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Psychosurgery Trial
The Psychosurgery Trial series is three folders containing a variety of court documents, including pre-trial statements, opinions, affidavits, hearing notices, briefs, and papers that were collected prior to the litigation process. The timeline for the entire case spans from 1972 to 1979, although many of the documents are dated between 1972 and 1974, with only a few documents from the later years. The documents are in approximate chronological order, with the papers from the same year being grouped together, although not necessarily in correct monthly order. The documents in this series cover two trials, Kaimowitz vs. Department of Mental Health for the State of Michigan, and People of the State of Michigan vs. Louis Maurice Smith. Gabe Kaimowitz, on behalf of the Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Medical Care Division of the Michigan Public Health Association, represented the mistreated patients of the Michigan State Hospital System. Louis Maurice Smith was one of those patients, although his name had been changed to John Doe on many of the court documents. Allen was Smith's attorney during part of the trial.
In the later years of the People vs. Smith trial (1978-1979), it eventually reached the Michigan Supreme Court. Although these documents are fewer in number, they provide a concise timeline of the entire psychosurgery trial since 1972.
Speeches
The Speeches series is separated into folders according to year, which are in reverse chronological order. The dates of Allen's speeches range from 1952 to 1988. The types of speeches include addresses to various law schools, professional organizations, and political organizations, speeches where he gives his opinion on a legal subject, those given as Dean of the Law School at the University of Michigan, memorial services, presentations, and lectures. A great many of them are dedicated to the controversies of legal action during the Vietnam War.