Law Commons^™

Why Arrest?, Rachel A. Harmon

Michigan Law Review

Arrests are the paradigmatic police activity. Though the practice of arrests in the United States, especially arrests involving minority suspects, is under attack, even critics widely assume the power to arrest is essential to policing. As a result, neither commentators nor scholars have asked why police need to make arrests. This Article takes up that question, and it argues that the power to arrest and the use of that power should be curtailed. The twelve million arrests police conduct each year are harmful not only to the individual arrested but also to their families and communities and to society as …

A Third Theory Of Paternalism, Nicolas Cornell

Michigan Law Review

This Article examines the normative significance of paternalism. That an action, a law, or a policy is paternalistic generally counts against it. This Article considers three reasons why this might be so—that is, three theories about what gives paternalism its normative character. This Article’s claim is that the two most common explanations for paternalism’s negative character are mistaken. The first view, which underlies the recent work by Professors Thaler and Sunstein, maintains that paternalism is negatively charged because it involves coercive interference with people’s choices. This approach proves inadequate, however, because more coercive actions can be a less objectionable form …

Empty Promises: Miranda Warnings In Noncustodial Interrogations, Aurora Maoz

Michigan Law Review

You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at the state's expense. In 2010, the Supreme Court declined an opportunity to resolve the question of what courts should do when officers administer Miranda warnings in a situation where a suspect is not already in custody-in other words, when officers are not constitutionally required to give or honor these warnings. While most courts have found a superfluous warning to be …

Coercion's Common Threads: Addressing Vagueness In The Federal Criminal Prohibitions On Torture By Looking To State Domestic Violence Laws, Sarah H. St. Vincent

Michigan Law Review

Under international law, the United States is obligated to criminalize acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. However, the federal criminal torture laws employ several terms whose meanings are so indeterminate that they inhibit the statutes' effectiveness and fail to provide adequate guidance regarding precisely which forms of mistreatment may result in prosecution. These ambiguous terms have given rise to serious and prolonged controversies within the executive branch regarding what torture is-controversies that confirm, and may further compound, the uncertainty of liability under the laws in question.

In order to solve this problem of vagueness and provide definitive …

Proximate Cause In Constitutional Torts: Holding Interrogators Liable For Fifth Amendment Violations At Trial, Joel Flaxman

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues for the approach taken by the Sixth Circuit in McKinley: a proper understanding of the Fifth Amendment requires holding that an officer who coerces a confession that is used at trial to convict a defendant in violation of the right against self-incrimination should face liability for the harm of conviction and imprisonment. Part I examines how the Supreme Court and the circuits have applied the concept of common law proximate causation to constitutional torts and argues that lower courts are wrong to blindly adopt common law rules without reference to the constitutional rights at stake. It …

We Can Do This The Easy Way Or The Hard Way: The Use Of Deceit To Induce Consent Searches, Rebecca Strauss

Michigan Law Review

In October of 1995, Aaron Salvo was studying and living at Ashland College. College officials informed local FBI agents that they suspected Salvo of possible child molestation and related conduct based on incriminating electronic mail. FBI agents approached Salvo at his dormitory, asked to speak with him in private about the suspicious mail, and suggested they speak in Salvo's dorm room. Salvo agreed to speak with the officers, but declined to do so in his room because his roommate was there, and he did not want to get anyone else involved in the embarrassing nature of the upcoming conversation. Salvo …

Miranda, Dickerson, And The Puzzling Persistence Of Fifth Amendment Exceptionalism, Stephen J. Schulhofer

Michigan Law Review

Dickerson v. United States preserves the status quo regime for judicial oversight of police interrogation. That result could be seen, in the present climate, as a victory for due process values, but there remain many reasons for concern that existing safeguards are flawed - that they are either too restrictive or not restrictive enough. Such concerns are partly empirical, of course. They depend on factual assessments of how much the Miranda rules do restrict the police. But such concerns also reflect a crucial, though often unstated, normative premise; they presuppose a certain view of how much the police should be …

Antitrust Balancing In A (Near) Coasean World: The Case Of Franchise Tying Contracts, Alan J. Meese

Michigan Law Review

Antitrust law has largely succumbed to the hegemony of balancing. Courts applying the rule of reason are told to balance a restraint's procompetitive effects against its anticompetitive impact. Mergers once deemed anticompetitive solely because they facilitated the exercise of market power are now evaluated by weighing the anticompetitive effects of such increased power against any efficiencies created by the transaction. Finally, some activities once deemed per se illegal are now subject to a balancing approach, either by explicit application of the rule of reason, or by recognition of certain affirmative defenses to otherwise per se violations. Unlike many other balancing …

Reply: Self-Incrimination And The Constitution: A Brief Rejoinder To Professor Kamisar, Akhil Reed Amar, Renée B. Lettow

Michigan Law Review

A Reply to Yale Kamisar's Response to the "Fifth Amendment Principles: The Self-Incrimination Clause"

Fifth Amendment First Principles: The Self-Incrimination Clause, Akhil Reed Amar, Renée B. Lettow

Michigan Law Review

In Part I of this article, we examine the global puzzle of the Self-Incrimination Clause and the local confusion or perversion lurking behind virtually every key word and phrase in the clause as now construed. In Part II we elaborate our reading of the clause and show how it clears up the local problems and solves the overall puzzle.

Police-Obtained Evidence And The Constitution: Distinguishing Unconstitutionally Obtained Evidence From Unconstitutionally Used Evidence, Arnold H. Loewy

Michigan Law Review

The article will consider four different types of police-obtained evidence: evidence obtained from an unconstitutional search and seizure, evidence obtained from a Miranda violation, confessions and lineup identifications obtained in violation of the sixth amendment right to counsel, and coerced confessions. My conclusions are that evidence obtained from an unconstitutional search and seizure is excluded because of the police misconduct by which it was obtained. On the other hand, evidence obtained from a Miranda violation is (or ought to be) excluded because use of that evidence compromises the defendant's procedural right not to be compelled to be a witness against …

Missing The Point About State Takeover Statutes, Lyman Johnson, David Millon

Michigan Law Review

In a recent article in this journal, Professor Richard Booth offers an extended appraisal of state legislation regulating hostile corporate takeovers. We think Booth's article requires comment for two reasons. The first reason is perhaps more obvious, though less interesting from our point of view. To be blunt, "unfairness" to shareholders due to coercion arising out of two-tier or partial offers simply does not occur with enough frequency to warrant a sixty-seven-page article in a major law review. According to recent congressional testimony by SEC Commissioner Cox, from 1982 to 1986 the number of two-tier offers declined from 18% of …

Land Without Plea Bargaining: How The Germans Do It, John H. Langbein

Michigan Law Review

The present Article demonstrates the error of this universalist theory of plea bargaining by showing how and why one major legal system, the West German, has so successfully avoided any form or analogue of plea bargaining in its procedures for cases of serious crime. The German criminal justice system functions without plea bargaining not by good fortune, but as a result of deliberate policies and careful institutional design whose essential elements are outlined in Part I. Part II addresses the American claims that a clandestine plea bargaining system lurks behind veils of German pretense.

Advising A Witness To Exercise His Privilege Against Self-Incrimination When The Adviser's Motive Is To Protect Himself Is An Obstruction Of Justice-Cole V. United States, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, who had perjured himself before a federal grand jury, feared that the testimony of his former employee before the same body would reveal the perjury. Knowing that the employee had previously filed a false affidavit with the McClellan Committee, defendant was able to persuade him to invoke his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. When the former employee later voluntarily made a full disclosure to government agents, defendant was indicted by a second grand jury and convicted of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of justice in violation of section 1503 of the Federal Criminal Code. On appeal to the Court …

Promotion By Oil Company Of Tba Products Held Violative Of Ftc Section 5--Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. V. Ftc, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Atlantic Refining Company entered into an agreement with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company which provided that Atlantic would receive a commission on all tires, batteries, and accessories (TBA) sold by Atlantic's wholesale and retail dealers. This commission was to be paid Atlantic in consideration for assistance given in promoting Goodyear products to the independent Atlantic service station operators. After an investigation of these agreements the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against Goodyear and Atlantic charging them with violating section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Evidence introduced at a hearing before a Federal Trade Commission trial …

The Role Of A Trial Jury In Determining The Voluntariness Of A Confession, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has vigorously implemented the principle that criminal prosecution is an investigative, not an inquisitorial, process. Evidence of guilt must be obtained by methods free from physical or psychological coercion. Protections in the Bill of Rights against illegal search and seizure, self-incrimination, and trial without counsel have been extended to the states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. Safeguards against the admissibility of coerced confessions into evidence have also been instituted. Because a confession practically determines the ultimate question of guilt, the critical standards for· admissibility are frequently challenged on appeal. …

Habeas Corpus - Procedural Prerequisites - Motion Denied For Failure To Appeal Convicion Despite Failure Being Excusable, Harvey O. Mierke Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was convicted of robbery in a federal district court and, although represented by counsel, failed to appeal within the statutory ten-day period. Three months later he filed a motion in the same court under section 2255 of the judicial code to vacate the sentence on the ground that the conviction, because it was based on a coerced confession, was unconstitutionally obtained without due process of law. The motion was denied and the denial affirmed, in the absence of any attempt to excuse the failure to appeal. On reargument, plaintiff attempted to excuse his failure to appeal by alleging that …

Bid Depositories, George H. Schueller

Michigan Law Review

The decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in the civil antitrust case of United States v. Bakersfield Associated Plumbing Contractors, Inc. brought in its wake considerable renewed interest, discussion, and activities concerning "bid depositories." This is apparent from the trade press and from inquiries reaching the Antitrust Division, including a number of requests for clearance of bid depository plans through so-called "railroad release" procedures. Even more recently, institution of the civil and criminal antitrust cases of United States v. Arizona Masonry and Plastering Contractors' Association provided further stimulation. The term "renewed" interest and …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Judicial Review Of Jury Determination On Coerced Character Of Confession, James M. Potter S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, suspected of the murder of his parents, was subjected to intensive police interrogation culminating in a confession to a state-employed psychiatrist. Petitioner had been allowed only a small amount of sleep and was suffering from a sinus condition when he was introduced to the psychiatrist, who was represented as a general practitioner. The questioning of the psychiatrist, who was skilled in hypnosis, was a subtle blend of threats and promises of leniency. Within the next three and one-half hours petitioner also confessed to a police captain, a business associate, and two assistant state prosecutors. The confession to the psychiatrist …

Criminal Law-Confessions And Due Process, Harold G. Christensen S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was arrested on suspicion of robbery and the next day confessed the theft of a car owned by a person who had been found dead a month previous. On the following evening, after a four and one-half hour "interview" with two F.B.I. agents, he "broke down and confessed the killing." Other confessions were made the next day and finally, after a detention of five days from the day of arrest, petitioner was taken before a committing magistrate. He was found guilty of murder at a trial in which these confessions were used against him. He sued out a writ …

Unemployment Compensation-Effect Of The Merits Of A Labor Dispute On The Right To Benefits, Robert H. Frick S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Every state and territorial unemployment compensation act contains a provision disqualifying persons from receiving benefits whose unemployment is the result of a labor dispute or some form thereof. In most states these provisions have been applied to deny benefits to striking or locked-out workers regardless of the merits of the particular controversy. A few states have adopted provisions permitting at least a limited investigation into the question of fault. It is the purpose of this comment to discuss the extent to which the merits of labor disputes are and should be considered in determining workers' rights to benefits.

Criminal Law-Confessions And Due Process, Harold G. Christensen S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was arrested on suspicion of robbery and the next day confessed the theft of a car owned by a person who had been found dead a month previous. On the following evening, after a four and one-half hour "interview" with two F.B.I. agents, he "broke down and confessed the killing." Other confessions were made the next day and finally, after a detention of five days from the day of arrest, petitioner was taken before a committing magistrate. He was found guilty of murder at a trial in which these confessions were used against him. He sued out a writ …

Unemployment Compensation-Effect Of The Merits Of A Labor Dispute On The Right To Benefits, Robert H. Frick S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Every state and territorial unemployment compensation act contains a provision disqualifying persons from receiving benefits whose unemployment is the result of a labor dispute or some form thereof. In most states these provisions have been applied to deny benefits to striking or locked-out workers regardless of the merits of the particular controversy. A few states have adopted provisions permitting at least a limited investigation into the question of fault. It is the purpose of this comment to discuss the extent to which the merits of labor disputes are and should be considered in determining workers' rights to benefits.

Criminal Law-Confessions Obtained Prior To Commitment-What Constitutes Unreasonable Delay, B. J. George, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendants were arrested on suspicion of murder and questioned by police. Defendants confessed after being held incommunicado for some hours during the night, but were not arraigned until the following morning. The confessions were admitted in evidence and defendants found guilty. On appeal, held, affirmed. There had not been an unreasonable delay in producing defendants before a commissioner, because the length of time in hours was not unreasonable and because committing magistrates are not available late at night. Garner v. United States, (App. D.C., 1949) 174 F. (2d) 499.

Duress Through Civil Litigation: I, John P. Dawson

Michigan Law Review

Duress through the use of civil litigation provides a convenient starting point for an analysis of modern doctrines of economic duress. The propriety of this form of pressure, used alone or in conjunction with other means of coercion, may become an issue in a variety of situations in which relief for duress is asked. At the same time it is in this area that the extension of duress as a remedial principle has encountered the greatest resistance.

Labor Law -Loss Of Majority Support By Representative With Whom Employer Has Been Ordered To Bargain, Charles J. O' Laughlin

Michigan Law Review

The National Labor Relations Board found that the employer (respondent) had been guilty of unfair labor practices by interfering with the employees' right to unionize and by refusing to bargain collectively with the Pioneer Tobacco Workers' Local Industrial Union No. 55 when the latter had been designated as the bargaining agent by a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. During the proceedings before the board a motion for leave to intervene was filed by an independent union claiming the support of a majority of the employees, but the motion was denied by the board. The board ordered …

Torts - Boycotts - Requisite Elements, Louis C. Andrews Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was a cafeteria operator in a small village. Defendants, two storekeepers in the same village, agreed to inform the wholesaler who supplied both defendants and the plaintiff that they would cease trading with him if he continued to supply plaintiff. The wholesaler acquiesced, and plaintiff's business soon failed because his sole practical source of supply was cut off. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, defendants moved for judgment as in the case of nonsuit, which was granted. Held, affirmed. One of the requisites of an illegal boycott is a conspiracy. Plaintiff failed to show coercion, which is an …

Company Unions Under The National Labor Relations Act, Burton Crager

Michigan Law Review

Any discussion of the legal aspects of company unionism under the National Labor Relations Act necessitates some consideration of the economic and political background of this type of unionism. Periods of labor unrest have been particularly prolific in mushrooming the growth of company unions. During World War I, the National War Labor Board found itself faced time after time with strife between employers and "outside" unions over the existence of company unions, which frequently were engendered by the employers' antagonism toward bona fide unions. Upon the demise of that board at the close of the war, and the concurrent end …

Evidence - Admissibility Of Defendants Refusal To Submit To A Blood Test For Intoxication, David Davidoff

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. This appeal was based on the contention that the testimony by a deputy sheriff of defendant's refusal to submit to a blood test to determine whether or not he was intoxicated violated his privilege against self-incrimination and was inadmissible. Held, the evidence was properly admitted. State v. Benson, (Iowa, 1941) 300 N. W. 275.

Labor Law - Constitutional Law - National Labor Relations Act- Right Of Employer To Disparage Labor Unions And To Advise His Employees Against Joining Them, William C. Wetherbee

Michigan Law Review

In the spring of 1937 the respondent distributed anti-union literature to its employees. Some of the material specifically denied any design on the part of the employer to prevent the employees from joining a union, and none of the literature pretended to be more than the advice and opinions of the employer. Nevertheless, the unions were thoroughly condemned as rackets, controlled by Communists, which deprive the workingman of his economic freedom and force him to pay for the privilege of working. The National Labor Relations Board found that the distribution of this literature interfered with, restrained, and coerced the employees …