Law Commons^™

Burden Of Proof And Presumptions In Will Contests In Tennessee, Edmund M. Morgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

Burden of proof is a slippery phrase. It is used to describe the burden of producing evidence sufficient to justify a finding or the burden of persuading the trier to make a finding or both these burdens.' Thayer noted the confusion in the judicial opinions caused by this loose use of language. In his essay, in attempting to bring order into the subject, he stated first that the burden of persuasion is fixed by the pleadings or their equivalent at a stage of the proceedings preliminary to trial and second, that once fixed, it never shifts. These pronouncements have received …

The Federal Tort Claims Act And Its Application To Military Personnel, Harold F. Mcniece, John V. Thornton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The background and history of the Federal Tort Claims Act" are well known. Stemming in part from the medieval political theory that the King could do no wrong, a doctrine evolved in English law that the Crown was, in the absence of its consent, immune to suit. This concept became a part of the American common law, and in the main was enforced as rigorously on this side of the Atlantic as in the mother country.

The oft-times inequitable consequences of sovereign immunity in the United States were at first sought to be ameliorated through the device of private legislative …

Claims Against The State In Tennessee -- The Board Of Claims, George H. Cate Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The age-old doctrine of governmental immunity from suit seems gradually to be passing into the discard, first in the realm of contract liability, and of late in the field of torts. Recent years have seen its vitality substantially sapped by judicial decisions, and there is a distinct trend among governmental units to do away with it partially or entirely through legislation. Thus, England in the Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, the United States in the Federal Tort Claims Act, and many of the states by similar legislation have renounced their shield of immunity from suit and, by means more regularized …

Federal And State Control Of Natural Resources, Corwin W. Johnson

Vanderbilt Law Review

Federalism, a complicating factor in many areas of governmental concern, poses unique problems in efforts of the states and the Federal Government to maximize the satisfaction of human wants from natural resources. These problems take on added significance in view of indications of growing governmental activity in response to the pressures upon our natural resource base of an expanding economy, a rising population trend, and increasing preparations for national defense during what may be a very long period of international tension and war. Decisions must be made determining the manner in which new responsibilities will be shared by our levels …

The Common Law: An Account Of Its Reception In The United States, Ford W. Hall

Vanderbilt Law Review

The story of the extent to which the common law of England has been received and applied in the United States, is one of the most interesting and important chapters in American legal history. However, many courts and writers have shown a tendency simply to say that our colonial forefathers brought the common law of England with them, and there has often been little or no inclination to look further into the question. Nevertheless, the problem of the reception of the common law in America has at various times occupied the attention of many of our most eminent jurists and …

Criminal Law Administration Prior To Trial: Recent Constitutional Developments, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

Probably the most pervasive dilemma in human experience is that which poses the choice with respect to the use of normally-condemned means in order to attain what are considered to be desirable ends. The field of criminal law administration offers a particularly apt illustration of the dilemma in modern society. The actual, day-to-day methods of operation of our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and other officials concerned with the investigation, trial and punishment of those charged with crime,--all reflect the choice that has been made in fact by our society. We can each judge, within the limits of our experience, …

Arbitrability Under Collective Bargaining Agreements, Clyde H. Brockett Jr., William Merlin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Under many collective bargaining contracts calling for arbitration of disputes, sooner or later a question has arisen whether the arbitrator has authority and power to arbitrate a particular issue. While this is obviously an oversimplification, it is a statement of the problem of arbitrability. Involuntary arbitration of labor disputes the question of the "scope of arbitration" may arise in either of two situations: (1) in the formulation of new contracts; or (2) in the disposition of grievances under existing contracts. This Note will consider only arbitration of the latter type.

Tort Liability In Aircraft Accidents, Henry G. Gatlin Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Over twenty years ago, Justice Cardozo said, "Aviation is today an established method of transportation. The future, even the near future, will make it still more general." Aviation is now a vital part of our daily lives and a familiarity well steeped in American tradition. But even with this apparent adoption of the place of aviation in our economic cycle, it is accompanied by misunderstanding and confusion--witness the placement of serious auto accidents on page six of our newspapers, where headlines scream of aviation's failure if a crash occurs. But as was said in Cohn v. United Air Lines Transport …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

CONTRACTS--CONSIDERATION--AGREEMENT TO SUPPORT ILLEGITIMATE CHILD

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CONTRIBUTION--JOINT TORTFEASORS--REMEDY GRANTED

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CONTRIBUTION--JOINT TORTFEASORS--REMEDY GRANTED WHEN TORT CONSISTS OF NEGLIGENCE

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CREDITORS' RIGHTS--RECEIVERSHIP OF OPERATING BUSINESS--CHATTEL, MORTGAGEE ENTITLED TO FORECLOSURE RATHER THAN SMALLER MONTHLY PAYMENTS ORDERED BY COURT

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EVIDENCE--DEAD MAN STATUTE--OBSERVATION OF PHYSICAL CONDITIONS NOT A "TRANSACTION" WITHIN MEANING OF STATUTE

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EVIDENCE--JUDICIAL NOTICE--TENETS OF COMMUNIST PARTY

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FEDERAL COURTS--HABEAS CORPUS IN EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS--NECESSITY OF EXHAUSTING REMEDIES IN STATE COURTS

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IMPLIED WARRANTY--WARRANTY OF SEAWORTHINESS--WARRANTY WITHOUT A SALE

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NEGLIGENCE OF LANDOWNER--PERSON TAKING SHORTCUT THROUGH STORE--LICENSEE OR BUSINESS GUEST?

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RES JUDICATA--INDEMNITOR-INDEMNITEE RELATIONSHIP AS EXCEPTION TO REQUREMENT OF MUTUALITY--CREATION …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INTERSTATE COMMERCE--VALIDITY OF CARRIER REGULATION REQUIRING RACIAL SEGREGATION

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--POLITICAL QUESTIONS--GEORGIA COUNTY UNIT VOTE SYSTEM

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DIVORCE--ALIMONY IN DEFAULT DECREES--POWER OF COURT TOWARD ALIMONY IN ABSENCE OF PRAYER THEREFOR IN COMPLAINT

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EVIDENCE--PROOF OF CORPUS DELICTI--CORROBORATION OF DEFENDANT'S CONFESSION BY HIS OWN SPONTANEOUS STATEMENTS

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FEDERAL COURTS--VENUE--USE OF STATE NONRESIDENT MOTORIST STATUTE TO IMPLY WAIVER

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GIFT TAXES--TRANSFER MADE UNDER DIVORCE DECREE INCORPORATING PREDIVORCE PROPERTY SETTLEMENT--EFFECT OF PROVISION IN SETTLEMENT THAT IT WOULD BE BINDING REGARDLESS OF TERMS OF DIVORCE DECREE

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INSURANCE--NOTICE TO AGENT REPRESENTING TWO INSURERS--ESTOPPEL PREVENTING COMPANY SECONDARILY LIABLE FROM CLAIMING AGAINST COMPANY …

Segregation And The Fourteenth Amendment, J. D. Hyman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Sociologists have rejected the old concept, enshrined in William Graham Sumner's Folkways, published in 1906, that law must come from the mores, and cannot go beyond them. It is now generally accepted that legal action, within limits, can influence ways of living. Dramatic demonstrations of the validity of the present concepts have been furnished by the extension of negro suffrage in the South and by the enlargement of federal protection of bodily security under the drive of Supreme Court decisions broadening the reach of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Equally important are the current steps to destroy the pattern of …

The Charter And The Constitution: The Human Rights Provisions In American Law, Oscar Schachter

Vanderbilt Law Review

The United Nations has added new complications to the well-worn subject of treaties and the Constitution. The issues have arisen principally in the field of human rights and, inevitably, constitutional discussions have reflected the political as well as the legal complexities. One consequence has been an apparent shift in legal positions: bar association leaders, long devoted to strict construction, have been inclined recently to stress the broad and expansive character of the treaty power and the supremacy clause ; in contrast, U.S. Government officials normally expected to support federal power have increasingly emphasized constitutional limitations. In political terms, this turnabout …

State Taxation Of Interstate Commerce --"Direct Burdens," "Multiple Burdens," Or What Have You?, Edward L. Barrett Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The problem of determining the permissible extent of state taxation of interstate commerce is as old as the Constitution.' From Chief Justice Marshall's dissertation upon the subject in 1827 in Brown v. Maryland to the present, thousands of pages of words upon the subject have found their way into the Supreme Court reports. Despite this judicial outpouring, however, the Supreme Court of the United States has yet to evolve a satisfactory theory upon which to decide cases in this field. In fact, the Court in 1951 appears as sharply divided in its basic approach to the problem as at anytime …

Book Reviews, Carl B. Swisher, Elvin E. Overton (Reviewer), Jay Murphy (Reviewer), Charlotte Williams (Reviewer), Alexander Holtzoff (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

Book Reviews

LIONS UNDER THE THRONE

By Charles P. Curtis, Jr.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1947. Pp. xviii, 368. $3.50

MR. JUSTICE BLACK: THE MAN AND His OPINIONS

By John P. Frank (Introduction by Charles A. Beard)

New York: Knopf Company, 1949.Pp. xix, 357. $4.00

ON UNDERSTANDING THE SUPREME COURT

By Paul A. Freund

Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1949. Pp. vi, 130. $3.00

MELVILLE VESTON FULLER: CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1888-1919

By Willard L. King

New York: Macmillan Company, 1950. Pp.394. $5.00

CHIEF JUSTICE STONE AND THE SUPREME COURT

By Samuel J. Konefsky (Prefatory Note by Charles A. …

Recent Constitutional Developments On Personal Jurisdiction Of Courts, Virginia B. Cowan

Vanderbilt Law Review

In strict logic, the concept of the power of courts to deal in personam with controversies is said to be a constant and the extension of jurisdiction merely an appropriation of pre-existing power. More realistically, it is obvious that, as institutions and citizens become increasingly mobile and migratory, the courts are obliged to keep their jurisdictional machinery abreast of the times in order that legal processes may continue to be the effective arbiter of disputes in our society. Regardless of what terms are used to describe the source of the power, it is traditionally conceived to be limited by the …

A Modern Supreme Court In A Modern World, Charles F. Curtis

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is all very well, indeed it is very good, to bear down on the fact that the author of the Constitution was, and still is, "We the People of the United States." But there is more sentiment than explanation in it. We think too much about who is the author of the Constitution. Of course it was not the Convention of 1789, nor the First Congress which wrote the Bill of Rights, nor the Thirty-Ninth which wrote the Fourteenth Amendment. It was We the People, but even when we have recognized this, all we have done is recognize that …

The Problems Of Yesteryear -- Commerce And Due Process, Robert L. Stern

Vanderbilt Law Review

Less than fifteen years ago, there were constitutional problems important enough to stir the country, to threaten the sanctity of the Supreme Court. These were the culmination of at least three decades of judicial controversy, in which the pressure of events brought criticism of the Court's decisions, both in noteworthy dissenting opinions and outside, to a new height. Fifteen years later, there still are difficult and important constitutional problems, and there still is criticism of the Supreme Court's decisions--though on a relatively minor scale. But the issues which rocked more than the legal world in the 1930's and in the …

The Supreme Court And Civil Liberties, Paul A. Freund

Vanderbilt Law Review

The evolution of the enforcement of First Amendment guarantees under the aegis of the Fourteenth is an interesting study in the throwing up of bridges before and the burning of them behind, characteristic of juridical-advance. The protection of property and of liberty of contract had long since been assured under decisions applying'the Fourteenth Amendment. The interests of a teacher and of a private school, challenging interference with their pursuits, were well calculated to furnish the span between proprietary and forensic rights. When the span was crossed the newly taken ground provided a new base for advance. Freedom of speech, recognized …

Current Constitutional Problems In Federal Taxation, Charles L.B. Lowndes

Vanderbilt Law Review

The most significant constitutional problem in federal taxation today is the absence of constitutional problems. The federal income, estate and gift taxes all encountered an extremely critical reception at the hands of the courts and suffered serious constitutional set-backs early in their careers. Today, however, they function in a constitutional climate as benevolent as it was formerly hostile. A microscopic analysis of the present federal tax system may reveal minor irregularities which might conceivably be magnified into major constitutional issues. From a practical point of view, however, the chance of invalidating a federal tax assessment on constitutional grounds is infinitesimal. …

Strikes, Picketing And The Constitution, Archibald Cox

Vanderbilt Law Review

The law's first response to organized labor activities was to attempt to define by judicial decision the ends for which employees might resort to economic weapons against an employer,' the weapons which they might use in pursuit of lawful objectives, and the occasions on which resort to economic weapons would be curtailed, as in the case of a nationwide railroad strike, because of the danger of a public catastrophe. The effort was unsuccessful. The judge-made law was neither a reflection of the enduring sentiment of the community nor a response to its needs. The subsequent reaction, which took its initial …

Legislative Disqualifications As Bills Of Attainder, Francis D. Wormuth

Vanderbilt Law Review

The separation of powers was first introduced into political discussion during the English Civil Wars of the seventeenth century by the political party known as Levellers. The object was to insure that persons be judged by general and prospective rules. If the legislative authority should decide a particular case, it might be tempted through partiality or prejudice to improvise a special rule for the situation. So the separation of powers was intended to achieve that impartiality in government which Aristotle called "the rule of law."

The doctrine of checks and balances was also introduced into political discussion during the Civil …

State Constitutions, State Courts And First Amendment Freedoms, Monrad G. Paulsen

Vanderbilt Law Review

We have recently been reminded that one of the current and recurrent quandaries of the Supreme Court of the United States arises from the American constitutional system's counterpart of the philosophical problem of the One and the Many. When an individual's freedom is involved, the question is whether and to what degree state legislators, public officials and judicial officers shall be called upon to enforce standards of respect for personal liberties defined by the Federal Constitution and the United States Supreme Court; or, put another way, how far the first eight amendments of the Federal Constitution are incorporated into the …

Recent Constitutional Developments On Eminent Domain, John L. Bowers Jr., J. L. Boren Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although the provisions of both state and federal law that cruel and unusual punishments shill not be imposed are considered popularly to relate only to those punishments which exist solely in the books, the provisions are not useless today. Recent cases have shown a tendency to expand the scope of the prohibition, especially with regard to excessive punishment, and to incorporate the proscription within the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. As respect, that which likely will be deemed cruel and unusual, little can be done beyond noting those situations in which the limitation has been applied. If a generalization …

Foreword: A Symposium On Current Constitutional Problems, John W. Davis

Vanderbilt Law Review

The place of the Constitution in American life nowhere appears more clearly than in the form of our oaths of allegiance. These do not run to any personal sovereign, or to any nation or government by name. They pledge only the support of the Constitution of the United States, to which is sometimes added the promise to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic. It must be and it is something more than a mere document which is sanctified by such oaths. It is the embodiment and symbol of nationhood, of a form of government and of a way …

The Right Of A Businessman To Lower The Price Of His Goods, Stanley D. Rose

Vanderbilt Law Review

The present actions being taken to mark the transition from cold to hot war are settling a number of problems and creating a host of others. The direction of our national effort within the economy will shift to production; our normal interest would be in distribution. This shift will not mean that the antitrust laws will be entirely suspended. There remain certain vital functions of protecting whole classes of citizens during the coming years of stress and for that day when once again we return to our new two-cars-for-every-family ideal.

'But it cannot be denied that a discussion of lowering …

Actions For Wrongful Death In Tennessee, William T. Gamble

Vanderbilt Law Review

Familiar to most lawyers is the bit of law-lore to the effect that the reason the earliest Pullman cars were so constructed that passengers slept with their heads towards the front of the train was so that they would be killed rather than merely injured if an accident occurred.' Although the reason assigned for the Pullman Company's practice is purely fictitious the logic of the fiction is sound, for the common law gave no civil action for a wrongfully inflicted injury if death occurred before a judgment was recovered, and it thus was cheaper to kill a person than to …

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Fraud And Relief Against Judgments, Harold C. Dedman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Closely akin to the doctrine of res adjudicata is that which will not allow a court of equity to grant relief against a fraudulently acquired judgment unless the fraud is shown to have been "extrinsic" or collateral rather than "intrinsic" fraud. According to this rule, to warrant equitable relief against a judgment on the ground of fraud, it must appear that the fraud was practiced in the very act of obtaining the judgment. Relief is granted on the theory that through fraud extrinsic and collateral to the actual proceedings before the court, the unsuccessful party has been prevented from fully …

Reformation Of Voluntary Conveyances, Henry D. Bell

Vanderbilt Law Review

It has frequently been stated that equity will not reform a conveyance which is merely voluntary and based on no consideration.' As thus broadly stated the rule is manifestly inaccurate, for it is universally recognized that a grantor is entitled to have a voluntary conveyance reformed. Moreover,the rule is unhelpful and even misleading, for it does not define the term "voluntary" and it ignores a line of authority which allows reformation of concededly voluntary conveyances in favor of parties other than the grantor.

The continued recital of this rule is probably due to a spontaneous reaction of abhorrence on the …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Attorney and Client--Unauthorized Practice of Law--Drafting of Legal Instruments by Realtors

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Bailments--Bailee for Hire--Validity of Contract Provision Limiting Liability for Negligence

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Brokers (Real Estate)--Statement that Principal Might Take Less than List Price as Breach of Fiduciary Obligation--Breach as Defense to Action for Commission

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Corporations--Preferred Stock--Cancellation of Accrued Dividends by Charter Amendment

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Criminal Law--Evidence--Admissibility of Uncommunicated Threats under Plea of Self-Defense

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Domestic Relations--Consortium Right of Wife to Sue for Loss Due to Negligent Injury to Husband

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Eminent Domain--Lessee as Condemnor--Requirement that Compensation be Given for Improvements to Land Made by Lessee

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Evidence--Unanswered Letters--Admissibility on …

Bases For Master's Liability And For Principal's Liability To Third Persons, Merton Ferson

Vanderbilt Law Review

The law with regard to principal and agent grew up as part and parcel of the law of contracts. The law with regard to master and servant grew up as part and parcel of the law of torts. Each one takes its origin far back in the history of the common law.

Agents were used in an early day to effect livery of seisin, to create covenants, and to carry on commercial transactions. The terms "principal" and "agent" may be of modern origin. But the power of one person to bind another in legal transactions was familiar in the days …