Justitia - Why do courts take group photos?

Michigan Supreme Court, 2020

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Q. Why do courts take group photos?

A. In short, courts wish to document a moment in time and create a primary source for future historians when they take photos of their members. The practice is especially common with "collegial courts," where multiple judges or justices make decisions as a panel.

Both the Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) and the Court of Appeals (COA) take group photos on a regular basis, typically when the composition of the court changes. The practice dates back at least to the early 20th century for the MSC, and the COA has taken photos since it first met in 1965.

In its group photos, the MSC Justices are arranged in seniority order, similar to how they sit for oral arguments and other proceedings. The Chief Justice sits in the center-front with the most senior Justice to her (or his) left and the next senior to the right, and so forth. The less-senior Justices are in the second row.

The arrangement is similar to the order used by the U.S. Supreme Court and is likely modeled after it. For more about the history of group photos for the federal high court, see the online exhibit All Together for the Camera: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court's Group Photograph.

Michigan Supreme Court Photos & Biographies

Court of Appeals  Group Photo (scroll down) | Biographies

Michigan Supreme Court, 1909

Court of Appeals, 1965