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Amending State Constitutions, J B. Whitfield

Michigan Law Review

In the dual system of Federal and State government as it exists in the United States of America, the constitution is the solemnly formulated chart by which the people of a State in their sovereign capacity prescribe the limits within which the natural rights of persons may be regulated by law for the public welfare, and define and limit the authority, powers and duties of those who are charged with the administration of the government of the State. The existing constitution of a State is the last and paramount word of authority and control from the sovereign people; and its …

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

Bankruptcy - Jurisdiction of the District Court Exclusive Within Its District - A trustee in bankruptcy appointed, by the District 'Court for the District of Illinois filed a petition in the District Court for the Western District of Michigan for a summary order to require the respondent to surrender to the trustee certain moneys claimed as the property of the bankrupt. The respondent was a resident of the Eastern District of Michigan, and denied the jurisdiction of the court to issue an order to be enforced in another district. Held that the jurisdiction of the District Courts, in all bankruptcy …

Recall Of Judges And Of Judical Decisions, Howard Weist

Michigan Law Review

We live in an age when courts are attacked, judges condemned for obeying the constitution, and representative government is ridiculed and sought to be destroyed. The wish of socialists has become the political ethics of near-socialists and many other citizens. It has become popular to rail against the authority 'of courts; to demand that courts shall no longer be conservators of constitutional guarantees; that judges shall serve under the fear of recall; and representative government shall give way to an absolute democracy. Has political wisdom waited for the year 1912, only to offer us socialism and the worn out and …

Note And Comment, George S. Burgess, Samuel H. Morris, William T. Hoffman

Michigan Law Review

Ten-Hour Labor Laws - The United States Supreme Court will soon have another opportunity to pass on the questions involved in that thorn. in the flesh of social reformers-the Bakeshop Case-if, as is probable, a case recently decided by the Mississippi Supreme Court is carried higher. Last year Mississippi enacted a sweeping ten-hour law making it unlawful for persons, firms or corporations engaged, in manufacturing or repairing "to work their employees more than ten hours per day except in cases of emergency or -where public necessity requires." Defendant, engaged in the manufacture of lumber and in the repair of its …

Leading And Illustrative Cases: With Notes On The Law Of Judgments, Attachments, Garnishments And Executions, John R. Rood

Books

The prior edition being exhausted, this one became necessary. The scope of the book has been considerably changed by developing the law of jurisdiction and the estoppel by judgments. Room for this has been obtained by dropping some of the less important cases on other topics. In several instances a case has been displaced by another on the same point, because thought to cover the matter better.

Practice Court Rules, University Of Michigan Law School

Miscellaneous Law School History & Publications

The purpose of the Practice Court is to afford to students of this department practical instruction in pleading both at law and in equity, under the common law system and the "reformed" or "code" procedure, and actual experience in the commencement and trial of cases through all their stages.

This booklet outlines the Practice Court Rules for 1913.

The Department Of Law And The State, Henry M. Bates

Articles

We are living in a period of extraordinary unrest. The spirit of criticism is prevalent, and no belief or creed, no institution is exempt from this questioning spirit of the time. Among social institutions perhaps none is being more relentlessly subjected to attack than the law as administered in our courts and practiced by our lawyers. It is true that much of the criticism leveled at legal institutions is unreasonable and is based upon ignorance or prejudice, but there remains a residuum of complaint which is well founded. In the very nature of things law and its administration always have …

Popular Discontent With Law And Some Proposed Remedies, Henry M. Bates

Articles

That the practice of law and the administration of justice are under the fire of popular distrust and criticism of extraordinary intensity requires no proof. A fact of which there is evidence in numerous contemporary books, in almost every magazine, in the daily papers, in the remarks, or the questions, or it may be in the sneers of one's friends, requires no further demonstration. The only questions of importance to be answered are to what extent this criticism and this distrust are well founded, what are the remedies for such defects as exist, and what are we lawyers going to …

Directing A Verdict For The Party Having The Burden Of Proof, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The practice of moving for a directed verdict is the modern substitute for the old demurrer to the evidence. The reason for its development at the expense of the older procedure is not far to seek. The demurrer to the evidence was in the first place cumbersome and difficult to draw, for it was required to contain a full written recital of all the facts shown in evidence by the opposite party, together with all reasonable inferences favorable to the party who introduced the evidence.1 The preparation of such a demurrer usually required the expenditure of much time and labor.

The New Federal Equity Rules, Robert E. Bunker

Articles

On November 4, 1912 the Supreme Court of the United States, by formal order, adopted and established a code of rules for the courts of equity of the United States, which should take the place of all rules theretofore prescribed by the Supreme Court and then in force. Rule 81 provides: "These rules shall be in force on and after February 1, 1913, and shall govern all proceedings in cases then pending or thereafter brought, save that where in any then pending cause an order has been made or act done which cannot be changed without doing substantial injustice, the …

Constitutionality Of Teachers' Pensions Legislation, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

To arrive at a safe conclusion as to the validity of legislation. providing for teachers' pensions requires some consideration of all pension legislation. A pension is defined by BOUVIER as "A stated and certain allowance granted by the government to an individual, or those who represent him, for valuable services performed by him for the country;"1 "a periodical allowance of money granted by the government for services rendered;"2 "a stated payment to a person in consideration of the past services of himself or of some kinsman or ancestor;"3 "an annuity from the government for services rendered in the past;"4 "a …

The Teaching Of Practice And Procedure In Law Schools, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

Procedure is merely the means of co-ordinating effort, of harmonizing differences, of offering every one equality of opportunity in offense and defense before the law. Without it there would be confusion, favoritism, and injustice. If the subject were viewed in this fundamental way, and were studied conscientiously as an incident and aid to the development and determination of the merits of controversies, the criticisms now so fiercely directed against it would largely disappear. In its use it is indispensable, in its abuse only does it cause trouble. A professional conscience to curb that abuse, and professional learning and skill to …

Compulsory Service In Office, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

It was "the policy of prudent antiquity," as Lord COKE has said, "that officers did ever give a grace to the place, and not the place only grace (to) the officer."1 A modern expression of a similar thought is found in the maxim, "the office should seek the man and not the man, the office." Have we Americans reversed the process? Have we lost sight of these ideals? Certain it is that some popular notions which are not consistent with the spirit of these maxims have grown up in this country. Offices have come to be regarded too much as …

Admiralty Jurisdiction And State Waters, John B. Waite

Articles

The case of Ex parte Boyer1 closes with the statement that it "does not raise the question whether the admiralty jurisdiction of the district court extends to waters wholly within the body of a state, and from which vessels cannot so pass as to carry on commerce between places in such state and places in another state or in a foreign country; and no opinion is intended to be intimated as to jurisdiction in such a case." Nor does any other case appear directly to intimate such an opinion, unless it be that of Stapp v. Clyde2 wherein a state …

A Historic Judicial Controversy And Some Reflections Suggested By It., S. S. Gregory

Michigan Law Review

Probably most well informed persons of the present generation associate the notion, once maintained, that a state might secede or nullify an act of Congress, with the South and its earlier statesmen. And it is time that the resolutions drawn substantially by Jefferson and adopted by the Legislature of Kentucky in 1798, and similar resolutions drafted by Madison and adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia in the same year, together with some similar and more explicit declarations by the Legislature of the former state in 1799, seem to furnish some warrant for this impression. Yet it seems to be …

Bank Deposits And Collections, Ralph J. Baker

Michigan Law Review

In the first portion of this paper-it has been shown that the character of ja deposit is determined by the contract made between the bank and its customer. It now remains to point out the various conditions of fact and combinations of circumstances which are useful in ascertaining the true character of the contract when the subject of the deposit is commercial paper, as drafts, notes, or cheques.

Note And Comment, Ralph W. Aigler, Wilson W. Mills, Sidney E. Doyle, Joseph J. Kennedy

Michigan Law Review

The Renvoi Theory Repudiated as a Test for Determining the Negotiability of a Note - A recent case decided by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma (Bell v. Riggs, 127 Pac. 427) involving, among others, a question as to what law governs the negotiability of a note made in one State and payable in another, though of little intrinsic value so far as that point is concerned, is of some interest because the attorney for the holder of the note made a curious attempt to adapt the renvoi theory to his case. The term renvoi is used as a convenient descriptive …

Book Reviews, Joseph H. Drake

Michigan Law Review

These two volumes, published simultaneously in the fall of 1912, are the first fruits of the labor of the committee which 'has been working since 19o9 to make available to American lawyers the 'works of the best legal historians of Continental Europe. The Series is to contain' a volume on the "History of Germanic Private Law," one on "Italian Law," one on "French Public Law," one on each of the subjects,-"Continental -Criminal Procedure," "Continental Criminal Law," "Continental Civil Procedure," and "Continental- Commercial Law," with a concluding volume on the "Evolution of Law in, Europe," and an extra volume (to be …

Book Reviews, Evans Holbrook, John B. Waite, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

Cases on Persons and Domestic Relations, Selected from Decisions of English and American Courts. By Albert M. Kales. American Casebook Series. James Brown Scott, General Editor. St. Paul, West Publishing Co., 1911, pp. xxix, 654.

Book Reviews, Edwin C. Goddard, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

This work, which is practically an annotated and well arranged selection of extracts from leading cases and from the rules laid down and followed by various railroad commissions and public service companies, puts in extremely convenient form a great deal of very valuable material. There has been such a diversity in the rules laid down by the courts as to the methods of valuation and the elements that should enter into a determination of the value of a public service plant, that it requires a large amount of investigation to bring together and analyze the various important cases. One can …

What Is The Law? Ii, Joseph W. Bingham

Michigan Law Review

I shall now discuss briefly the nature of the causal effects of precedents upon judicial decisions and the justifications for those effects. One frequently hears laymen scoffing at the respect which courts pay to precedents and sometimes displaying a lamentable ignorance both of the nature of the influence which precedents have on the law and of the reasons for the existence of that influence. The influence of past example on human action pervades all human conduct and endeavor at all times. That influence is fundamental. It occurs through instinctive as well as intelligent processes and sometimes runs to unreasonable extents. …

Bank Deposits And Collections, Ralph J. Baker

Michigan Law Review

Insolvency, no less than natural death, is a tragedy which comes into the midst of business transactions, fixing the claims of parties, and calling for the application of legal principles to determine the nature and extent of their rights. Perhaps no business relationship is more frequent than that of banker and customer or depositor. And while insolvency of banking institutions is happily less frequent than in the ordinary business, it is not so uncommon that questions therein are not often in the courts for adjudication. It would, therefore, be a natural deduction that the legal principles applicable should be comparatively …

The Liability Of A Principal For The Penal Or Criminal Acts Of His Agent, Floyd R. Meechem

Michigan Law Review

What Here Involved. In a previous article the question of the liability of a principal or master for the wilful or malicious acts of his servant or agent, was considered. It is proposed here to consider the liability of a principal or master for the penal or criminal acts of his agent or servant. This will involve two aspects: (a) The civil liability of the principal or master, and (b) His penal or criminal liability.

Note And Comment, Joseph J. Kennedy, Samuel H. Morris, Burke W. Shartel, George S. Burgess

Michigan Law Review

Attendance at the Law School; An Extreme Case in the Application of the Safety Appliance Act; Advisory Opinions; Refusal of Specific Performance Where Subsequent Unexpected Events Render it Inequitable; Is Vasectomy a Cruel Punishment

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Adverse Possession--Railroads--Effect of Change of Line; Bankruptcy--Extension of Time for Filing Petition for Discharge; Bankruptcy--Voidable Preferences--Proceeds of Fire Insurance Policy; Bills and Notes--Liability of Irregular Indorser--Questions for Jury; Bills and Notes--Negotiability--Law Governing; Boundaries--Street--Land Made by Change in Street; Commerce--Interstate Commerce on Route Between Two Points in Same State; Criminal Law--Dead Bodies--Proper Burial; Constitutional Law--Involuntary Servitude; Deeds--New Grantee in Habendum--Construction; Deeds--Parol Reservation of Growing Crops by Vendor of Land; Evidence--Admissibility of Statements of a prior Holder of Negotiable Paper Against Transferee; Evidence--Right to Introduce Secondary Evidence of Contents of a Document When the Original is Beyond Jurisdiction of the Court; Guardian …

Book Reviews, Henry M. Bates, Henry M. Bates

Michigan Law Review

Hall: Constitutional Law; McClain: Constitutional Law in the United States; McCarthy: The Wisconsin Idea; Moore: Four Phases of American Development--Federalism, Democracy, Imperialism and Expansion;

What Is The Law?, Joseph W. Bingham

Michigan Law Review

It is intended that this title shall demand an analysis of the field of study in which the lawyer or jurist works and a determination of its essential and contributing elements. The purpose of the article is to sketch briefly a partial answer which will be instructive and helpful to the student who faces the problem as I faced it some ten years ago. I do not expect that anything new will be found in these ideas. I imagine that all of them must have been expressed many times before. Some of them are common­place. None is esoteric. Probably the …

Note And Comment, Ralph W. Aigler, Robert L. Mayall

Michigan Law Review

The Law School; Possession Under Mistake, as Adverse Possession; Limitation of Carrier's Common-Law Liability; The Force and Effect of State Insolvency Laws Under the Bankruptcy Act of 1898;

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Animals--Abuse--Malice Toward the Owner; Assault and Battery--Apparent Ability; Bankruptcy--marshaling Assets of Partnership and of Constituent Firm; Banks and Banking--Checks--Fictitious Payee; Bills and Notes--Bona Fide Holder; Carrier--duty to Protect Passengers; Constitutional law--Division of Powers--Infringement on Executive; Constitutional law--Eminent Domain--Supersedure of Ordinance of 1787; Constitutional law--Special Legislation--Automobiles; Corporations--Issue of Stock--Corporation of Two States; Courts--Jurisdiction--Damage to Real Property Without the State--Negligence; Damage--Personal Injuries Contributing to Disease; Deeds--Assignment o fright of Entry Between Heirs; Deeds--Restrictive Covenant--"building" Defined; Equity--Infringement of Trade Marks--"Clean Hands"--Husband and Wife--Estate by Entirety--Conveyance of Husband's Interest; Judgment--Effect of the Transcript of a Justice's Judgement Filed in the District Court; Judgment--Estoppel--Homestead; Marriage--What …

Judicial Criticism Of Legislation By Courts, Charles G. Haines

Michigan Law Review

In the application of the doctrine of judicial review of legislative acts, the federal courts of the United States have not infrequently been criticised for usurping part of the functions of the legislature. The criticisms have increased to such an extent as to raise an issue of national significance. Recently, charges against the judiciary for the usurpation of legislative functions have been made rather frequently by the justices of our federal Supreme Comt. The late Associate Justice Harlan, dissenting in part from the reasoning of the majority of the court in the Standard Oil case, brought such a criticism against …