Law Commons^™

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE--COMPREHENSIVE CLAUSE EXCLUDING MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN--REQUIREMENT THAT EXCLUDED RISK BE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE

BAILMENTS--DELIVERY OF POSSESSION--PROPERTY DEPOSITED IN PUBLIC LOCKER

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INFRINGEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS--CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER FEDERAL STATUTE

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL--ACTION FOR STATUTORY PENALTY UNDER PRICE ..CONTROL ACT

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--UNITED NATIONS CHARTER--APPLICATION AS TREATY TO RENDER STATE LAW INVALID

CONTRACTS--CONSIDERATION--NEW AGREEMENT TO PAY LESS THAN ORIGINAL CONTRACT PRICE

CONTRACTS--DEFINITION OF TERMS--EFFECT OF PART PERFORMANCE IN MAKING TERMS CERTAIN

COPYRIGHT--ARTIST'S RIGHTS IN PRODUCTION AFTER SALE--"MORAL RIGHT" TO PREVENT DESTRUCTION

CRIMINAL LAW--SEARCHES AND SEIZURES--EFFECTS OF VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT ON JURISDICTION OF FEDERAL COURTS

JOINT …

Constitutional Law, Morris B. Abram

Mercer Law Review

This has been a year of highly important constitutional decisions affecting Georgia. The federal courts have dealt with the County Unit System and a municipal movie censorship statute. The Georgia Supreme Court has had occasion to pass upon the recent Re-registration Law, in Franklin v. Harper, and upon racial exclusion from juries in Crumb v. State. A score of other interesting and important matters have been decided.

Constitutional Law--Treaties--The United Nations Charter As The Supreme Law Of The Land, R. E. M.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Habeas Corpus--Federal Courts--Certiorari To United States Supreme Court As A State Remedy, S. F. B.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Municipal Corporations--Municipal Charters--Constitutional Law, J. S. W. Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Limitations On The Regulation Of Union And Employer Conduct, Charles O. Gregory

Michigan Law Review

This is a discussion of constitutional issues involved in federal and state regulations pertaining to labor. The importance of substantive due process has dwindled away, except in relation to picketing and Jim Crow unionism. The dominant issue has become the exercise of power, in a jurisdictional sense, to eliminate socially injurious practices. During the past half century the Supreme Court has taken almost all possible positions on these matters. Pursuing the ideal of a living document, the Court has retailored the Constitution to suit the political exigencies and the dominant interest pressures of any given time.

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection Clause-County Unit Vote, Charles Myneder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs brought an action against defendants, Chairman of the Georgia State Democratic Executive Committee and others, to restrain adherence to a state statute providing that the County Unit Vote shall determine the outcome of a primary election. Under the statute each county is alloted a number of unit votes. The candidate receiving the highest popular vote in the county is awarded the unit votes of that county. Plaintiffs, residents of the most populous county in the state, alleged that their votes had on an average but one-tenth the weight of those in the other counties in the state. From a …

Some Problems In Federal Question Jurisdiction, George B. Fraser, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Congress has given the federal district courts original and removal jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States, but the power of these courts to hear such cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court holds that the district courts have jurisdiction of a case if a federal question is raised in the complaint, but jurisdiction cannot be based on a federal question in the answer. This means that the district courts are closed to many cases that involve a substantial federal issue, while many cases …

Constitutional Law- Sixth Amendment-Impartial Jury-Government Employees On Jury When Government Is Party, G. B. Myers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, General Secretary of the Communist Party in the United States, was convicted of contempt of Congress after he failed to obey a subpoena of the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives. At the trial counsel for the petitioner during voir dire examination inquired as to the employment of each prospective juror, and challenged all Government employees for cause. Counsel argued that because of the "Loyalty Order" and other security investigations taking place in Washington, Government employees would be afraid to risk the possible consequences of an acquittal and were therefore subject to implied bias. The challenge …

Labor Law--Federal-State Relations--Validity Of Michigan's Labor Mediation Act, R. L. Storms S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff labor union called a strike against defendant auto corporation in May, 1948, without conforming to the prescribed state procedure. The purpose of the strike was to enforce demands for higher wages and the strike was conducted peacefully. To enjoin possible criminal prosecution the union instituted the instant suit in the state courts, contending that the Michigan labor mediation law, the much publicized "Bonine-Tripp Act," violated the due process and commerce clauses of the Federal Constitution. The Michigan Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court which had granted the injunction. On appeal, held, reversed. Congress has occupied …

Constitutional Law--Validity Of Search And Seizure Without Warrant As Incident To Lawful Arrest [United States V. Rabinowitz, U. S. Sup. Ct. 1950]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law-Validity Of Zoning Ordinance Prohibiting Established Permissive Use Of Property [City Of Omaha V. Glissman, Neb. 1949]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Commerce Power: An Instrument Of Federalism, Albert S. Abel

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Right Of Condemned Prisoner To A Hearing On Claim Of Supervening Insanity, Robert P. Griffin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was convicted of murder in a Georgia court and sentenced to die by electrocution. He made application to the governor to postpone execution on the ground that he had become insane after conviction. The governor, acting under authority of a state statute, appointed three physicians who conducted an examination of petitioner and found him sane. Thereupon, petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a state court contending that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment entitled him to a hearing on his insanity claim before a judicial or administrative tribunal at which he could …

Freund: On Understanding The Supreme Court., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of ON UNDERSTANDING THE SUPREME COURT. By Paul A. Freund.

Constitutional Law - Substantial Equality In Public Schools, A. Robert Doll

William and Mary Review of Virginia Law

No abstract provided.

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-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.

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 …

Remarks On The Theory Of Appellate Decision And The Rules Or Canons About How Statutes Are To Be Construed, Karl N. Llewellyn

Vanderbilt Law Review

If a statute is to make sense, it must be read in the light of some assumed purpose. A statute merely declaring a rule, with no purpose or objective, is nonsense. If a statute is to be merged into a going system of law, moreover, the court must do the merging, and must in so doing take account of the policy of the statute-or else substitute its own version of such policy. Creative re- shaping of the net result is thus inevitable. But the policy of a statute is of two wholly different kinds-each kind somewhat limited in effect by …

Federal Procedure-Scope Of Power Of Federal Supreme Court To Review State Court Decisions [Terminiello V. City Of Chicago, U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Procedure-Validity Of Statute Extending Diversity Jurisdiction To Citizens Of District Of Columbia [National Mut. Ins. Co. V. Tidewater Transfer Co., Inc., U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949].

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law-Congressional Committees-Quorum, G. B. Myers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, having testified falsely before a committee of the House of Representatives, was convicted of perjury. On trial, petitioner contested the competency of the committee, maintaining that a quorum must actually be present when the testimony is given. Evidence was offered tending to show that though there was a record quorum at the beginning of the meeting in question, this quorum was not maintained at the time petitioner testified. The trial court agreed that presence of a quorum was essential, but charged, in effect, that this requirement is satisfied by a showing of a record quorum at the outset together …

Constitutional Law–Due Process–Equal Protection Of The Laws–Anti-"Strike Suit'' Legislation Held Constitutional, Joseph Gricar S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought a derivative suit against the defendant, a Delaware corporation, in a United States district court in New Jersey. While the suit was in process, New Jersey passed a statute permitting a corporation in whose name a suit was brought to demand security for reasonable expenses including attorney fees. The plaintiff stockholder was to be liable for such expenses if the suit was unsuccessful. The statute was not to apply when the complainant's holding represented 5% of the par or stated value of the corporation's outstanding stock or had a value of $50,000. Since the act applied to suits …

The Tidewater Case And Limited Jurisdiction Of Federal "Constitutional" Courts, Joe H. Foy

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the recent case of National Mutual Insurance Ca. v. Tidewater Transfer Co.,' the Act of April 20, 1940, allowing citizens of the District of Columbia and of the territories to sue and be sued in the district courts on the basis of diverse citizenship, was held constitutional insofar as it applies to citizens of the District of Columbia. The practical effect of the decision, in allowing Congress to remove a basic inequality among citizens of the United States, is perhaps commendable. However, there are broad theoretical implications in this holding, emphasized by sharp debate among the justices, which could …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONFLICT OF LAWS--DOMICIL FOR PURPOSES OF INCOME TAXATION--ABSENCE OF FIXED INTENT TO REMAIN IN RESIDENCE OR TO RETURN TO DOMICIL OF ORIGIN

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INTERSTATE COMMERCE--VALIDITY OF STATE TAX UPON GROSS RECEIPTS OF SEGMENT OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--PEACEFUL PICKETING--POWER OF STATE COURT TO ENJOIN

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--POWER OF COURT TO PUNISH FOR DIRECT CONTEMPT--OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN COUNSEL

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EVIDENCE--ADMISSIBILITY OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS--HARGER DRUNKOMETER TEST TO DETERMINE INTOXICATION

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FEDERAL JURISDICTION--REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL QUESTION APPEAR ON FACE OF COMPLAINT--APPLICATION TO DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ACTION

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INCOME TAXES--DEDUCTION OF BUSINESS EXPENSES--DEDUCTIBILITY OF PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF PRICE REGULATIONS

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INSURANCE--"COMPREHENSIVE" COVERAGE …

Book Reviews, Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr. (Reviewer), W. Raymond Denny (Reviewer), Robert G. Storey (Reviewer), W. W. Berry (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

BOOK REVIEWS

The Power in the People

By Felix Morley

New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1949. Pp. xii, 293. $3.50

reviewer: Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr.

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Men and Measures in the Law

By Arthur T. Vanderbilt

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949. Pp. xxii, 156. $3.00

reviewer: W. Raymond Denny

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The Case of General Yamashita

By A. Frank Reel

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. Pp. v, 324. $4.00

reviewer: Robert G. Storey

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Tax Planning for Estates

By William j. Bowe

Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1949. Pp. 93. $2.00

reviewer: W. W. Berry

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Right To Counsel In State Courts, Charles Myneder

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was tried before a jury on a charge of larceny, convicted and sentenced to a penitentiary term. He did not request counsel, and the court made no offer to appoint counsel. In the course of the trial, petitioner was prejudiced by his failure to object to certain errors in evidence. In a petition for habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he alleged denial of a constitutional right of counsel. On answer, it was averred that in petitioner's conduct of his own defense he displayed a "familiarity with legal process in the criminal courts." A transcript of petitioner's …

The Constitution And Socio-Economic Change, By Henry Rottschaefer, Ben W. Palmer

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Natural Rights'--A Constitutional Doctrine In Indiana, Monrad Paulsen

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.