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Selling Sex: Analyzing The Improper Use Defense To Contract Enforcement Through The Lens Of Carroll V. Beardon, 59 Clev. St. L. Rev. 693 (2011), Julie M. Spanbauer May 2015

Selling Sex: Analyzing The Improper Use Defense To Contract Enforcement Through The Lens Of Carroll V. Beardon, 59 Clev. St. L. Rev. 693 (2011), Julie M. Spanbauer

Julie M. Spanbauer

The 1963 decision of the Supreme Court of Montana in Carroll v. Beardon occupies less than three full pages in the Pacific Reporter and involves a simple real estate transaction in which a "madam" sold a house used for prostitution to another "madam." The opinion is the last in a long line of cases which speak specifically to the issue of enforcement of facially legitimate contracts that in some manner involve or are related to prostitution. It is commonly cited in treatises and hornbooks as representative of the movement by courts toward enforcement of such contracts under the law of …


Selling Sex: Analyzing The Improper Use Defense To Contract Enforcement Through The Lens Of Carroll V. Beardon, Julie M. Spanbauer May 2015

Selling Sex: Analyzing The Improper Use Defense To Contract Enforcement Through The Lens Of Carroll V. Beardon, Julie M. Spanbauer

Julie M. Spanbauer

The Supreme Court of Montana's, three-page opinion in Carroll v. Beardon is a treasure for those who teach first-year law students. Its deceptive simplicity is a lesson in close reading. It provides scholars and teachers endless opportunities to explore the cultural context within which courts operate and construct case narratives. Its humorous tone additionally belies a serious failure by the court to provide a fair and impartial resolution of the parties' dispute and to create useful precedent for future courts and litigants. The decision and its implications remain relevant and merit consideration by scholars exploring the intersection of contract and …