The Historical Society of the United States Courts in the Eighth Circuit

Western District of Missouri Branch

2016 Annual Report

I am pleased to present the following report of activities for the Western District Historical Society for the period July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016:

The Western District Historical Society sponsored or co-sponsored four well-attended programs during the period of this Report. The first was on December 4, 2015 and featured Dr Craig Alan Smith, author and Professor of Law at California University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith spoke about his book "Failing Justice" which dealt with the life of Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Whittaker, the only Missourian and the first Kansas native appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The second program was a panel discussion on February 25, 2016 which was co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library and the Urban League of Kansas City. The focus of the panel discussion was the effect of an injunction issued in 1952 by Western District Judge Albert Ridge which prohibited the City of Kansas City, Missouri from maintaining racially segregated public swimming pools under the separate-but-equal standard. One of the attorneys for plaintiff in the case was The Honorable Thurgood Marshall, whose son participated as a member of the panel.

Senior United States District Court Judge Howard Sachs, who has been a driving force in the formation and operation of the Western District Historical Society, was a law clerk for Judge Ridge at the time of the injunction. The Western District Historical Society acknowledged Judge Sachs' contributions to the local judiciary and to the Historical Society by re-naming itself the "Western District Historical Society, Howard Sachs Chapter."

The third program featured Kansas City attorney, James Muehlberger, who spoke about his recent book "The 116." The book details the journey of 116 Kansas and Missouri soldiers and lawyers who travelled to Washington, DC to stand watch over the newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln until a sufficient force of federal troops could arrive to take over the job.

The fourth and most recent program brought University of Missouri Professors James W Endersby and William T. Horner to Kansas City to discuss their book on Lloyd Gaines who, in 1936, successfully challenged the University of Missouri's denial of his application to its School of Law.

As of June 30, 2016, the Historical Society maintained a balance of $5,608 in its account.

Respectfully submitted,
Lawrence Rouse
President

August 11, 2016