Heatwave

In 1963, Motown’s own Martha and the Vandellas recorded a song about love that feels like a “Heatwave.” However, we are experiencing a true heatwave in Michigan right now. Recorded temperatures for the first day of Fall on Friday, September 22, were in the 90s around much of the state. According to the National Weather Service, this is approximately 20 degrees higher than normal. Many records have been broken, including one for Lansing set in 1895.

Who was on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1895? The Court of that time consisted of only five justices and was led by Chief Justice John Wesley McGrath, who had been defeated in the April election and would leave the Court on December 31, 1895. The four associate justices on the 1895 Court were Frank Hooker, Robert Montgomery, Claudius Grant, and Charles Long — these last three having been part of the Union Army during the Civil War.

Learn more about the structural evolution of the Michigan Supreme Court in our book The Michigan Supreme Court Historical Reference Guide, Second Edition.