Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Law
Reducing The Size Of Juries, David M. Powell
Reducing The Size Of Juries, David M. Powell
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In recent years, court dockets have become increasingly congested. The resulting delays place a great burden both on civil litigants and on the criminally accused who often await trial for more than two years. In responding to this problem, jurists have focused on trial by jury and have typically suggested modifications of two types: either limiting access to juries by litigants, or increasing the efficiency of the juries themselves. Some critics have even contended that the anachronistic procedure of jury trials is such an undue burden on the judicial system that it should be abolished in the interest of efficient …
Mental Illness And Criminal Commitment In Michigan, Grant H. Morris
Mental Illness And Criminal Commitment In Michigan, Grant H. Morris
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article concentrates on one vital issue: to what extent are differences in treatment justified because of a mentally ill person's "criminal" involvement. While the article is primarily concerned with Michigan institutions and Michigan statutes, the discussion and the solutions proposed are in many respects applicable to all states of the Union. Not only must all states reevaluate their policies toward criminal commitment of the mentally ill in light of ever-changing medical and penal theory, but they must also consider the developing constitutional concepts in this area. These constitutional issues are raised here only to the extent necessary to alert …
New York Specious Cash Sales Act, Craig D. Holleman
New York Specious Cash Sales Act, Craig D. Holleman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The New York Legislature recently moved to protect consumers in that state from unscrupulous retailers of consumer goods and financers of consumer loans by enacting the Specious Cash Sales Act. The new law is the third in a series of measures designed to remedy certain perceived inequities to which the holder in due course doctrine gives rise in the consumer goods field. Earlier this year, the Legislature undercut complicated mechanisms whereby a finance company could procure from a retailer contracts and obligations containing a waiver-of-defenses provision executed by the buyer-consumer. This law in turn complemented a still earlier statute which …
The Illinois Criminal Code Of 1961 And Code Of Criminal Procedure Of 1963, Charles H. Bowman
The Illinois Criminal Code Of 1961 And Code Of Criminal Procedure Of 1963, Charles H. Bowman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Illinois had no "Criminal Code" in the sense of a codified, systematic body of law functioning as an instrument of social control in a modern community. Many provisions had remained unchanged since Judge Lockwood, in submitting a revised draft of the Laws of Illinois to the Illinois General Assembly of 1827, described the small chapter on criminal jurisprudence as deriving primarily from a volume of the Laws of New York of 1802 which he brought with him to Illinois, and a volume of the Laws of Georgia which he located in the office of the Secretary of State. In fact, …
Reflection On The Law Reforming Process, Sanford J. Fox
Reflection On The Law Reforming Process, Sanford J. Fox
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This paper is based on three experiences as draftsman or reporter in penal law legislation projects. The first such experience was as sole draftsman for a New Hampshire criminal code, an undertaking commenced in November 1967, which produced a proposed code in April 1969. I am continuing this activity at the present time as assistant to a committee of the New Hampshire legislature that is currently holding hearings on the proposal in preparation for reporting out a criminal code bill this spring. Since work on the New Hampshire code represents the most extensive experience, it is the basis for most …
Criminal Law Revision In California, Arthur H. Sherry
Criminal Law Revision In California, Arthur H. Sherry
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The high water mark of criminal law reform in California was reached in 1872 when the legislature, after at least a decade of indifference to requests for action, adopted the Penal Code, the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure.' This emergence into the company of contemporary pioneers of codification, Louisiana and New York, was a source of complacent pride, but it proved to be completely ineffective as a stimulus for continuing revision or even further codification. Renewed interest in improving and modernizing the law was not apparent until well into the twentieth century. When this interest did appear, …
Criminal Law Revision In Delaware And Hawaii, Frank B. Baldwin Iii
Criminal Law Revision In Delaware And Hawaii, Frank B. Baldwin Iii
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Criminal law revision has not been limited to the largest states, which have greater resources and legal facilities, but has also occurred in Delaware and Hawaii, states which have relatively small numbers of legal practitioners, no local school of law, and relatively small populations. In both states, criminal law revision efforts were quite similar, in that an early decision was made to rely heavily on published revised codes of other jurisdictions and on the Model Penal Code, rather than undertaking an extensive initial study and preparing a unique code. The following article will compare the criminal law revision projects in …