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Commissioner May Examine Taxpayer's Records For Years Barred By Statute Of Limitations Without Proving Reasonable Suspicion Of Fraud--United States V. Powell, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue has power to summon witnesses and to examine records in order to ascertain the correctness of a taxpayer's return. If a summons is not obeyed or if the records sought are not produced, the Commissioner may seek enforcement by applying to the proper federal district court. Although the Commissioner's investigative powers are broad, they are not unlimited. In the absence of fraud, he must act within the confines of a three-year statute of limitations. In addition, the Code makes it abundantly clear that taxpayers may not be subjected to unnecessary examinations or investigations and that …

Kamisar, Inbau & Arnold: Criminal Justice In Our Time, Theodore Souris

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Criminal Justice in Our Time by Yale Kamisar, Fred E. Inbau, and Thurman Arnold

The Role Of A Trial Jury In Determining The Voluntariness Of A Confession, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has vigorously implemented the principle that criminal prosecution is an investigative, not an inquisitorial, process. Evidence of guilt must be obtained by methods free from physical or psychological coercion. Protections in the Bill of Rights against illegal search and seizure, self-incrimination, and trial without counsel have been extended to the states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. Safeguards against the admissibility of coerced confessions into evidence have also been instituted. Because a confession practically determines the ultimate question of guilt, the critical standards for· admissibility are frequently challenged on appeal. …

Constitutional Law-Search And Seizure-Retrospective Application Of Mapp V. Ohio, Timothy D. Wittlinger

Michigan Law Review

On February 15, 1960, the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed petitioner's conviction for simple burglary. The conviction was obtained through the use of evidence unlawfully seized from petitioner in violation of the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. In December 1961 the District Court for the Parish of West Feliciana denied petitioner's writ of habeas corpus filed after the Supreme Court decision of Mapp v. Ohio, which forbade introduction at state trials of evidence seized by state officers in violation of the fourth amendment. The denial of the writ was affirmed by the Louisiana Supreme Court, and certiorari was …

Constitutional Law-Self-Incrimination- Denial Of Privilege To General Partner Holding Subpoenaed Books And Records Of Limited Partnership, Roger L. Mcmanus

Michigan Law Review

A special agent of the Internal Revenue Service sought enumerated books and records of four New York limited partnerships in connection with petitioner's tax liability for prior years. A subpoena duces tecum was issued directing petitioner to produce the records, which were in his possession as general partner. Petitioner, his son, and his son-in-law were the general partners of each limited partnership involved, with limited partners ranging from twenty-five to 119 in number and capitalization from 225,000 dollars to 2,740,000 dollars. The partnerships, together with a management company, were housed in a single office with a staff of one secretary. …

Criminal Procedure--Discovery-Right Of Prosecution To Pre-Trial Discovery, Thomas G. Dignan Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In a trial for rape, the defendant indicated an intention to rely on his alleged impotency as a defense. The trial court thereupon granted the prosecution's motion for discovery of all medical reports and X-rays relating to the defendant's present physical condition, the names and addresses of all physicians who had treated the defendant prior to trial, and the names and addresses of all physicians who had been subpoenaed to testify for the defendant. On petition by the defendant, the intermediate appellate court issued a writ of prohibition restraining the enforcement of the trial court's order. On review, held, …

The Constitution And Contempt Of Court, Ronald Goldfarb

Michigan Law Review

Few legal devices find conflict within the lines of our Constitution with the ubiquity of the contempt power. These conflicts involve issues concerning the governmental power structure such as the separation of powers and the delicate balancing of federal-state relations. In addition, there are civil rights issues attributable to the conflict between the use of the contempt power and such vital procedural protections as the right to trial by jury, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and indictment-to name only the most recurrent and controversial examples. Aside from these problems, there are other civil liberties issues, such as those involving freedom …

Some Problems Of Evidence Before The Labor Arbitrator, R. W. Fleming

Michigan Law Review

Legal rules of evidence do not, of course, apply before the labor arbitrator. This is not surprising since such rules were developed in connection with jury trials, and do not apply strictly in any tribunal but a jury-court. The whole theory of the arbitration tribunal is that it is composed of experts who repeatedly inquire into a relatively homogeneous kind of cases. Exclusionary rules are hardly required as a precautionary measure. Indeed, as the late Harry Shulman said in his classic Oliver Wendell Holmes lecture at Harvard in 1955, "The more serious danger is not that the arbitrator will hear …

Federal Agency Investigations: Requirements For The Production Of Documents, Frank E. Cooper

Michigan Law Review

The United States district courts are frequently called upon to decide whether an administrative agency is entitled to enforcement of a subpoena requesting production of documentary evidence which the person to whom the subpoena is addressed assails as an unnecessary and improper inquisitorial investigation.

Neither the statute nor the decision-landmarks though they both are-offers a convenient rule of thumb to guide the district courts in the intensely difficult problems posed by requests for enforcement of administrative subpoenas.

However, an examination of the decisions passing upon such requests does disclose the standards by which the courts apply the three classic tests, …

Mayers: Shall We Amend The Fifth Amendment?, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Shall We Amend the Fifth Amendment? ? By Lewis Mayers

Scientific Investigation And Defendants' Rights, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Advances in science, medicine and industry have made much of the world a more pleasant place in which to live. In general more men are living a physically more satisfying life in more comfortable surroundings than preceding generations. But with this has come a parallel increase in criminality to the point that the term "crime wave" is heard with increasing frequency. Many crimes are facilitated in their commission by adaption or application of new scientific discoveries by criminal elements. A natural consequence is that already overburdened police departments turn as quickly as is financially possible to new scientific techniques in …

Constitutional Law - Privilege Against Self-Incrimination - Danger Of Prosecution In Other Jurisdictions, George R. Haydon, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a witness called by the New Hampshire attorney general in an investigation of subversive activities, was granted statutory immunity in New Hampshire from criminal prosecution which might arise from his testimony and was ordered to testify. Since any disclosures would create serious danger of prosecution by the United States and Massachusetts, whose agencies were also investigating his activities, defendant refused to testify despite the grant of immunity, invoking the privilege against self-incrimination guaranteed by the state constitution. He was found guilty of contempt, subject to his exceptions regarding the constitutionality of the immunity statute. On hearing before the state …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Search And Seizure-Use In State Courts Of Evidence Obtained Illegally, Howard N. Thiele, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was convicted of bookmaking under the anti-gambling laws of California by the use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure and through disclosures petitioner made when purchasing a federal wagering tax stamp. While petitioner and his wife were away, police concealed a microphone in the hall of his home, later moving it to the bedroom and finally to a bedroom closet. The instrument was connected to a receiver in a neighboring garage where other officers monitored all conversations for more than a month. Petitioner exhausted all state remedies in his attempt to have the evidence so obtained declared …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Privilege Against Self-Incrimination In State Criminal Proceedings, Frank M. Lacey

Michigan Law Review

In March 1951, defendant, a New York City policeman, was called to testify before a state grand jury investigating the association of city policemen with the criminal element of Kings County. Existing laws required public officers to execute a waiver of immunity to prosecution for matters to which their testimony related, on pain of losing their positions. The defendant signed such a waiver, and shortly thereafter resigned from the police force. He was called before the same grand jury again in December 1952, and on this occasion was asked whether he had ever accepted bribes while a policeman. He refused …

Problems In The Removal Of Federal Civil Servants, Ivor L. M. Richardson

Michigan Law Review

The publicity given in the past few years to the loyalty and security program has brought the civil servant of the federal government increasingly before the public eye. At the same time little attention has been paid to the plight of a civil servant who is dismissed from his post for reasons other than those relating to loyalty and security. It is the purpose of this paper to consider different aspects of the removal of civil servants. We shall discuss (1) the government's power to remove civil servants both at common law and under statutes which deal with the exercise …

Criminal Law - Contradictory Statements Under Oath As Grounds For Perjury In The Federal Courts, Richard M. Adams S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Perjury has frequently been described as one of the more difficult convictions to obtain, and the truth of this saying is no better illustrated than in the case of Harvey Matusow. During the two years in which ex-Communist Matusow served as a professional government witness, he accused 180 or more persons as being members of the Communist Party or Communist sympathizers. This same witness has now described himself as a "habitual and perpetual liar" and has publicly admitted that all of his previous testimony was false. On the strength of this recantation, motions were filed for a new trial in …

Legislation - Witness Immunity Act Of 1954 - Constitutional And Interpretative Problem, George S. Flint S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The passage in August, 1954 of a federal statute granting immunity under specified conditions to witnesses before congressional committees and in the federal courts marks a third legislative experiment designed to soften the effect of the Fifth Amendment as a limitation on the investigatory power of Congress. The first two attempts were less than successful. This comment will discuss the historical background of immunity legislation, and some possible constitutional pitfalls and problems of construction created by the statutory language.

Griswold: The Fifth Amendment Today, George S. Flint S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Fifth Amendment Today. By Erwin N. Griswold

Constitutional Law-Validity Of New York Statute Setting Out Motorists' Implied Consent To Chemical Tests For Intoxication, Richard A. Shupe S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The State of New York has approved a statute, to go into effect July 1, 1953, which stipulates that any person who operates a motor vehicle or motorcycle in the state shall be deemed to have given his consent to chemical tests of his breath, blood, urine, or saliva for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his blood. If such a person refuses to allow the tests, they will not be made, but the commissioner shall revoke his license or permit to drive, including the nonresident operating privilege. This is the first statute of its type and merits …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Use Of Television At Congressional Hearings, S. I. Shuman

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, not claiming constitutional protection against self-incrimination, refused to testify before a Senate committee on grounds that his "constitutional rights" would be violated if compelled to give testimony while being televised, photographed, etc. Cited for willfully and without justification refusing to testify on matters pertinent to the purpose of the inquiry, defendant was tried for contempt of Congress. Held, not guilty; defendant's refusal was justified. The court, after stating that there were no precedents, and that no constitutional issue was involved, seemed to rest its decision on the fact that the atmosphere of the forum did not lend itself …

Evidence-Scientific Tests For Lntoxication-Admissibility, James B. Wilson S. Ed., John J. Edman S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine the admissibility and probative value of the tests available for determining the amount of alcohol in the human system.

Evidence-Admissibility Of Confessions In Federal Courts Under The Mcnabb Rule, Harry T. Baumann S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, after proper arraignment on a charge of as· sault, was questioned intermittently about and confessed to a murder. This confession, introduced at the trial in the District Court of Alaska, was instrumental in convicting the defendant of the graver charge. The court of appeals reversed because of a failure to file the murder complaint within a reasonable time. On certiorari, held, the confession, made after proper detention on a lesser charge, was legal and admissible if given freely; but case affirmed as modified on other grounds. United States v. Carignan, 342 U.S. 36, 72 S.Ct. 97 (1951).

Constitutional Law-Fifth Amendment-Privilege Against Self-Incrimination By Admission, Or Knowledge, Of Communist Activities, Morris G. Shanker

Michigan Law Review

ln response to a subpoena, petitioner appeared as a witness before a United States district court grand jury. Several questions concerning· her knowledge and association with the Communist Party were put to her. In each case, she refused to answer the questions, claiming the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. For refusal to answer these same questions when brought before the district court, petitioner was adjudged to be in contempt of court. The court of appeals affirmed the holdings, and certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court. Held, judgment reversed. The Smith Act makes it unlawful to advocate knowingly the desirability …

Constitutional Law-Search And Seizure -Inspection Of Private Dwelling By Health Officer Without A Warrant, Robert P. Griffin S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A health officer sought to enter and inspect respondent's private home without a search warrant after a neighbor complained that the premises were not "clean and wholesome" as required by a District of Columbia ordinance. Respondent denied the officer permission to enter and refused to unlock the door, maintaining that his entry would violate her constitutional rights. As a result, respondent was convicted in municipal court of violating an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to interfere with or prevent an authorized sanitation inspection. On appeal, reversal of the conviction by the Municipal Court of Appeals was affirmed by the Court …

Abstracts, Benjamin M. Quigg, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Expansion Of Federal Supervision Of Securities Through The Inquisitional And Census Powers Of Congress-A Suggestion, Kenneth Rush

Michigan Law Review

The Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act, principally through the means of compulsory disclosure of information, are intended to aid the investing public in evaluating securities and to prevent the undue influencing of their value, market price and sale. These ends are undoubtedly worth seeking in their entirety, but such is the nature of our federal system that the acts, being founded upon the powers of Congress over the facilities of interstate commerce and of the mails, purport to relate only to transactions in securities involving use of those facilities.

The Federal Constitution Is Not Violated By A State Law Compelling One Accused Of Crime To Testify Against Himself, James H. Brewster

Articles

A case has been recently decided by the Supreme Court of Colorado, upon a condition of facts which it seems, has not an exact parallel in any of the reports. After being in litigation for more than eleven years the question involved was finally settled by the court of last resort of that state. In effect the decision goes to the extent of saying, that when a note is endorsed specially and afterwards comes back to the party making such special endorsement, and the party reissues the same without striking out his endorsement, no new endorsement is necessary, since the …

The Investigation Of Corporate Monopolies, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The Supreme Court of the United States has recently given a clear and brief statement of its views respecting the right of a corporation officer to refuse to testify on the ground that his testimony may subject the corporation to a criminal prosecution. Hale v. Henkel, 26 Sup. Ct. Rep. 370. Hale was summoned before a grand jury in a proceeding under the Sherman anti-trust act, and upon being interrogated respecting certain transactions of the MacAndrews & Forbes Co., of which he was Secretary and Treasurer, refused to answer, on the ground that the Federal immunity law was not broad …