Michigan Legal Milestone

One lazy summer day in 1911, Manistee residents Herbert Harley and Charles Ruggles discussed reform of the American justice system while floating in a skiff on Lake Michigan near here. That conversation led to the birth of the American Judicature Society, a national organization of more than 20,000 citizens—judges, lawyers and non-lawyers—dedicated to improving the nation's justice system.
Ruggles was a successful lumberman who could neither read nor write, but had an innate sense of justice. Harley was a lawyer, editor and reformer who helped make Manistee one of the first cities in the nation to adopt the city manager system. Ruggles provided the funding while Harley garnered nationwide support for the American Judicature Society, established in Chicago in 1913.
Today, through its conferences, publications, research and other programs, AJS works to assure an independent, responsive and highly ethical judiciary, and exercises a profound and positive influence on the administration of justice in the federal courts and the courts of all 50 states.
Every American is a beneficiary of the legacy of that long-ago boat ride by two Manistee residents.

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Historic Manistee Historical
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The Thompson Building Historical
The Lyman Building Historical
The Tunnel Historical
The Haley Block Historical
The Maple Street Bridge Historical
Manistee City Library Historical
Ramsdell Theatre

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