 In the 74 years of his life, Michigan
Supreme Court Justice Thomas M. Cooley compiled the most distinguished
legal record of any man whose name has been associated with the jurisprudence
of Michigan.
After a successful career as a city
clerk, newspaper editor, and circuit court commissioner, Justice Cooley
turned to the practice of law. He was appointed to compile the statutes
of the state, a work that he completed in one year. The Compiled Laws
of the State of Michigan: Published by Authority. Compiled and Arranged
Under an Act of the Legislature, Approved February 2, 1857, KFM4230
1857 .A23, Strosacker Room. When this work was completed, he was appointed
the official reporter for the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Cooley was
appointed to the high court in 1864.
Justice Cooley
was
one of the very first faculty members of the University of Michigan Law School when it opened in 1859. As a professor at the law school, he taught constitutional
law, real property, trust, estates, and domestic property. Justice Cooley
authored countless articles on legal subjects and wrote several full-length
works on constitutional limitations, Blackstone's Commentaries, Story's
Commentaries, and Torts. See, Commentaries on the Laws of England:
In Four Books / by Sir William Blackstone ... together with a copious analysis
of the contents; and notes with reference to English and American decisions
and statutes to date which illustrate or change the law of the text; also,
a full table of abbreviations, and some considerations regarding the study
of law, KD660 .B52 1884, Rare Books.
His writings are still cited in court
opinions, State ex rel. Pope v. Xantus Health Plan of Tennessee,
No. M2000-00120-COA-R10-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 17, 2000) available at http://www.tba.org/Opinion_Flash/op_2000/op-06_073.html
and legal scholars continue to discuss his interpretations. Robert F. Williams, Interpreting
State Constitutions, 2000 A.B.A. Appellate Judges Seminar, available
at http://camlaw.rutgers.edu/site/faculty/pdf/williams1.pdf.
Two of his works, A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations: Which
Rest Upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union and The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States
of America, are included in the Liberty
Library of Constitutional Classics.
As a Michigan Supreme Court Justice,
Cooley sat on the high court with  Justices Campbell, Christiancy, and Graves.
Today, these four men are remembered as the "Big
Four" of Michigan law for their work in developing the foundation of
Michigan jurisprudence. Justice Cooley's reputation soon spread to every
state and federal court, and his opinions were widely cited. Justice Cooley
wrote many of the opinions for the court including People ex rel. Sutherland
v. Governor, 29 Mich. 320 (1874), which remains a benchmark in the
separation of powers among the three branches of government.
Retiring from the Supreme Court in 1885,
Justice Cooley was soon appointed receiver of the Wabash Railway. Shortly
afterward, he was chosen to head the new federal Interstate Commerce Commission.
Small in stature, gentle and scholarly
in demeanor, Thomas M. Cooley, in truth, was a giant among his fellows.
He enjoyed universal respect and admiration in his lifetime. The judgment
of posterity has made that verdict unanimous.
More Information on Thomas McIntyre
Cooley
University
of Michigan Bentley Historical Library - Faculty Papers
Michigan
Supreme Court Historical Society
Michigan Historic Paintings
Address
by Hon. Thomas M. Cooley on the Dedication of the Law Lecture Hall of Michigan
University, Oct.1, 1863
Michigan Lawyers in History--Thomas McIntyre Cooley: Michigan's Most Influential Lawyer by William J. Fleener, Jr.
His Works in the Thomas E. Brennan Law Library
Constitutional History of the United States
as Seen in the Development of American Law: A Course of Lectures Before
the Political Science Association of the University of Michigan (1889)
- KF4541.Z9 C59 1993, 2nd Floor
The Elements of Torts
- KF1250 .C57 1895b, Lower Level
The General Principles of Constitutional
Law in the United States of America
- KF4550.Z9 C678 1880, Rare Books & 2nd Floor
Liability of Public Officers to Private
Actions for Neglect of Official Duty
- KF1306.A2 C6 1877, Rare Books
Michigan: A History of Governments (1885)
Principles that Should Govern in the Framing
of Tax Laws: A Paper Read Before the American Social Science Association
at Cincinnati, April 22, 1878
- KF6289.5 .C6 1878, Rare Books
A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations:
Which Rest Upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union
- KF4600 .C6 1868b, 2nd Floor
- KF4600 .C6 1878, 2nd Floor
- KF4600 .C6 1883b, 2nd Floor
- KF4600 .C6 1890, Rare Books
A Treatise on the Law of Taxation: Including
the Law of Local Assessments
- KF6289 .C6 1876, 2nd Floor
- KF6289 .C6 1886, Rare Books
A Treatise on the Law of Torts or the
Wrongs Which Arise Independent of Contract
- KF1250 .C6 1879, Rare Books
- KF1250 .C6 1880b, Lower Level
- KF1250 .C6 1888, Rare Books
Thomas M. Cooley receives Honorary Degree at Swift Commencement September 18, 2004
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