Growing Number of Courts Under Historical Study

Court House

A growing number of historical societies and similar groups are dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich past of the nation's federal courts. The Supreme Court has such a group. So, too, do most circuit courts of appeals and more than a third of the 94 district courts.

"A court historical program strengthens institutional identity by informing judges and court staff about the long-term significance of the Judiciary and its place in American governance," says Bruce Ragsdale, chief of the Federal Judicial Center's Judicial History Office.

Federal court historical societies are relative youngsters; the oldest date back only to the 1970s. Although they vary in membership size, organizational structure, and program emphasis, the groups share a common mission--preservation and education. To carry out that mission, historical societies and committees

Publish scholarly journals and periodic newsletters.
Undertake "oral history" interviews of judges and lawyers.
Collect photographs, artifacts and other materials of historical significance.
Sponsor lectures.
Display exhibits at courthouses.
Create outreach lessons for school groups.

The largest historical society, appropriately enough, is linked to the highest federal court. "Our membership roll varies but now is about 5,300 --lawyers and non-lawyers from all over the country," says David Pride, director of the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Founded in 1974 by then-Chief Justice Warren Burger and several others, the society works, in Pride's words, to "increase the public's awareness of the court's contributions to our rich constitutional heritage." Its own web site, www.supremecourthistory.org, helps that effort. So does the annual publication of four journals of Supreme Court history.

The society, which supports a documentary history study of the court from 1789 to 1800 and operates a popular gift shop in the Supreme Court building, employs 15 staff members in all. It also works closely with the court's curator and her staff.

Occasional lecture series, such as the current five-part look at Chief Justice John Marshall, are well attended. Each of the society's lectures is introduced by a current Supreme Court justice. "The justices have given outstanding support," says Pride. "They rally the troops."

Since its incorporation in 1985, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society has compiled one of the country's largest court oral histories, comprised of 130 interviews, and has prepared a study guide, Western Frontiers of the Bill of Rights, used by students in 450 high schools. The society's 2,000 members are concentrated in the Ninth Judicial Circuit's nine states but it boasts members nationwide and in seven foreign countries as well.

In San Francisco, Michael Griffith is one of just two federal court employees outside the nation's capital whose prime responsibility is preserving history. As a court-employed historian/archivist/curator since 1983, he works closely with the district's 250-member historical society. A deputy clerk, Griffith also has coordinated continuing legal education for the past seven years.

The other court historian/archivist is Rita Wallace, employed in Cincinnati by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She often assists the circuit's two historical societies, in the Eastern District of Michigan and the Eastern District of Tennessee.

"History is prologue," she says. "Very few people know how federal courts work, particularly the circuit courts of appeals. We as historians try to make it easier for them to understand that work."

The Eighth Circuit's historical society was incorporated in St. Louis in the mid-1980s in a way that allows for eight affiliated branches--the appeals court and each of the seven districts within the seven-state judicial circuit. Each of the branches independently plan programs, set membership policies, and collect dues or otherwise raise money as non-profit organizations.

The largest society membership in the Eighth Circuit probably belongs to the District of Nebraska, but all of the branches have published a history or been active in sponsoring programs. Historical society updates can be found at the court of appeals' web site, www.ca8.uscourts.gov, by clicking on Circuit Library and then Historical Society.

Michael Kunz, serves as clerk of court for one of the nation's oldest courts, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He helped incorporate a historical society in 1984, and says it has sponsored numerous programs and held a lively annual meeting ever since. "We have a rich history we want to share." Part of that sharing is putting on display court records dating back to 1789, including an exhibit of the 1800 bankruptcy case of Robert Morris, the "Financier of the American Revolution."

Court History Programs

These federal courts of appeals reported having a historical society or history program in place this year:

These federal district courts responded to a Federal Judicial Center survey in 2000 reporting that they had a historical society or history program in place. Others may have joined them this year.