United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Michigan

A chronological history of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, from its beginnings in the 1830s to the present.

A Lincoln Legacy: The History of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan by David Gardner Chardavoyne with Hugh W. Brenneman, Jr. provides the first and only comprehensive examination of the history of the United States federal courts in the Western District of Michigan. The federal courts were established by the U.S. Constitution to adjudicate disputes involving federal laws, disputes between litigants from different states involving state and federal laws, and to punish violations of criminal laws passed by Congress. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating two federal districts in the state of Michigan: the Eastern and Western Districts—the latter of which is headquartered in Grand Rapids and which now encompasses the western half of the Lower Peninsula and all of the Upper Peninsula. With the rapid expansion of legislation passed by Congress, the increasing mobility of society, and the growth of interstate commerce, the federal courts have assumed an important and sometimes dominant role in major litigation today. In A Lincoln Legacy, Chardavoyne tracks the history of these courts over eleven chapters, from their creation by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to 2020. He discusses the changes in society that drove the evolving federal litigation and some significant cases heard in the Western District. Additionally, fifteen appendices are included in the book, listing of all the federal circuit and district judges in the Western District; commissioners; magistrate judges and bankruptcy judges; U.S. Attorneys; clerks of the courts; and more. Chardavoyne also identifies auxiliary offices and organizations revolving around the federal court that play a major role in its activities (e.g., the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the Federal Bar Association, etc.). A Lincoln Legacy provides a thorough examination of the history of the federal courts of Western Michigan. It will appeal to those learning and practicing law, as well as those with an interest in Michigan history.

This book takes Ernest Hunter, known to his colleagues in the legal profession as Ernie the Attorney, from the streets of Detroit to the back roads of Michigans Upper Peninsula. Faced with a series of challenges that will test his courage, creativity, and luck, he discovers that the law is as fickle and imperfect as those who enforce its mandates. When judges and juries impose their own brand of justice, the laws predictability becomes an illusion. Ernie is forced to think on his feet as he attempts the seemingly impossible, searching for imaginary loopholes and trying to teach proverbial horses to fly. Justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and Ernie sees justice through the eyes of his clients. Whether justice has been done will depend on which side you are on. Ernie begins his career as a lawyer defending an arsonist and a sexual predator, both of whom he knows to be guilty. How can you defend someone who you know is guilty? some would ask. How can I not? Ernie would answer.