presentation of “Testimony: Remembering Minnesota Supreme Court Justices” to the Minnesota Supreme Court by the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society
May 17-18 Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society and MSBA have booths on State Capitol grounds as part of statewide celebration
MSBA historical figures re-enactment and play at the state Capitol and Capitol grounds
Justice Loren Collins again appears at the Supreme Court courtroom
June 16 “The Minnesota State Constitution — 150 years old and still working” CLE presentation at the MSBA convention in Duluth
Just in time for the state’s sesquicentennial, members of the Minnesota legal community the have a chance to make a contribution to a historic movement. The fledgling Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society is about to embark on a fund-raising campaign to generate some start-up capital.As part of the state’s sesquicentennial celebration, several former Minnesota Supreme Court law clerks will discuss the history and evolution of the court at a CLE luncheon on May 14. The event is sponsored by the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society and the MSBA Appellate Practice Section.
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Court-related sesquicentennial events
Minnesota became the nation’s 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The Minnesota Supreme Court, the Minnesota State Bar Association and the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society have planned several activities in celebration of the state’s 150th birthday:
May 8 Minnesota Supreme Court to hold oral argument at Hopkins High School
May 11 Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Loren W. Collins, 1838-1912 (portrayed by Justice Paul Anderson), appears at the Supreme Court in the state Capitol to comment on and answer questions about Minnesota’s first 50 years
May 14 Minnesota Supreme Court law clerk reunion luncheon and CLE
May 16 Presentation of “Testimony: Remembering Minnesota Supreme Court Justices” to the Minnesota Supreme Court by the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society
May 17-18 Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society and MSBA have booths on State Capitol grounds as part of statewide celebration
MSBA historical figures re-enactment and play at the state Capitol and Capitol grounds
Justice Loren Collins again appears at the Supreme Court courtroom
June 16 “The Minnesota State Constitution — 150 years old and still working” CLE presentation at the MSBA convention in Duluth
Over the next few weeks, many of the state’s largest law firms, and some major corporations, will find letters in their mailbox from former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sam Hanson asking them to pitch in financially to get the recently incorporated nonprofit to formally begin operations.
Hanson, who serves as the chair of the historical society, told Minnesota Lawyer that the organization’s mission “is to collect, preserve and distribute the history of the court and to better communicate to the public the important role the court has played in the evolution of society in Minnesota.”
State Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson, who has played a key role in the establishment of the society, said that the state 150th birthday makes this the perfect time to launch the society. “We want it to be a great legacy coming out of the sesquicentennial,” he said.
Preserving history
Formation of the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society began last year, but the idea had been percolating in Hanson’s mind ever since he joined the high court in 2002.
All members of the court agreed something should be done to preserve Minnesota’s judicial history, so Hanson was assigned the task of looking into what other states had done and organizing a meeting of people who might want to work on the project.
Instead of the handful of people Hanson expected, approximately 40 people showed up for the initial meeting. “I was quite surprised at the level of interest,” he said.
During several additional meetings, the ad hoc group continued to brainstorm and, after determining that people were, in fact, willing to work on the project, decided to move forward.
The mission of the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society approved by the group is to be the collection, preservation and promotion of the state’s judicial history through education, memorials, publications and scholarship, with a particular emphasis on the history of the Supreme Court. The group also decided that the society would serve the interests of the bench and bar, the academic community and the general public through educational programs, publications and support of scholarly research.
“The purpose of this society is to preserve the history … of this body for future generations so they can learn by it,” said Anderson.
To that end, the primary goals of the historical society are twofold:
• Historical preservation — collecting, studying and disseminating Minnesota’s judicial history; and
• Education — encouraging and promoting legal literacy among Minnesotans of all ages, with an emphasis on school-aged children.
Modeled after the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society, Minnesota’s society was formally set up as a nonprofit in January. In February, an organizational meeting was held to elect board members, ratify the articles of incorporation, adopt bylaws and establish committees to look into things like fundraising and membership.
For now, the society will function without paid staff, primarily though the work of board members on a volunteer or pro bono basis, Hanson explained. “We wanted to start simple,” he said.
Fund-raising fun
Like all young organizations, the historical society needs money to get things going.
The preliminary goal, according to Hanson is to raise at least $200,000 during 2008, with each major donor during the year being designated as a “founding contributor.”
To reach its goal, the historical society will first tap many of the state’s larger law firms, as well as several major corporations that might consider donations. It will then expand its appeal to individuals, other law firms across the state and the law schools.
Hanson explained that much of the seed money will go toward the development of a comprehensive, active and user-friendly website that can be used in schools and by the general public. The money will also fund grants to encourage people to conduct historical research for the society. The full extent of the organization’s ventures, however, will depend on the funding it receives.
“Once we see where we are, we can be more or less ambitious about where we want to go,” said Hanson.
It’s expected that the long-range base of financial support will be in a membership format with annual dues.
Sesquicentennial stuff
Short-term efforts of the society have focused on the state’s upcoming Sesquicentennial, with several events scheduled to coincide with the celebration.
One event is a reunion of former Minnesota Supreme Court law clerks. At a continuing legal education luncheon later this month, several former clerks will discuss the history of the high court and their own clerking experiences.
“It will be a bit of storytelling and a bit of history, but it’s going to be fun,” said Anderson.
Another event is the formal presentation of a new book — “Testimony: Remembering Minnesota Supreme Court Justices” — to the state high court on May 16. The book is a compilation of biographies of all 76 individuals who have sat on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
St. Paul appellate attorney William Hart, co-chair of the historical society’s publication’s committee, explained that beginning in the late 1880s, for each justice that passed away, a memorial was prepared and read in open court. The practice was discontinued in the late 1960s, so for all justices who passed away after that time, a memorial was not prepared. The publications committee rectified that by locating volunteers to draft the missing biographies for inclusion in the book, Hart explained. (In the interests of full disclosure, members of the Minnesota Lawyer editorial staff were among the volunteer contributors.)
Following presentation of the book to the court, the tradition of reading the memorials in open court will be restarted, with two or three of the more recently completed biographies being read that day.
In addition, at the same time the book is being presented to the court, a group of between 20 and 25 lawyers in Greater Minnesota will be presenting the book to their public libraries.
Anderson said that hopefully the presentations will get some local press and inspire interest in the book and the history of the court.
