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Full-Text Articles in Law
Taking The English Right To Counsel Seriously In American Civil Gideon Litigation, Scott F. Llewellyn, Brian Hawkins
Taking The English Right To Counsel Seriously In American Civil Gideon Litigation, Scott F. Llewellyn, Brian Hawkins
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Courts have rejected a right to counsel for indigent civil litigants under the U.S. Constitution. But in some American states, that right arguably already exists as a matter of common law, albeit derived from centuries-old English common and statutory law. This Article analyzes the viability of arguments for incorporating the old English right to counsel in the twenty-seven American states that continue to recognize old English common and statutory law as a source of binding authority. Such "originalist" arguments may be appealing to judges who are more willing to revive a historically based right than establish a new right based …
Preclusion And Procedural Due Process In Rule 23(B)(2) Class Actions, Mark C. Weber
Preclusion And Procedural Due Process In Rule 23(B)(2) Class Actions, Mark C. Weber
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article examines whether Rule 23(b)(2) violates the procedural due process rights of absent class members by binding them to the judgment in a class case without notice of the suit. It concludes that the Rule almost certainly violates due process and proposes a reform that would permit nonbinding class actions similar to the old "spurious" class suits.
Equity, Due Process And The Seventh Amendment: A Commentary On The Zenith Case, Patrick Devlin
Equity, Due Process And The Seventh Amendment: A Commentary On The Zenith Case, Patrick Devlin
Michigan Law Review
The seventh amendment to the United States Constitution requires that "[i]n Suits at common law . . . the right of trial by jury shall be preserved." What exactly is a suit at common law? When the amendment was enacted in 1791, there was no law that was common to all the states. In 1812 Supreme Court Justice Story, in a Circuit Court ruling, held that the common law alluded to was the common law of England, "the grand reservoir of all of our jurisprudence." This means that when today an American judge has to decide whether in any set …
The Emerging Right Of Legal Assistance For The Indigent In Civil Proceedings, Jeffrey M. Mandell
The Emerging Right Of Legal Assistance For The Indigent In Civil Proceedings, Jeffrey M. Mandell
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
After the Supreme Court declared in Gideon v. Wainwright that indigents have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in criminal cases, attention turned to the possibility that a similar right could be found for civil litigants. Although there is no explicit constitutional guarantee of counsel for the civil litigant, the due process clause, which protects property rights as well as personal freedoms, arguably mandates that there be a right to professional representation of all citizens in all courts. The inability of most laymen to effectively present even a rudimentary case on their own behalf indicates that without counsel a meaningful …
Parties - Whether Action For Money Judgment By Holder Of Unsecured Bonds Constitutes "Class" Suit Binding On All Owners Of That Series Who Did Not Appear, William Houston
Parties - Whether Action For Money Judgment By Holder Of Unsecured Bonds Constitutes "Class" Suit Binding On All Owners Of That Series Who Did Not Appear, William Houston
Michigan Law Review
The Chicago Board of Education had issued a certain series of refunding bonds, and later defaulted on interest coupons, numbered 16, attached to the bonds. Prior to the present suit a suit in equity had been instituted against the board by some of the owners of these bonds, on behalf of themselves and all other owners of bonds in this series, in which they prayed for judgment for the amount of interest due to each owner, together with costs, and attorney's fees. Defendant made a motion, to dismiss that suit on the ground that such action could not be maintained …