Law Commons^™

Federal Common Law, Not State Law, Controls Interpretation Of Federal Bail-Bond Contracts, William T. Wingfield Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Miller, held that the liability of a surety on a federal bail-bond contract depends on the wording of the contract as interpreted under general federal common-law principles of suretyship and contract law.

Resolute Insurance Company was surety for Thomas Miller on two identical appearance bonds. Miller was found guilty of assaulting an FBI agent, had pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen goods, and was sentenced to a total of three years and three months of imprisonment. The trial court, at Miller's request and in the …

Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Does Not Bar Seizure Of Personal Papers, Ross Mccloy

Mercer Law Review

In Andresen v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination does not apply to the forcible seizure, with valid search warrants, of an attorney's incriminatory personal business records from his office. Petitioner Andresen, a sole practitioner specializing in real estate settlements, came under the scrutiny of a Bi-County Fraud Unit investigating real estate settlement activities in the Washington, D.C., area. The investigation revealed that Andresen, while acting as settlement attorney, had defrauded the purchaser by knowingly concealing two existing liens on the property. The investigators concluded that there was probable cause to believe …