Law Commons^™

Bills And Notes, Frank C. Jones

Mercer Law Review

The field of Bills and Notes, or Negotiable Instruments, occupied a relatively minor role in the agenda of the Georgia appellate courts during the period chosen for this survey. Of the six cases noted, five are of no lasting interest. The one decision of importance is discussed in detail in the latter part of this paper.

Damages, Edgar Hunter Wilson

Mercer Law Review

The damage problems presented to the appellate courts of Georgia during the sufvey period have been few. The cases, however, are well-dispersed over the field of damages.

Administrative Law, Maurice S. Culp

Mercer Law Review

It is unlikely that the legislative and judicial development of a particular subject will cover the principal subdivisions thereof during any given calendar year. This is especially true of Administrative Law. This subject has been truly described as the 20^th century's most distinctive contribution to the development of American law. Until very recently the subject was not recognized as sufficiently important to deserve separate treatment in digest and treatise. Even today the experienced practitioner or scholar will find important contributions to the judicial development of the subject under digest labels of a different name, especially under the classification of …

Agency, Griffin B. Bell

Mercer Law Review

An examination of the acts of the General Assembly of Georgia for the survey period shows no legislative changes in the law of Agency, although a few new principles were enunciated by the courts.

Equity, Charles J. Hilkey, Robert H. Hall

Mercer Law Review

Although the cases decided in Equity during the survey period suggest little that is new, yet some of them contain excellent restatements of the principles and doctrines of chancery and in some instances their application to new and interesting factual situations. In a few cases new rules were formulated. Some attempt will be made to connect the conclusions reached in these cases with those found in older cases in Georgia and, in certain instances, with those reached in other jurisdictions.

Contracts, Edgar Hunter Wilson

Mercer Law Review

It is interesting for a contracts teacher to note the relatively small number o' contract cases decided during the survey period and that the contract cases decided seldom involve problems of offer, acceptance or consideration, the basic content of a law school course on contracts. The conclusion to be drawn, however, is not that the wrong emphasis is being placed in contract courses, but rather that the lawyer generally is so well informed on the more fundamental problems of contracts that he either avoids the creation of such problems or is able to decide upon the proper rule without going …

Constitutional Law, Morris B. Abram

Mercer Law Review

This has been a year of highly important constitutional decisions affecting Georgia. The federal courts have dealt with the County Unit System and a municipal movie censorship statute. The Georgia Supreme Court has had occasion to pass upon the recent Re-registration Law, in Franklin v. Harper, and upon racial exclusion from juries in Crumb v. State. A score of other interesting and important matters have been decided.

Corporations, Parnerships And Bankruptcy, Charles E. Nadler

Mercer Law Review

In the field of Georgia Corporation Law some changes of significance were made during the survey year by amendments to the Corporation Act of 1938 and in the public revenue laws relating to the rate and method of computation of corporate taxes.

Evidence, Eli M. Spark

Mercer Law Review

More Georgia appellate court decisions were rendered on points of evidence during the period under consideration than on any other single subject, with the exception only of civil practice and procedure and criminal law and procedure. As problems of evidence arise in matters relating to all fields of law, this is quite understandable. An effort will be made to classify and review these decisions and to comment on some of them or to point out their significance. Although there has been no revolutionary departure from established doctrines and principles, we may find significance in the mode and scope of their …

Criminal Law And Procedure, H.T. O'Neal Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The course of the Criminal Law is so firmly established that a year of decisions fails to generate any momentous impact. Its ancient principles have "existed from the time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." The twelve months of decisions herein surveyed have produced neither radical departure nor astounding change.

In order to construct a coherent story of one year of Criminal Law, it is necessary to devise several very general categories into which each of the decisions can find a place. Certain of these divisions, particularly those concerning evidence and procedure, have received exhaustive treatment …

Domestic Relations, John L. Westmoreland

Mercer Law Review

The General Assembly of Georgia, during the 1950 regular session, enacted three statutes modifying and repealing existing statutes dealing with divorce and domestic relations.

Probably the most important change in the divorce laws of Georgia was the amendment by the I950 Legislature of Code Section 30-107 reducing the required period of a petitioner's residence within the state before filing an application for divorce from twelve months to six months. The residence requirement of twelve months was enacted in 1893, and this amendment is the only change in the period of required residence since that time.

Taxation, James H. Wilson Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The decisions of the Georgia appellate courts and the legislative enactments of the General Assembly of Georgia during the period from June 1, 1949, to June 1, 1950, in the field of taxation reflect in large part the pressing need for thorough revision of the state's tax structure.

Municipal Corporations, Oliver A. Rice

Mercer Law Review

The discussion of the cases dealing with the problems of municipal corporations during the survey period will be undertaken schematically rather than chronologically. An effort will be made to effect that classification of the cases which, with the practicing attorney's background of experience, will enable him most easily to fit these new pronouncements of the Georgia appellate courts into the body of Georgia law. The liability of a municipal corporation for tort occasioned by, or nuisance created through the acts of municipal agents, acting in the scope and course of their employment, is ever a perplexing one, due to the …

Sales, Oliver A. Rice

Mercer Law Review

Although this field has not been prolific of cases this year, and although few developments of law have been attained through the presentation of points novel to Georgia, yet it is thought that an indication of them here may form some sort of ready reference for the practicing attorney.

First to be considered are the Georgia cases dealing with the problem of when title to chattels can be passed to a bona fide purchaser by one other than the owner of the chattels.

Landlord And Tenant, Stephens Mitchell

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Security Transactions, Eli M. Sparks

Mercer Law Review

Comparatively little litigation reached the Georgia appellate courts in this field, especially when one considers the extensive and continual use of the various security devices in real estate, business and legal activities. The cases will be classified and treated under descriptive headings.

Practice And Procedure, Wiley H. Davis

Mercer Law Review

It has long been recognized that a large percentage of the cases decided by the appellate courts of Georgia are decided in whole or in part upon procedural points. Because of this fact, any attempt to survey the matters decided on such points during any twelve-month period must include reference to many cases, however brief the treatment. In making such a survey, one frequently faces the problem of deciding whether a holding is based primarily upon procedure or whether the case should be considered substantive in nature. Of course, some procedure is involved in the hearing, trial or appeal of …

Statutory Construction And The Legislative Process, James C. Quarles

Mercer Law Review

Since a statute is to some extent involved in almost every case, and since every statute deals with some aspect of substantive or procedural law falling into a more or less definite classification, it is difficult to determine which cases should be discussed in a section on the construction of statutes and the effects of constitutional requirements regarding the form of statutes and legislative procedure. The cases considered in this division are those which seem to set forth some approach to statutory construction or which consider various aspects of legislative form and procedure. Most of these cases are dealt with …

Workmen's Compensation, F. Hodge O'Neal

Mercer Law Review

The amount of litigation in Georgia on workmen's compensation is much greater than is commonly supposed. During the survey period thirtyfive cases were decided in the appellate courts of Georgia. As industry moves into this state, the number of compensation cases can be expected to increase. Several of the cases decided during the year were hard-fought and raised questions of first impression in this state. Lawyers will do well to acquaint themselves with developments in this rapidly-expanding field of law.

Trusts, Henry S. Barnes

Mercer Law Review

The significant developments in the law of trusts during the year have been in the field of legislation. The 1950 session of the Legislature passed three bills: Act 5421 to exempt certain trust property from intangible taxes; Act 5432 to exempt the income derived from the same class of property from income taxes; and Act 7283 to prevent a trust from becoming executed so long as the trustee has active duties to perform.

Insurance, Edgar Hunter Wilson

Mercer Law Review

A number of the Georgia cases in the field of insurance were concerned with the question of whether the insurer had waived its right to rely on certain policy provisions. Pacific Fire Ins. Co. v. Cash was a suit on an automobile collision policy. The company relied on a provision in the policy which stated that the insurance was not effective while the automobile was subject to encumbrances not described in the contract. The policy had blanks for the indication of encumbrances and other information. These blanks were not filled up. It appeared that the agent had not asked the …

Property, Real, Stephens Mitchell

Mercer Law Review

The recent Georgia cases dealing with Real Property show a continued adherence to age-old rules but which broaden down from precedent to precedent to fit the changing character of circumstances.

Wills And Administration Of Estates, Floyd M. Buford, Robert E. Coll

Mercer Law Review

Definitions of a will are numerous and varied. The statutory definition is that "A will is the legal declaration of a person's intentions as to the disposition of his property after death." Obviously, a will is not a contract since it is unilateral. However, a contract to make a will in behalf of another or to include in a will a particular devise or legacy is valid if founded on a valuable consideration. Bowles v. White reaffirms this well recognized rule. The plaintiff in this case filed suit, as administrator, seeking to recover certain realty of the decedent. The defendant …

Miscellaneous: Bar Admission Requirements, James C. Rehberg

Mercer Law Review

A study of bar admission requirements in Georgia and her neighboring states should serve to focus our attention on this subject which, in the past few years, has occupied the attention of not only the bench and bar of Georgia but also the General Assembly. For the purposes of this study, the states bordering upon Georgia are chosen, because the arguments for and against stricter bar admission requirements will be equally applicable in all of these states. The states to be considered are Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

Torts, Edwin Maner Jr.

Mercer Law Review

During the survey period, decisions were handed down by the Georgia appellate courts reaffirming well-established principles of law with regard to the duty of counties in the construction and maintenance of bridges, duty to invitee on premises of defendant, duty to invited guest in automobile, duty of care between bailor and bailee, duty of care between pedestrian and operator of automobile, intervening negligence, concurring negligence, duty to licensee and to trespasser on premises of defendant, duty to anticipate negligence or unlawful conduct of another, comparative negligence, proximate cause, allegations essential to action in tort, accident, emergency, scope of employment, defense …

Blood Will Tell, Jule B. Greene

Mercer Law Review

One of the most vexing problems which has confronted the legal world is the accurate determination of parentage. This problem arises frequently in actions for non-support, in bastardy and probate proceedings and in prosecutions for fornication, rape and seduction.

The Status Of "Home Rule" In Georgia, J. Alvin Gilmore, Scott Walters Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The archaic system of special bills to provide for the local government of cities and counties, which had its inception in this country when the colonies asserted their independence, has long been under fire as not only cumbersome but also contrary to tradition and the intention of those who formed our state governments. The opponents of this system offered in its stead local government of municipalities by a system commonly referred to as "Home Rule." Although this system has not had success commensurate with the glossy pictures painted by its more avid proponents, it has, where accepted, attained the aims …

The Tax Consequences Of Family Parnerships, T. Baldwin Martin Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The elements of family intimacy and tax reduction, which present themselves conveniently in the common law concepts of gifts, assignments, and trusts, have proven to be danger signs which herald the scrutiny of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and forecast probable tax disaster for the taxpayer. Normally and unavoidably, family partnerships have come to be categorized with these concepts, and the Bureau, in its efforts to protect the revenue, would, with the assistance of the Tax Court, thwart the effectiveness of these business units in a manner similar to the treatment accorded to the aforementioned concepts.

Some Trustees Are Amateurs, John Sherman Myers

Mercer Law Review

There are many individuals w ho have undertaken to act in a fiduciary capacity, as trustee, executor, guardian or otherwise, without full realization that the obligations imposed upon them by law may result in substantial personal liability, even though every act has been in complete good faith and in an honest effort to perform, conscientiously and efficiently, the duties undertaken.

Can Administrative Handling Of Labor Problems Bring Industrial Peace?, E. Kontz Bennett

Mercer Law Review

The American bar has frequently criticized the everincreasing use of administrative agencies to handle legal problems. On the other hand, the bar itself has frequently been criticized by the lay public for its failure to expand legal machinery and legal concepts so as to meet a rapidly changing world. The bar, known for its ability to appraise honestly its own shortcomings, has often posed this question: "Would the administrative agencies be so frequently and consistently set up by law-making bodies if they did not supply a real need?"