Digital Commons Network^™

The Optimum Marital Deduction Survives The Tax Reform Act, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Several years ago an article appeared in the pages of this journal which suggested that those attorneys who regularly focused on obtaining the maximum marital deduction in the wills they were drafting for their clients might be suffering from a form of estate planner's myopia. That is, they were losing sight of their ultimate goal of minimizing the total estate tax burden imposed on the husband's assets as they pass from him, through the wife, on to the ultimate beneficiaries. The danger foreseen was that, as an attorney employed one of the various formula clauses designed to obtain every possible …

Legal Malpractice: A Survey Of The Virginia Law, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

A great deal has been written during the past several years about the increasing number of professional liability actions that are being brought against attorneys by their former clients. Indeed, some commentators have taken the position that a legal malpractice "crisis", similar to the medical malpractice crisis that has so adversely affected physicians in recent years, is imminent for the bar. This short note will turn away from the factual question concerning the existence of such a crisis and look instead at the legal issues that form the basis of an attorney's professional liability exposure in Virginia.

Nicholas Bacon: The Making Of A Tudor Statesman, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

A book review on Nicholas Bacon: The Making of a Tudor Statesman by Robert Tittler.

University Of Richmond Bulletin: Catalog Of The T.C. Williams School Of Law For 1977-1978, University Of Richmond

Law School Catalogues

General Information:

The Law School was established as a department of Richmond College in 1870. In 1890 the family of the late T. C. Williams, who had been a devoted and valued Trustee, donated $25,000 as the nucleus of an endowment for the Law School. In recognition of this gift, the name of the School was changed to the T. C. Williams School of Law. At various times the School has received further generous gifts from members of the family of Mr. Williams. A substantial gift came through a bequest from Mr. T. C. Williams, Jr. who, like his father, …

The Criminal Justice Standards And Goals Process In Virginia, Ronald J. Bacigal

University of Richmond Law Review

Throughout its history, the criminal law has developed primarily through judicial interpretation of case law and legislative enactment of statutes. It is only in the recent past that an effort has been made to apply the planning process of standards and goals to the criminal justice system. At the national level, the impetus has come primarily from the American Bar Association (ABA) Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, which has been in existence for over ten years and has been widely publicized, and from the National Advisory Commission (NAC) on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. In 1971, the NAC stated …

Respa Revised And Revisited, Edward S. Hirschler

University of Richmond Law Review

It is hard to believe that the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, which was signed by President Ford on December 22, 1974, and the revision that became effective on January 2, 1976,2 could have the same name-RESPA. It is even more remarkable that it took less than a year for the monstrosity which became effective on June 20, 1975, to evolve into what is now a reasonably workable statute with regulations which clarify rather than confuse. It is beyond the scope of this article to trace the history of RESPA in detail. Suffice it to say that in …

Balanced Justice: Mr. Justice Powell And The Constitution, Randolph C. Duvall, John E. Ely, Mark S. Gardner, William C. Goodwin, H. P. Williams

University of Richmond Law Review

In his first five years on the United States Supreme Court, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. has become and will most likely continue to be a leading force in shaping the direction of the Court. In many areas, Justice Powell's desire for judicial flexibility as well as judicial restraint has made him a leader in turning the Burger Court away from the bright-line tests enunciated by the Warren Court. However, where the Warren Court had been flexible, Justice Powell has usually preserved this flexibility and expanded it if possible. The tool consistently utilized to achieve this flexibility has been a …

A Larson-Zuckman Checklist For Partnership Tax Classification Of Ulpa Real Estate Shelters, J. Durwood Felton Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

Real estate developments necessarily require large amounts of capital, and are usually dependent on financing from sources other than the venture group assembled to construct and operate a proposed project. Theoretically, such ventures may be undertaken in many forms, corporate and otherwise, and the available financing vehicles may include debt instruments, equity shares and innumerable combinations thereof. In reality, however, business and legal considerations often dictate organization and operation of such ventures within more narrowly defined limits.

Socking It To Plaintiffs: Supreme Court Antitrust Decisions In 1976-77 Term, Jeff Miles

University of Richmond Law Review

Those persons who delve into the sometimes esoteric and sometimes shockingly practical world of the antitrust laws have noticed a markedly increased emphasis on both private and public enforcement efforts in recent years. One need look no further than the attacks against groups once thought to be immune, I action by Congress, and substantially increased state enforcement to see a vigorous movement to assure that no violation goes unnoticed and unpunished, and that private parties are compensated three-fold for injuries suffered by reason of illegal anticompetitive activity.

Purchase Of Consumer Paper And Subjection To Collateral Forces, Benjamin Geva

University of Richmond Law Review

The purchase of commercial paper issued in return for consumer goods [hereinafter referred to as consumer paper] is a common and wide-spread sales financing practice. Various judicial techniques and legislative schemes have been employed to disqualify purchasers of consumer paper from becoming holders in due course [hereinafter referred to as HDC], thus rendering these purchasers subject to defenses to the instrument based upon consumer dissatisfaction with the goods. Underlying the denial of HDC sttus to purchasers of consumer paper are the following premises: (1) the sale of consumer goods is not a commercial transaction and should not be governed by …

Private Discrimination Actions Filed In Federal Court: Nonsubstantive Matters Affecting Liability And Relief, Gary J. Spahn, David E. Boone

University of Richmond Law Review

Confusion regarding who may be held liable and what relief may be sought is evident in the inconsistent and conflicting decisions of the federal courts in private actions which charge unlawful discrimination under color of state law. The cause of the confusion has little to do with whether in fact the plaintiff has been the victim of discrimination but may be attributed to the piecemeal development of what may be termed nonsubstantive matters which nevertheless substantially affect the issues of liability and relief.

Property Taxation In Virginia, Gordon M. Cooley, Burton F. Dodd, Norman T. Fowlkes, Julia Krebs-Markrich, Ronald E. Kuykendall

University of Richmond Law Review

The Virginia Constitution mandates that all property within the state, except exempt property, must be taxed. In light of the constitution's directive, this note examines the present Virginia property taxation structure in order to provide the practitioner with a guide to its application and operation.

Prisoners' Rights Litigation- 42 U.S.C. §1983- Litigation: Defendant's View, Burnett Miller Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

There can be little doubt that since the late 1960's the status and conditions of our prisons have become a public issue. It can probably be said without citation that as a general proposition most states have found their prisons in a state of need. Our prisons have for many years been economically neglected in the wake of more publicly acceptable priorities. The philosophy seemed to be that prisoners were criminals that should be put away, and their lot was of their own making. There would then, of course, always be more pressing and socially acceptable purposes for which to …

University Of Richmond Law Review Index

University of Richmond Law Review

This is the index for Law Review Volume XI.

Civil Procedure-Title 8.01: Virginia's New Civil Procedure Act, Scott D. Anderson, Theodore I. Brenner

University of Richmond Law Review

On October 1, 1977, Title 8 of the Code of Virginia was repealed and Title 8.01 became effective. The revisers of Title 8 have produced an extensive, as well as comprehensive, change in the statutes which govern civil procedure in Virginia. Most of the provisions have been rewritten, deleted or moved to other titles. With several notable exceptions, civil procedure in Virginia will remain basically unchanged. Much of the revisers work leaves Title 8 substantively intact. The major changes will be discussed in a chapter by chapter analysis of Title 8.01 in Section II of this article.

Support V. Alimony In Virginia: It's Time To Use The Revised States, Joel H. Holt

University of Richmond Law Review

The concept of alimony has been a traditional fixture in the law of divorce ever since the early common law. Since the church was the foundation for the institution of marriage, it was only logical that the separation of husband and wife was a matter for the ecclesiastical courts in early England. Ecclesiastical decrees, however, did not dissolve the marriage but only resulted in a "legal" separation, commonly known as a divorce a mensa et thoro. In making such a decree, it was obviously necessary for the courts to make a discretionary award of support for the wife since at …

The Reports Of Charles Lee And Of John Brown, W. Hamilton Bryson

University of Richmond Law Review

The reports of Virginia cases from 1784 to 1794 compiled by Charles Lee and those of John Brown, which cover the period 1791 to 1799 in the Virginia Court of Appeals, are published for the first time here. Many of the cases in Lee's Reports and some in Brown's Reports have not been reported elsewhere, and the others supplement the rather brief case reports made by Bushrod Washington and Daniel Call. During the period of these reports, the judges of the court of appeals usually gave their opinions immediately after the attorneys had concluded their arguments; in the other cases …

University Of Richmond Law Review Table Of Contents

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Taxation Of Distributions From Qualified Employee Benefit Plans, Louis A. Mezzullo

University of Richmond Law Review

One of the most confusing aspects of employee benefit plans is the federal tax treatment of distributions to the participants of these plans and to the beneficiaries of deceased participants. The issues frequently involve not only income taxation, but estate and gift taxation as well. While the average practitioner may never be called upon to draft a pension or profit-sharing plan, he may be asked by his client about the consequences of the various alternative methods

of receiving a benefit from such a plan. Many employee benefit plans, particularly profit-sharing plans, offer a participant upon his retirement from the plan …

Hon. Lewis F. Powell, Jr.: Five Years On The Supreme Court: Mr. Justice Powell: An Overview, J. Harvie Wilkinson Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

In January of 1977, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., marked his fifth anniversary as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Any definitive evaluation of Justice Powell at this hopefully still early stage of his judicial service is impossible. Yet the 1975 term of Court-Powell's fifth-marked him as a Justice of great collegial impact and, in terms of his own career, saw a coming of age: an end, if you will, to the beginning.

Mr. Justice Powell's Standing, Gary C. Leedes

University of Richmond Law Review

Some may lament the results of Mr. Justice Powell's attempts to clarify the law of standing. Indeed, public interest lawyers who advocate granting standing on a surrogate basis to individuals who are members of a large unorganized class of diffuse interests have cause to complain about a return to a more orthodox conception of standing. However, Mr. Justice Powell has a different outlook, viz., in a democratic society, a federal court is not necessarily an appropriate or the most effective institution to redress the grievances of people upset by alleged lawless government action.

Federal Habeas Corpus After Stone V. Powell: A Remedy Only For The Arguably Innocent?, Sam Boyte

University of Richmond Law Review

State prisoners lost several grounds for seeking federal habeas corpus relief during the Supreme Court's 1975 term. In each case, the Court was prepared to admit, at least for the purposes of argument, that there were constitutional infirmities in the state criminal process which resulted in the confinement of the prisoner; nonetheless, the Court held that the prisoner would not be permitted to attack his conviction collaterally in federal court. Because the prisoner in Francis v. Henderson had not complied with a state procedural rule requiring such challenges to be brought before trial, the Supreme Court held that he could …

Public Employee Collective Bargaining In Virginia: Perspectives And Direction, Frederick R. Kozak

University of Richmond Law Review

In order to appreciate the problems and challenges presented by public employee collective bargaining, one should first consider the tremendous growth of the public sector in recent decades. In 1946, there were approximately six million persons employed at all levels of government. By 1974, the total stood at nearly fifteen million. The number of state and local government employees rose from about three and one-half million in 1946, to over eleven and one-half million in 1974.

University Of Richmond Law Review Table Of Contents

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Victims' Rights Litigation: A Wave Of The Future?, Frank Carrington, Fred E. Inbau

University of Richmond Law Review

American Jurisprudence 2d quite properly claims to be one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive legal encyclopedia in this country. Any attorney who has had the opportunity to peruse this work would be forced to agree. It is, therefore, an interesting and unfortunate commentary upon the state of law in our society that of the thousands of topics covered in this monumental compendium of knowledge, none deals with the victims of crime.

Two Perspectives On The Real Estate Title System: How To Examine A Title In Virginia, William Mazel

University of Richmond Law Review

This article seeks to explain the mechanics of an examination of title to real property in Virginia. It addresses the procedural aspects of this process, and does not attempt to examine the substantive body of law which underlies the title examination procedure. Other published works are available for that purpose.

Two Perspectives On The Real Estate Title System: A Proposal For A Title Registration System For Realty, Martin Lobel

University of Richmond Law Review

As the ancient legal apparatus providing for the transfer of land creaks into the final quarter of the twentieth century, the need for a massive overhaul becomes increasingly clear. Designed and introduced at a time when it could work reasonably well, the land recordation system has now reached senility, its irrationality becoming more and more apparent with each passing year.

Litigation Against A State Trader- A No-Win Contest, Jon Magnusson

University of Richmond Law Review

A litigant who sues a state trading corporation for eight years through two trials, four appeals, and three certiorari denials, and then finally wins a judgment for $411,203.72, but is unable to collect on his judgment, might feel a little discouraged about the fairness of a principle of law that denies him a right to recovery. The principle is "sovereign immunity;" a sovereign state and its property, without its consent, are immune from the adjudicative processes of the courts in another sovereign state. In traditional international law, it does not matter what kind of activity the state is engaged in; …

The "Public Interest" And Bank And Savings And Loan Expansion In Virginia, David Parcell, Richard D. Rogers

University of Richmond Law Review

In the past, two phrases have been the subject of much evidence and legal argument in proceedings before the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). The two phrases are public need and public convenience and necessity. Application of these two phrases has controlled the formation of new financial institutions and the expansion of existing ones. In 1976, the Virginia General Assembly eliminated in part these two phrases and in their place substituted a single phrase- public interest

The Fifth Amendment And The Production Of Documents: A New Rationale, Lucretia C. Irby

University of Richmond Law Review

During its last term, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving the production of documents and papers; one involved the use of a search warrant, the other a subpoena duces tecum. Both cases raised the fifth amendment issues. In both instances, the Supreme Court found no violation of the privilege against self-incrimination.