Law Commons^™

Nietzsche, Thomas A. Cowan

Vanderbilt Law Review

I find that the attempt to assess Nietzsche's value to contemporary jurisprudence is fraught with extreme difficulty. Not only was Nietzsche perhaps the most controversial figure in the history of ideas:' this might have happened to one whose message was simple.But in Nietzsche's case the ideas themselves are highly controversial, paradoxical and even "immoral." Like every great thinker Nietzsche was more provocative to his enemies than to his friends. His enemies took their revenge by burying him under a deluge of refutation and abuse. Apparently Nietzsche was guilty of what might be called the crime of "universal treason." He gave …

Studies In Legal Philosophy, William R. Andersen

Vanderbilt Law Review

The hazards of planning a symposium in the field of jurisprudence derive largely from the fact that the field is itself ill-defined; the legitimate "province of jurisprudence," to use Austin's phrase, has never been fully agreed upon. A historical approach seemed reasonably satisfactory, however, and what follows is a series of studies of some of the great figures in the history of legal philosophy. Happily, no one of our contributors was satisfied with simple exegesis or even with appraising matters of purely historical importance. Each study is an attempt to deal critically with a facet of its subject which is …

The Function Of Legal Philosophy, Roscoe Pound

Vanderbilt Law Review

For twenty-four hundred years--from the Greek thinkers of the fifth century B.C. who asked whether right was right by nature or only by enactment and convention, to the social philosophers of today, who seek the ends, the ethical basis and the enduring principles of social control--the philosophy of law has taken a leading role in all study of human institutions. The perennial struggle of American administrative law with nineteenth-century constitutional formulations of Aristotle's threefold classification of governmental power, the stone wall of natural rights against which attempts to put an end to private war in industrial disputes for a long …

Plato And The Doctrine Of Natural Law, Hans Kelsen

Vanderbilt Law Review

As a result of the shocks which the existing social orders have experienced through two World Wars and the Russian Revolution, an intellectual movement is becoming increasingly evident in the Western World--one which, in sharp reaction to a scientific-positivistic and relativistic philosophy, aims at a return to metaphysics and theology, and--closely connected with this--to a renewal of the doctrine of natural law. The proponents of this trend believe they find valuable support in the philosophy of Plato, whose authority until recently was virtually uncontested--and in this they are justified. Plato's doctrine of Ideas is the boldest of metaphysical speculations, for …

Four Eighteenth Century Theories Of Justice, Clarence Morris

Vanderbilt Law Review

This paper is about an important facet of the justice theories of four eighteenth century European philosophers. The earliest of the four, Hume, thought justice and law were purely human inventions. The next, Montesquieu, said that justice preceded laws because possible relations of justice existed before human ordinances were enacted, and that man, who lives peacefully in the state of nature, invents unjust exploitation after he enters a state of society. Then followed Rousseau who pronounced that contemporary governments had enchained freedom and subverted justice, and whenever a just government did come to power its excellence was doomed to fade. …

Rudolf Von Jhering, Iredell Jenkins

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is often the fate of the giants of thought to have their names live on while their doctrines are neglected, and even for their reputations to wax as their influence wanes. Indeed, this happens at some periods to the work that all such men leave behind them; it is esteemed but not appreciated, acknowledged but not cultivated. The precise reasons for this fall into oblivion vary with every individual case, but there is one factor that is common and constant: the prominence within the work of these men of ideas that push inquiry beyond the comfortable limits that are …

Austin's Theory Of The Separation Of Law And Morals, Samuel E. Stumpf

Vanderbilt Law Review

The lingering influence of the natural law theory in England brought forth a powerful new philosophy of law. The chief features of this new theory were developed by Hobbes and Bentham and found their most compelling formulation in the works of the "analytical"jurist, John Austin. What concerned these men most was how to deal with the existence of morally bad laws. Sir William Blackstone had said in his Commentaries that the laws of God are superior in obligation to all other laws; that no human laws should be allowed to contradict them; that human laws are of no validity if …

The Pure Theory Of Law, Reginald Parker

Vanderbilt Law Review

There is hardly a theory of law about which there exists so much confusion in the minds of so many scholars as about Hans Kelsen's theory, which is commonly known under the name "Pure Theory of Law." If, for instance, a scholar of the stature and standing of Professor Northrop maintains that Kelsen locates the basic norm of the Austrian Constitution of 1920 "in the earliest Constitution of 1867,"'then it seems that there is still room, indeed an intellectual demand, for a brief and simple exposition of Kelsen's theory. We shall attempt it in the following article not without avoiding …

Justice, Language And Communication, Julius Stone, G. Tarello

Vanderbilt Law Review

The present paper has been concerned to stress that jurisprudence, insofar as it is not limited to analytical jurisprudence, dare not overlook the distinctive qualities either of common language, or of the special language of lawyers. For what its authors deny above all is the utility of so defining a field--like the justice-field--which is a segment of common language, in terms of a special language or logical structuring similar to those used by lawyers. Nor do we think that the presence of considerations of justice (and therefore of common language statements) in the process of the operation of law, either …

Justice Holmes And The Common-Law Tradition, John C.H. Wu

Vanderbilt Law Review

Briefly, case law may be described as "a method of developing law which preserves the continuity of legal doctrine, and is, at the same time, eminently adaptable to the needs of a changing society." On the whole, it is not far from the truth to say that "it hits the golden mean between too much flexibility and too much rigidity .... -" But what makes it so matter-of-fact and racy of the soil is to be found in Holdsworth's further observation that "this method keeps the law in touch with life, and prevents much unprofitable speculation upon academic problems which …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Conflict of Laws--Implied Warranties Governed by Law of the State Most Closely Associated with the Contract

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Constitutional Law--Due Process--Absolute Statutory Prohibition of the Use of Contraceptives Not a Violation of Rights Secured by Fourteenth Amendment

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Constitutional Law--Freedoms of Speech and Press--Ordinance Prohibiting Distribution of Handbills Without Identification of Author Violates Fourteenth Amendment

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Contracts--Termination--Employment for Indefinite Duration not Terminable for Refusal of Employee to Commit Perjury

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Evidence--Federal Courts--Evidence Obtained by State Officers Through Unreasonable Search and Seizure Inadmissible in Federal Courts

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Judgments--Limitation of Overruling Decision to Parties Before the Court and to Causes of …

E. Jordan: Critic And Metaphysician Of Modern Civilization, Andrew J. Reck

Vanderbilt Law Review

Elijah Jordan (1875-1953) was one of the most original social and, legal philosophers in the history of American thought. Jordan spent his life in the midwest, near the rural setting from which he came, serving as professor of philosophy at Butler College in Indianapolis from his appointment in 1913 until his retirement 31 years later. Jordan wrote a half dozen volumes that comprise for American philosophy a unique contribution the full significance of which has still to be measured: The Life of Mind,' Forms of Individuality, Theory of Legislation, The Aesthetic Object, The Good Life Essays in Criticism, and on …

American Legal Realism In Retrospect, Hessel E. Yntema

Vanderbilt Law Review

The ultimate question posed by the realistic movement in American jurisprudence is whether the practical conception of legal study and instruction as projected by legal realism, is really practical. There are two considerations among others which suggest that it is not, whether for training or research. The first is that the volume of existent law of any modern industrialized state is too vast and complicated for the human mind to master in all its technical detail and specialization during the brief time allotted. The second is that, even if this were possible, since the legal materials of the time and …

Procedure And Evidence -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Edmund M. Morgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

This survey is in large part merely what Professor Chafee once characterized as a horizontal digest. In the previous survey a request was made that interested members of the Bar advise the "Editor-in-Chief of this Review whether the character of the annual survey of this subject should be changed. The request is repeated herewith.

Book Reviews, John F. Bowen, Edwin G. Nourse

Vanderbilt Law Review

Book Reviews

Depreciation and Taxes Symposium conducted by the Tax Institute,November 20-21, 1958 Princeton: Tax Institute, Incorporated, 1959.Pp. viii, 248. $6.00

reviewer: John F. Bowen

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Planning for Freedom; The Public Law of American Capitalism By Eugene V. Rostow New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959.Pp. x, 437. $6.00

reviewer: Edwin G. Nourse

Overlapping Coverages In Liability Contracts; Subrogation, John A. Appleman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Within the last twenty-five years, approximately, a considerable transition has taken place in approaching the coverages of automobile policies. At one time, liability insurers used to require their policy-holders to pledge that they did not carry other insurance of like character. It is difficult to understand why this situation ever arose. It may have been an outgrowth of fire coverages, or health and accident provisions, in which a moral hazard actually might exist where excessive protection is carried. Thereafter, instead of making this a matter of warranty, policies frequently provided that in the event there should be any other valid …

Business Associations -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Kenneth L. Roberts

Vanderbilt Law Review

Two opinions of the court of appeals during the survey period-one unpublished-discussed the fiduciary duties owing by officers and directors to their corporations. In Harriman Welding Supply Co. v. Lake City Lightweight Aggregate Corp.,' Presiding Judge McAmis of the eastern section found occasion to state the principles applicable when the fairness of contracts between two corporations having interlocking directorates is questioned.

Conflict Of Laws -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Elvin E. Overton

Vanderbilt Law Review

A well known text book on Conflict of Laws concludes its opening section with the sentence, "In brief, a Conflict of Laws problem arises whenever a foreign element gets into a legal question." If this definition is accepted, there were about twenty cases of Conflicts of Laws decided during the survey period, in the sense that foreign elements were shown to exist in the facts which appeared. In another sense, there were other cases in which it must be suspected that substantial "other state" contacts existed, but in which no express mention appears of such facts. On the other hand, …

Criminal Law And Procedure -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Robert E. Kendrick

Vanderbilt Law Review

Offenses against the person-(a) Homicide: Parties.-Because of an asserted lack of intention to commit homicide, two persons asked the state supreme court in Eager v. State to reverse their convictions of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly, while intoxicated, killing a pedestrian with an automobile driven by one and directed and aided by the other. In affirming, it would have been enough to dispose of this contention to invoke the statutory provision that "manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another without malice, either express or implied, which may be... involuntary, but in the commission of some unlawful act,"' to call attention to …

Decedents' Estates, Trusts And Future Interests -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Herman L. Trautman

Vanderbilt Law Review

The subject matter will be discussed under the three principal headings: Decedents' Estates, Trusts, and Future Interests. Since the legislature has not been in session during the year' covered by this survey, the developments in the subject areas of the law consist entirely of appellate court litigation. Most of the cases discussed in the section on Decedents' Estates involve problems of probate administration and procedure; there was only one case involving the substantive right of intestate succession and one case concerning the federal estate tax. The section on Trusts is practically non-existent this year, although one case is mentioned concerning …

Equity -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, T. A. Smedley

Vanderbilt Law Review

While no decisions involving momentous developments in equity jurisprudence have been handed down during the past year, the Tennessee Chancery Courts have on several occasions demonstrated a tendency to free themselves from artificial restrictions on the operation of traditional equitable remedies. Illustrating this inclination are cases which resulted in decrees removing a cloud on title, granting partial specific performance of a land sale contract, awarding punitive damages, and granting injunctive relief against a county's perpetration of a nuisance. Another series of cases contributed some clarifying rulings regarding the scope of the right to jury trial in chancery proceedings.

Restitution -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, William Wicker

Vanderbilt Law Review

Only two Tennessee restitution decisions were reported in the Southwestern Reporter during the year covered by this survey. One involves a question as to the liability of an intestate's estate for burial expenses which were not ordered by either the administrator or the sole heir and next of kin. The other involves a question concerning indemnity or contribution as between unintentional tort-feasors who were guilty of different degrees of negligence.

Loading And Unloading, Norman E. Risjord

Vanderbilt Law Review

Since the automobile liability policies cover the use, loading and unloading of automobiles anywhere, the general liability policies (comprehensive or manufacturers and contractors or owners, landlords and tenants) correspondingly exclude, substantially, coverage for the automobile while away from premises owned, rented or controlled by the named insured, or the ways immediately adjoining, or the loading or unloading thereof. While the general liability policies do cover the use, loading and unloading of automobiles on premises owned, rented or controlled by the named insured and thus duplicate to a limited extent the coverage under the automobile liability policy where the accident occurs …

Book Note, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Reflections With Edmund Burke

By Timothy P. Sheehan

New York: Vantage Press, 1960. Pp. 288. $5.00

reviewer: Law Review Staff

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Due Process--Duty of Non-Resident Vendor to Collect Use Tax

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Evidence--Criminal Law--Circumstantial Evidence Sufficient to Establish Corpus Delicti

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Evidence--Presumptions--Rebuttable Presumption Persists Until Trier of Fact Finds Nonexistence of Presumed Fact as Probable as its Existence

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Restraint of Trade--Sherman Act--Refusal to Sell as Unlawful Means of Effecting Price Maintenance

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Torts--Negligence--Vendor of Alcoholic Beverage to Intoxicated Minor Liable to Third Party

Torts -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

As usual, there were about forty reported Torts cases this year. There were no striking new developments. Many of the cases were merely routine, some of them indeed carrying quite long opinions without deciding anything which will give them real value as precedents for the future. The great majority of the cases involved actions for negligence, considerably more than half the cases being concerned with traffic accidents.

State And Local Taxation -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

A congressional statute that became law on September 14, 1959,severely curtails the power of all state and local governments to impose net income taxes. This statute was the aftermath of the Northwestern-Stockham decision, and a series of cases soon to follow, by the United States Supreme Court, which held that neither the due process nor the commerce clause bars the way to a nondiscriminatory, properly apportioned state tax levied directly on net income derived exclusively from interstate commerce. These decisions by the Supreme Court caused such a furor in the business world that demands were soon made on Congress for …

Ancillary Rights Of The Insured Against His Liability Insurer, Robert E. Keeton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The primary right of the insured against his liability insurer is the right to reimbursement of loss falling within the coverage defined in the policy. The scope of that right is ordinarily determined by construction of the clauses defining the Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability Coverages.' The present article is concerned with ancillary rights, arising in part from these and other policy provisions and in part from the relationship created by liability insurance. These rights of the insured are, from the opposite point of view, duties of the insurer--duties concerned principally with settlement of the tort claim or …

Semi-Direct Action Against Liability Insurers: Current Problems, Ronan E. Degnan

Vanderbilt Law Review

The legislatures of the various states of the union have by and large seen fit to forbid actions by an injured party directly against a liability insurer. This limitation, founded upon policy reasons which are doubtless apparent to the reader, has led the interested parties to seek out various indirect or semi-direct methods for reaching the insurance fund. This article is designed to discuss two particularly difficult problems which have arisen because of this semi-direct mode of proceeding: (1) By what appropriate methods can a judgment be obtained against a nonresident tort feasor or his estate so as to create …

Automobile Policy Exclusions, A. L. Plummer

Vanderbilt Law Review

The exclusions in the automobile liability insurance policies have required much litigation to clarify and interpret the intent of the draftsmen and underwriter who wrote them. An exclusion takes away or modifies certain coverages given in the insuring agreements. The giving and taking-away provisions of insurance policies are necessary in the making of a limited contract. They tend to avoid duplication of coverage, limit the assumed risk or hazard, avoid underwriting the primary liabilities of others that should be covered by other policy forms, and otherwise limit the scope of coverage. Since 1936 there has been a constant effort by …