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Administrative Terminology And The Administrative Procedure Act, Bernard Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

The confusion of terminology in our administrative law is a natural result of the manner in which that branch of law has developed. "The use of terms in administrative law exemplifies its most characteristic element-that it did not spring from a single source but has its roots in many places." The administrative process has not evolved according to a fixed plan; "thus far our Administrative Law has largely 'growed' like Topsy." With the haphazard habit characteristic of our political life, individual administrative agencies have been created as and when the need for them arose, without any logical system. The form …

Negligence-Taking The Issue Of Negligence From The Jury In Public Utility Cases, Charles D. Bell S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

After boarding a trolley owned and operated by defendant, plaintiff-dropped her return slip. Holding a package in one hand, she stooped to pick up the slip. Plaintiff testified that although defendant's operator saw her in this position, he started the trolley with a "very fast jerk" which threw plaintiff to the floor and caused certain injuries. At the conclusion of plaintiff's evidence, which consisted of her uncorroborated testimony, the trial court directed a verdict for defendant. On appeal, held, affirmed. Przborowski v. Baltimore Transit Co., (Md. 1948) 59 A. (2d) 687.

Henry Moore Bates 1869-1949, University Of Michigan Law School

Miscellaneous Law School History & Publications

Program for services in honor of Dean Emeritus Henry Moore Bates.

Streamlining Conveyancing Procedure, Paul E. Basye

Michigan Law Review

Statutes of limitations have long occupied an essential and important place in every system of jurisprudence. They express a policy that is essential to social progress in a great variety of ways. Their effect is particularly noteworthy in the field of property law where they promote repose and give security to human affairs. "They stimulate to activity and punish negligence. While time is constantly destroying the evidence of rights, they supply its place by a presumption which renders proof unnecessary."

Bankruptcy-Status Of Claims In Bankruptcy Proceeding Following Default In Chapter Xi Arrangement, Myron J. Nadler S.Ed., L. B. Lea S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

A significant question arising under the Bankruptcy Act of 1938 which has not been satisfactorily dealt with by the statute is the relative status, in a bankruptcy proceeding precipitated by the debtor's default under the terms of a chapter XI arrangement, of claims of creditors participating in the arrangement and of those who became creditors after confirmation. Specifically, the problem is whether the old creditors, those who participated in the arrangement, can prove to the amount of their original claims, or merely to the extent of their claims as scaled down by the terms of the arrangement; and whether the …

Labor Law-Relationship Of Federal And State Authority Over Labor Relations, Ralph E. Hunt S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In three recent cases, the United States Supreme Court has been required to determine the impact of federal labor relations legislation on certain state enactments in this area. The importance of these decisions, concerning a problem which has caused difficulty since enactment of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, is increased by their consideration of the significance of the amendments contained in the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947.

(1.) The appellant La Crosse Co., which handled interstate telephone calls, had made a collective bargaining agreement with appellant A. F. of L. union, to continue from year to year. During …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Punishment For Direct Contempt Of Court, William R. Worth

Michigan Law Review

Opposing counsel's objection to material in petitioner's opening statement to the jury was sustained. When petitioner rephrased his statement, the trial court, feeling that he was still trying to get inadmissible material before the jury, threatened to "declare a mistrial if you mess with me two minutes and a half, and fine you besides.'' Petitioner took an exception to the conduct of the court, and was immediately fined $25. His protests led to successive increases in penalty, culminating in a $100 fine and three days in jail. The Supreme Court of Texas denied habeas corpus on the ground that the …

Contracts - Municipal Corporations - Revocability Of Offer Submitted Under Statutory Competitive Bidding, Richard H. Conn

Michigan Law Review

In accordance with statutory provisions, the city commissioners of Atlantic City advertised for bids for certain public improvements. Plaintiff submitted a sealed bid accompanied by a deposit of $5,000, as required by the advertisement, to guarantee execution of the contract if it were the successful bidder. When the bids were opened, plaintiff was the lowest bidder by a considerable margin. Investigation disclosed that an appreciable error had been made in the calculation of its bid, however, and before any official action had been taken, plaintiff advised the city commission of the mistake and withdrew the bid. Nevertheless, the contract was …

Henry Moore Bates, Roscoe Pound

Michigan Law Review

It has been my uniform practice never to read from a manuscript or use notes when I am speaking to an audience, but in speaking of so old and dear a friend I feel a certain inhibition of emotion that stands in the way of an adequate oral speech. Moreover, when I think of Dean Bates' unswerving adherence to exact, accurate statement, his abhorrence of all exaggeration, of all overstatement, I feel that he would not be satisfied with one who followed the relatively loose method of oral statement instead of adhering to a carefully and meticulously prepared manuscript for …

Acquisition Of Evidence By Search And Seizure, Mary Louise Ramsey

Michigan Law Review

What protection do the Fourth and Fifth Amendments afford against acquisition of evidence by search and seizure, actual or constructive? Does an individual have a constitutional privilege against the disclosure of records he is required by law to keep? May police officers search premises on which an arrest is made and seize contraband which they find there? A series of cases recently decided by a closely divided Supreme Court has enveloped this field in the same deep fog of uncertainty which now hangs over so many other areas of constitutional law. The unstable quality of these precedents is attested by …

Coming Into Equity With Clean Hands, Zechariah Chafee, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The most amusing maxim of equity is "He who comes into Equity must come with clean hands." It has given rise ,to many interesting cases and poor jokes. The maxim has been regarded as an especially significant manifestation of the ethical attitude of equity as contrasted with the common law. Pomeroy, for instance, argues that the principle involved in this maxim is "merely the expression of one of the elementary and fundamental conceptions of equity jurisprudence." Pomeroy's theory is that chancery has power to force a defendant to comply with the dictates of conscience as to matters outside the strict …

Streamlining Conveyancing Procedure, Paul E. Basye

Michigan Law Review

The need for simplifying-even streamlining-conveyancing procedure has been all too well recognized for decades, but until the present decade relatively little progress toward a satisfactory system has been achieved. We have continued to labor under the handicaps of an inherited system which has become more cumbersome with each passing year. It is noteworthy, however, that several steps have been put into operation within recent years which have proved extremely fruitful and have, in certain limited areas, introduced thoroughgoing revisions in traditional practices. But in most states the far-reaching improvements necessary to an efficient, simple and fully comprehensive conveyancing system remain …

Federal Courts-Detected Verdicts In Civil Actions, Zolman Cavitch

Michigan Law Review

Juries must answer to questions of fact and judges to questions of law. This is the fundamental maxim acknowledged by the Constitution. When no fact question is present, no right to jury trial in a civil suit exists, and the constitutional guaranty is, therefore, not violated by the exercise of control by the court in keeping the jury to determination of questions of fact or in keeping it within the bounds of reason. One of the most important and often used methods of control is the directed verdict, whereby the court peremptorily instructs the jury to bring in a verdict …

Insurance-Effect Of Incontestable Clause In Suit For Reformation Of Policy, N. S. Peterman S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

For over twenty years, defendant insurer accepted premiums on a life insurance policy issued to plaintiff. Defendant then discovered that a clerical error had been made in the original policy, as a result of which plaintiff's premium payments were approximately one-half the premiums defendant normally received for the type of policy actually issued. Defendant asked for reformation of the policy on the ground of mistake, and the trial court granted the relief sought. On appeal, held, reversed. The action was barred by the incontestable clause. Richardson v. Travelers Insurance Co., (App. 9th, 1948) 171 F. (2d) 699.

Delivered Prices: Doing Business Under The Present Law, Corwin D. Edwards

Michigan Law Review

What is involved in doing business under the present law concerning delivered prices? Since the ease or difficulty of doing business in accord with the law depends upon what the law permits and prohibits, to answer this question requires an assumption about what the law is. I shall assume that the scope of legally permissible action is that envisaged in the statement which the Federal Trade Commission issued to its staff and released to the public last October 12. This statement says, in effect, that businessmen are not required to sell f.o.b. mill or to adopt any particular form of …

Attorneys -Taxation - Unauthorized Practice Of Income Tax Law By Certified Public Accountants, Charles D. Bell S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The accepted law in the United States is that laymen may not engage in the practice of law. However, the enigma of what constitutes the practice of law has plagued laymen, lawyers and the courts for many years. Attempts to find the answer have engendered intense friction between various professional groups, each arguing that its jurisdiction extends further than the other admits. The greatest animosity has developed between lawyers and certified public accountants in the dispute as to their respective functions in the income tax field.

Conflict Of Laws-Enforcing Tax Laws Of Sister States, Bernard L. Trott S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In the recent case City of Detroit v. Proctor, the defendant, a resident of Detroit, was owner of personal property located there in the year 1939. The city levied a tax on this property, which tax became a debt under the laws of Michigan on the first day of April, 1939, and became due and · payable on the 15th of July, 1939. During the month of June, 1939, the defendant removed both his person and his property from the state of Michigan and has since resided elsewhere. The treasurer of the city of Detroit, who is empowered by …

Future Interests - Powers-Fraud On A Special Power, Bernard L. Trott S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

H was co-trustee under a trust agreement executed by his father which provided for payment of a specified monthly sum to H for life and after his death to his wife W. The trust was to terminate upon the death of the survivor of H and W, and thereupon the other trustee was to deliver 20% of the corpus to each of three named persons, A, B, and C. The trust instrument further provided that H was to have absolute power, with approval of the co-trustee, to prescribe that the distribution of this 60% of the …

Negligence-Guest Statutes-Applicability To Operation Of Automobile On Host's Premises, Janice Richardson

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff accompanied a friend to defendant's garage to park the friend's automobile and later returned alone, without a claim check, to obtain a package she had left in the automobile. An attendant, who was about to park another automobile, invited her to ride to the second Hoor to secure the package herself. Plaintiff was injured when the attendant negligently drove the automobile against an elevator. Held, judgment for defendant affirmed. Plaintiff was a guest within the meaning of the Ohio guest statute and could not recover for injuries unless caused by willful or wanton misconduct. Kilgore v. U-Drive-It Co. …

Illegal Conditions And Limitations: Effect Of Illegality, Olin L. Browder, Jr

Michigan Law Review

IN earlier articles the writer undertook to explore that miscellaneous and somewhat neglected field of law in which public policy is held to nullify the efforts of persons to impose certain types of conditions and limitations on dispositions of their property.' Such provisions most commonly take the form either of conditions subsequent or executory limitations, but occasionally appear as conditions precedent or special limitations. Unlike provisions which run afoul of the rule against perpetuities or the rules against restraints on alienation, the provisions in question usually prescribe conduct on the part of beneficiaries which is not directly related to the …

Limitations On Congressional Investigation, George Meader

Michigan Law Review

Increasingly, federal laws embodying far-reaching national policies are being couched in broad and general terms. The effect of this type of legislation is to place wide discretionary powers in administrative officials and to throw upon the courts an immense burden of interpretation in applying general principles to specific factual situations. There have been sensational instances of hasty passage of corrective legislation made necessary by court decisions interpreting a poorly worded law in a way Congress did not intend, such as the portal-to-portal and overtime-on-overtime decisions. Meanwhile, the practicing lawyer is at a loss to advise his clients of the effect …

Competitive Operation Of Municipally And Privately Owned Utilities, Charles M. Kneier

Michigan Law Review

Public utility services for cities are usually provided on the principle of regulated monopoly. It has been found that by the very nature of the utility business, better service can be had and at cheaper rates by the use of one supplier rather than by the use of competing plants: This one plant having a monopoly of the business may be either privately or municipally owned. If the service is furnished by a privately owned utility, regulation is usually by a state commission, but in a few states regulation is still largely by the city in which the company operates. …

Compulsory Licensing By Judicial Action: A Remedy For Misuse Of Patents, Neal Seegert

Michigan Law Review

Having viewed the fundamental problems, it is pertinent to outline some of the alleged abuses of the American patent system as it operates in our modern business and industrial economy and to canvass some of the proposed remedies. First are abuses that might be termed attempts to extend the duration of the patent monopoly. These stem mainly from the procedural aspects of the patent laws. Foremost among them is the problem of long pendency of applications, particularly the dilatory tactics that are possible under the law, which postpone issuance of the patent, thus extending the time duration of the patent …

Finders--Application Of Statute To Finder Of Stolen Non-Negotiable Bonds, William C. Gordon

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff found a box containing twenty registered $1000 United States bonds and other non-negotiable securities, which had been stolen from defendants. Plaintiff turned them over to the sheriff who returned them to defendants. The bonds were endorsed "Not Transferable" and were payable only to the owner named thereon. Defendants had promptly notified the United States Treasury of the theft, and by fulfilling certain requirements, could have obtained duplicate certificates and bonds. Plaintiff sued for a reward of ten per cent of the face value of the securities under an Iowa statute which provided for a reward of ten per cent …

Habeas Corpus-Federal Courts-Exhaustion Of State Remedies, E. W. Rothe, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner's writ of habeas corpus, alleging denial of due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, was quashed on the merits by an inferior Florida court whose action was affirmed without opinion by the Florida Supreme Court. It was impossible to ascertain whether the affirmance was on the merits or on the ground that, under Florida law, habeas corpus was not the proper procedure to raise the due process issue. A later decision by the Florida Supreme Court clearly established that the prior case had been decided on the merits of the constitutional question, and that habeas corpus …

Taxation-Income Tax-Deductions For Alimony Payments Made Under Voluntary Agreement Of Separation, William R. Hewitt S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer and his wife voluntarily entered into a written agreement of separation. Pursuant to the agreement, taxpayer made periodic payments to his wife in discharge of his legal obligation of support. In his income tax return for 1943, taxpayer took the amount of tlie payments made for that year as a deduction from gross income under the authority of section 23(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The commissioner disallowed the deduction and determined a tax deficiency. Upon petition to the Tax Court for a redetermination of the deficiency, the commissioner was upheld. On appeal, held, affirmed. Only alimony payments …

The Church And Spiegel Cases: A Reinterpretation Of The "Possession Or Enjoyment" Clause Of I.R.C. 811 ©, William J. Schrenk Jr., Richard V. Wellman

Michigan Law Review

Although federal tax statutes have provided for over thirty years that "transfers intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after death" shall be included in the grantor's gross estate for estate tax purposes attempts to define precisely the scope of this language have not been outstanding for their success. In two recent decisions by the Supreme Court, Commissioner v. Church and Spiegel v. Commissioner, a further attempt at clarification has been made.

Contracts-Impossibility-Effect Of Crop Failure On Middleman's Contract, John C. Walker

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a produce dealer, offered to sell to plaintiff a specified quantity of Texas "New Crop U.S. 1 blackeye peas." When the original offer was made on June 13, 1947, plaintiff asked how defendant could be sure the peas would be ''No. 1.'' Defendant replied that because the locality of Dilley, Texas, had been unusually dry, the pea crop would be sold as dry ''blackeyes;" defendant also stated that he had already made a contract to purchase 7,000 bags of these "blackeyes" from a certain canning company. On June 16 the contract for 800 bags of peas was consummated, delivery …

Corporations-Separation Of The Voting Power From Legal And Beneficial Ownership Of Corporate Stock, Richard V. Ehrick S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of Michigan recently decided the case of Ecclestone v. Indialantic, Inc., the important facts being as follows: in June, 1942, defendant Emmons, owner of 451 shares of the common stock of Indialantic, Inc., a Florida corporation, transferred his entire holding to the Detroit Orthopedic Clinic in payment of an antecedent debt, reserving to himself, however, the sole right to vote the stock until the assets of the corporation were substantially liquidated. In March, 1946, with notice of this reservation of the right to vote, the plaintiff purchased all of these shares from the Clinic and thereby …

Mr. Justice William Johnson, Jurist In Limine: Dissent And The Judging Faculty, A. J. Levin

Michigan Law Review

There is little more in the legal literature on the subject of dissent than, on the one hand, the feeling that somehow it helps to present more than one side of a question and, on the other, that dissent is confusing and unsettling, and, therefore to be avoided. The part that dissent has played in preventing "history" from becoming the routine repetition of events, the function it fulfills in saving mankind from a mechanical adherence to an authoritarian concept of society, the psychodynamic need of the individual for self-expression-particularly evident in democratic societies-these and other related approaches have had not …