Law Commons^™

Jurisprudence-Stare Decisis - Varying Force Of Precedent, Charles Myneder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff passenger brought an action against defendant driver to recover for injuries arising from the latter's negligence in operating an automobile while the parties were engaged in a joint enterprise. Defendant contended that his own negligence should be imputed to the plaintiff to bar recovery. Defendant offered as authority a previous decision by the same court in which a passenger, a joint enterpriser with the driver, sued both the driver and the absentee owner of the automobile. There the court dismissed the action against both defendants on the ground of imputed negligence. But the reasoning and authority offered by the …

Trusts-Resulting Trust In Registered Automobile, William P. Sutter S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Suit was brought by plaintiff against the administrator of the estate of X to establish title to an automobile which plaintiff alleged had been purchased with funds furnished by her. Title was in the name of deceased, X, in whose name plaintiff claimed to have registered the car because she did not drive and X would do most of the driving. The sole heir of X was permitted to intervene as a party defendant and claimed that lawful ownership had been in X. Decree was for defendants and it was directed that the car be turned over to …

De Toledano And Lasky: Seeds Of Treason, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of SEEDS OF TREASON. By Ralph de Toledano and Victor Lasky.

Dulles: War Or Peace, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of WAR OR PEACE. By John Foster Dulles.

Tourtellot: An Anatomy Of American Politics, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of AN ANATOMY OF AMERICAN POLITICS. By Arthur Bernon Tourtellot.

Judgments-Collateral Estoppel By A Lower Court Judgment When Appeal Therefrom Is Dismissed Because The Case Has Become Moot, John C. Walker S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The United States sued defendant in two counts for violation of OPA price regulations. The first count asked for an injunction to restrain further violations while the second sought treble damages for past violations. By agreement of the parties the injunction issue was tried first. The trial court found that there had been no violation of price regulations and dismissed the bill. This phase of the case was appealed by the government as a final order. The appeal was dismissed on the ground that the injunction issue had become moot, the particular commodity having been decontrolled in the interim. The …

The Constitutional Significance Of Delegated Legislation In England, J. A. G. Griffith

Michigan Law Review

The Committee on Ministers' Powers defined delegated legislation as the "exercise by a subordinate authority, such as a Minister, of the legislative power delegated to him by Parliament." This definition followed logically from the terms of reference which required the Committee to report "what safeguards are desirable or necessary to secure the constitutional principles of the sovereignty of Parliament and the supremacy of the Law."' Behind these two statements lie certain assumptions which coloured the Report of the Committee and influenced its recommendations. One of these assumptions is that Ministers of the Crown are "subordinate" to Parliament so that any …

Faces On The Court House Steps, A. F. Neumann

Michigan Law Review

Judge Frank may one day write a book which it will be possible to take or leave, but I doubt it. Few writers, with his ability and insight in the field of administration of justice, I suppose, succeed in evoking in their readers the spirited reactions that his writings produce. This is the highest praise that any reader can bestow-even though his reaction be a spirited disagreement.

In his most recent book, Courts on Trial, he has attempted to· destroy what he calls "myths" in legal thinking describing the fact-finding process just as he did for the rule determination …

Administrative Law-Federal Administrative Procedure Act-The Supreme Court Gives The Act Its First Interpretation, Fred W. Freeman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Federal Administrative Procedure Act received its first thorough consideration by the Supreme Court in the recent case of Wong Yang Sung v. McGrath. The Court held that deportation proceedings must conform to section 5, which provides for notice, opportunity for a hearing, separation of prosecution and quasi-judicial functions, and the issuance of declaratory orders by the agency, and to section 11, which prescribes an independent status for presiding officers. The scope of section 5 is limited to administrative adjudications "required by statute to be determined on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing." There is no specific requirement …

Taxation-Proposed Changes In The Tax Treatment Of Foreign Income, Donald D. Davis S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The United States has the power to tax the income of its citizens and domestic corporations even though that income is earned in a foreign country. When it is recognized that income derived abroad generally incurs tax liabilities to foreign governments as well, it immediately becomes apparent that the American businessman doing business abroad may, absent some sort of relief provisions, easily be the victim of double taxation. Relief has taken a number of forms. Income derived by American corporations in certain geographical areas is under proper circumstances wholly or partly exempt from federal income taxation. Thus, citizens and corporations …

Bills And Notes-Negligence Of The Depositor-Right Of The Drawee To Charge The Account, Thomas Hartwell

Michigan Law Review

A depositor in the defendant bank was a large firm with a payroll clerk who prepared the employees' checks for signing by the proper officer. The clerk prepared checks for employees not then on the payroll, which the officer signed without investigation. The clerk then indorsed as the named payee, signed in her own name as final indorser, and cashed the checks at various banks. Such conduct did not seem unusual to the banks, as she would frequently cash properly indorsed checks as a favor to other employees. The returned vouchers were not examined by the depositor to detect errors. …

Contracts-Measure Of Damages-Life Insurance Contract, Howard Van Antwerp

Michigan Law Review

When the plaintiff was expelled from defendant Brotherhood an insurance policy issued to the plaintiff by the defendant was canceled and the cash surrender value paid to him in accordance with the terms of his policy. The directors of the Brotherhood later decided that this expulsion had been wrongful, whereupon the plaintiff returned the cash surrender value of the policy and demanded the return of all premiums paid. When this demand was refused, the plaintiff sued to recover damages for wrongful cancellation of his policy. The trial court instructed the jury to return a verdict for the premiums paid with …

Corporations-Right Of Directors To Enforce At Face Value Claims Against The Corporation Purchased At A Discount During Insolvency, Robert H. Frick S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

From 1942 to the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings the assets of the debtor corporation were insufficient to pay its liabilities, and, with the exception of 1945, it operated at a deficit. In 1946 the assets of the corporation were sold, and the debtor filed a petition under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Act Prior to the filing of the petition, but during the period of insolvency, the respondents, the sister, mother, and a personal friend of a director, acquired debenture bonds of the corporation, primarily from over-the-counter dealers, at 3% to 14% of face value, the aggregate cost being $10,000. …

Criminal Law-Proof Of The Corpus Delicti By The Use Of Extra-Judicial Confessions, Theodore Sachs

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a physician, was accused of the murder of his cancer-ridden patient by the injection of 40 c.c. of air into a vein of the patient's arm shortly before her death. The defendant had noted on the patient's medical chart the fact of the injection and that of her death, apparently a few minutes later. He subsequently dictated the same facts to his nurse, and later made similar admissions to local enforcement authorities and others making such statements on the day of his arrest and immediately thereafter. At the trial, a pathologist, called as an expert witness on behalf of …

Cbiminal Law--Humanitarian Motive As A Defense To Homicide--State V. Sander, (N.H. 1950)., Theodore Sachs

Michigan Law Review

It has been uniformly accepted in Anglo-American jurisprudence that motive is neither an element of a crime, nor a defense to its existence.

Insurance-Subrogation-Right Of Insured To Recover On An Automobile "Collision" Policy After Full Settlement With The Negligent Wrongdoer, Robert W. Shadd S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, whose automobile was covered by a policy of "collision" insurance in appellant insurance company, suffered serious personal injuries and complete loss of his car as a result of a collision with an oil company truck. Despite numerous telephone calls, appellant failed to settle for the cash value of the automobile, as required by the insurance contract. In the meantime, respondent brought an action against the oil company, joining the claims for personal injury and property damage, and executed a full release to that company in return for a settlement of $20,000. He then brought this action for actual damages …

Negligence-Gas-Duty To Inspect Abandoned Pipes, Alan C. Boyd.

Michigan Law Review

Three persons were asphyxiated in a house in which they were sleeping when pressure caused by the settling of the house broke a gas pipe underneath. The house had no foundation but was supported by posts. Gas service had been discontinued eighteen years before, and the meter was removed at that time. The gas, however, had not been shut off at the curb but was allowed by the company to remain in the pipes beneath the house. The defendant gas company had made no inspection since the service had been discontinued. The plaintiffs, representatives of the deceased persons, brought actions, …

Taxation--Income Tax-Effect Of Loss Carry--Back On Deficiency Assessment Interest Charges, William R. Worth S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1943 the Commissioner of Internal Revenue assessed deficiencies against respondent taxpayer in its 1941 income and excess profits taxes, adding interest from the date the tax was properly due to the assessment date. The taxpayer suffered a net operating loss in 1943 sufficient to abate completely all tax liability for 1941. When application for a refund of the amount paid and abatement of the deficiency was made, however, the commissioner deducted the interest assessed from the amount to be returned, claiming that the liability to pay interest on the deficiency was still outstanding. The district court held for the …

Trusts-Corporate Trustee's Duty Of Loyalty-Merger Of The Trustee Corporation With A Corporation In Which The Trust Held Shares, Nancy J. Ringland

Michigan Law Review

Securities delivered to the trustee under provisions of a will included stock in the corporate trustee and in a bank. Subsequently, the bank and the trust company affiliated, under an agreement whereby the bank acquired substantially all the stock of the trust company, to be held for the benefit of the shareholders of the bank. The holders of the trust stock and the old bank stock exchanged their shares for new stock in the bank. The trust authorized the trustee to retain stocks in the trust estate, to invest in securities other than of the character prescribed by law for …

Witnesses--Competence Of Defendant's Spouse As Witness For The Prosecution, William R. Worth S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, on trial for the offense of transporting across state lines a sum of money exceeding $5,000 feloniously obtained by fraud, was convicted largely through the testimony of his victim. The fraud charged consisted of a lightning courtship and hasty marriage, closely followed by the disappearance of the new husband along with the entire estate of the too-gullible bride. Over the objection of the defendant, his wife was permitted to testify to the swindle practiced upon her. After conviction, he filed a motion for a new trial, contending that it was error to permit a wife to testify against her …

Constitutional Law-Corporations-Artificial "Persons" And The Fourteenth Amendment, Robert P. Griffin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

That a corporation is a "person" for certain purposes within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore entitled to invoke its protection, is considered by students of constitutional law to be well settled. For that reason the dissent of Justice Douglas in the recent case of Wheeling Steel Corporation v. Glander demands more than passing recognition. Therein he restates and adds his support to the view of Justice Black that the word "person" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment refers exclusively to human beings and affords no protection whatsoever to corporations against arbitrary state action.

Restitution Under The Statute Of Frauds: What Constitutes An Unjust Retention, Lindsey R. Jeanblanc

Michigan Law Review

In order to recover in restitution the plaintiff must establish, first, that a legal benefit was conferred upon the defendant and, second, that the retention of that benefit was unjust. The problem of determining what constitutes a legal benefit in the cases of restitution under the statute of frauds is discussed in another article. The purpose of this article is to examine what does or does not constitute an unjust retention in such cases, including some of the grounds on which the defendant may successfully contend that his retention of a benefit is not unjust.

Constitutional Law-Exports-Immunity From State Taxation, Paul E. Anderson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Article 1, section 10 of the Constitution provides, "No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports . . . . " This clause places a limitation on state taxing power. The basic problem is to determine at what point goods in the process of being manufactured and prepared for foreign shipment become exports. If the goods are found to be exports, they are immune to state taxation. Two recent Supreme Court decisions have dealt with this question in an attempt to lay down a general rule applicable to future situations. Because …

Constitutional Law-Federal Courts-Diversity Jurisdiction- District Of Columbia Citizens, John D. Mcleod S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Act of Congress of April 20, 1940, provided that district courts should exercise original jurisdiction over actions "between citizens of different States, or citizens of the District of Columbia, the Territory of Hawaii, or Alaska, and any State or Territory . . . . " The committee report and the title indicate the purpose to extend to citizens of the District of Columbia and the territories the right to sue in federal district courts on grounds solely of diversity of citizenship. Although the committee reports indicated no constitutional difficulties, the majority of the lower federal courts which considered the …

Criminal Law-Confessions Obtained Prior To Commitment-What Constitutes Unreasonable Delay, B. J. George, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendants were arrested on suspicion of murder and questioned by police. Defendants confessed after being held incommunicado for some hours during the night, but were not arraigned until the following morning. The confessions were admitted in evidence and defendants found guilty. On appeal, held, affirmed. There had not been an unreasonable delay in producing defendants before a commissioner, because the length of time in hours was not unreasonable and because committing magistrates are not available late at night. Garner v. United States, (App. D.C., 1949) 174 F. (2d) 499.

Joint Tenancy-Creation Of Joint Tenancy In Stock Certificates And The Shares Represented Thereby, Rex Eames

Michigan Law Review

A, registered owner of certain stock certificates, endorsed them and turned them over to an agent with instructions to forward them to the respective corporations for transfer of the shares to A and B as joint tenants. Thereafter, the corporations issued certificates to A and B "as joint tenants with the right of survivorship and not as tenants in common." The plaintiff, A's administrator, brought a bill in equity against B to recover a one-half undivided interest in the shares of stock. Held, bill dismissed. No joint tenancy was created as there was an absence of the …

Negligence-Imputed Negligence-Action Between Joint Enterprisers, Nancy J. Ringland

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and his wife were driving from Michigan to Iowa to visit a certain church to which plaintiff, a minister, was considering a call. Defendant desired to visit a college in Illinois, with the intention of enrolling as a student. It was agreed that defendant should ride in plaintiff's automobile to Illinois, where plaintiff was to help defendant gain admission to the college; later defendant was to return with the plaintiff to Michigan. The parties alternated in driving the automobile on the trip. At a certain stage in the journey, defendant negligently operated the automobile and caused it to become …

Personal Property-United States Savings Bonds--Effect Of Registration In Co-Ownership Or Beneficiary Form As A Transfer Of A Property Interest Therein, Walter L. Dean

Michigan Law Review

In two recent cases, decedents purchased United States Savings Bonds registered in the name of the purchaser and another person which were never delivered to the named co-owner but remained in the possession of the purchaser until his death. In the first case, on appeal from an order of the district court refusing to impose an inheritance tax on the bonds after the death of the purchaser, held, reversed. Mere purchase of the bonds and their registration in the names of the co-owners without delivery transferred no interest to the co-owners during the life of the purchaser and is …

Practice And Procedure-Cross Claim For Wrongful Death In An Action Against Decedent's Estate, C. J. Rice

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's truck, driven by an agent, was involved in a collision with an automobile driven by defendants' intestate. The driver of the automobile was killed and plaintiff brought a damage action against his administrators. The trial court disallowed a cross claim brought by the administrators for the benefit of statutory beneficiaries. This cross claim was prosecuted under the wrongful death act and under a statute which permitted a defendant in a tort action to file a cross claim for damages arising out of the same transaction. Plaintiff objected to the cross claim on the ground that it was prosecuted by …

Levi: An Introduction To Legal Reasoning, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of AN INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL REASONING. By Edward H. Levi.