Law Commons^™

Actions Quasi In Rem Under Section 1655, Title 28, U. S. C., William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

Section 1655 of Title 28, U.S.C. (1948) was originally section 8 of an act of Congress approved March 3, 1875. A somewhat similar statute, limited to equity cases, had been enacted in 1872. Paragraph one of the present section reads:

"In an action in a district court to enforce any lien upon or claim to, or to remove any incumbrance or lien or cloud upon the title to, real or personal property within the district, where any defendant cannot be served within the State, or does not voluntarily appear, the court may order the absent defendant to appear or plead …

Contracts-Illegality-Effect Of Violation Of Assumed Name Statute, Gordon I. Ginsberg

Michigan Law Review

ln response to a subpoena, petitioner appeared as a witness before a United States district court grand jury. Several questions concerning· her knowledge and association with the Communist Party were put to her. In each case, she refused to answer the questions, claiming the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. For refusal to answer these same questions when brought before the district court, petitioner was adjudged to be in contempt of court. The court of appeals affirmed the holdings, and certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court. Held, judgment reversed. The Smith Act makes it unlawful to advocate knowingly the desirability …

Woe Unto You Trade-Mark Owners, Julius R. Lunsford, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

THE new Trade-Mark Act,1 widely heralded as giving added protection to trade-mark owners, has in its nearly four years of operation resulted, in several spectacular instances, in narrowing the rights conferred by the registration and use of trade-marks. Text author Rudolph Callmann remarked after the act's first birthday: "Despite all the efforts of the bar, our courts still cling to the familiar anachronisms."2 Where do trade-mark owners stand today? The Supreme Court has to date failed to answer this question, and the federal courts have refused to consider the import of the new legislation. Many commentators, attorneys and scholars thought …

Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Discharge Of Teachers For Subversive Activity, William H. Bates

Michigan Law Review

An action was brought seeking a declaratory judgment as to the constitutionality of New York's Feinberg law. The statute provided that the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York should list organizations found to be subversive. Membership in such organizations was made prima facie disqualification for the position of public school teacher. At the time of suit the Board of Regents had made no listing of subversive groups nor had any teacher been discharged under the provisions of this enactment. The supreme court of New York, special term, held the law unconstitutional; the appellate division …

Federal Procedure-Removal Jurisdiction-Meaning Of "Separate And Independent'' As Used In The United States Judicial Code, Paul Harrison S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The respondent suffered a loss by fire, and being uncertain as to which party was liable to compensate for this loss, joined the petitioner and two others as defendants in a suit asking for alternative relief. The petitioner and one of the defendants were insurance corporations with residence outside the state, while the third defendant's residence was the same as that of the respondent. The corporate defendants secured removal of the case to the federal court, and on a trial of the issues, a judgment was rendered for the respondent against the petitioner in the amount of the insurance claimed …

Limitations And The Federal Courts, William Wirt Blume, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Though as a practical matter it is difficult to secure passage of uniform legislation in all states, particularly when the subject matter has so long been considered as of local interest only, the need for such legislation in the case of the statute of limitations seems clear. To the extent that such a statute is adopted, the problem of varying limitation periods upon particular causes of action and similar causes of action will be removed. Only by a uniform state treatment of the problem will the conflict among federal districts resulting from the uniformity of result requirement of Erie Railroad …

Smith: Labor Law: Cases And Materials, Harry Shulman

Michigan Law Review

A Review of LABOR LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS. By Russell A. Smith.

Conflicts Of Law-Negotiable Instruments-Situs Of Bearer Bonds, Paul M.D. Harrison S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

By a Vesting Order, the Alien Property Custodian vested in the Attorney General property of an enemy alien which consisted of a "certain debt or other obligation" underlying bonds issued by the defendant corporation. The defendant corporation was ordered to cancel the said bonds and deliver the proceeds of the redemption and accrued interest to the Attorney General. Upon the trial of the action brought by the Attorney General to enforce these demands, it appeared in evidence that the bond certificates had last been located in the Russian sector of Berlin, Germany, and were there seized by the occupying authorities. …

The Legislative Status Of An Unconstitutional Statute, Earl T. Crawford

Michigan Law Review

Once a statute has been found to violate some constitutional provision, a legislature is faced with a difficult problem of how to change the statute so as to effect the desired policy and still not violate constitutional principles. The general nature of this problem is suggested by such inquiries as these: Will the subsequent overruling of a previous judicial decision declaring a statute unconstitutional require any legislative action to put the statute into effect? Can a statute, which has been held violative of the constitution, be amended by corrective or curative legislation without complete re-enactment if the statute as amended …

Our Legal System And How It Operates, Burke W. Shartel

Michigan Legal Studies Series

Five lectures delivered at the University of Michigan February 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27, 1948 on the Thomas M. Cooley Lectureship, enlarged and revised.

First, it is descriptive of the American legal system as it now exists, not of past law and not of legal systems in general. Second, it portrays the legal system as an operating institution. Third, I have given a large place to the discussion of language in relation to law. Fourth, I have given a considerable amount of space to a discussion of the ways in which statutes are made and interpreted. Fifth, technical ideas …

Tax Statutes-The Role Of Stare Decisis In Determining "Legislative Intent", Paul E. Anderson S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An interesting case history recently unfolded by the Supreme Court reveals a novel application of stare decisis to decisions which interpret an act of Congress. The peregrinations of the Court have caused Congress to intervene on two occasions to settle the questions opened by the Court-although on the second occurrence the Court construed the act precisely as had Congress when it decried the Court's first interpretation. This imbroglio issued from the Revenue Act of 1918 under which Congress provided that transfers "intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after his death" should be included in the donor's …

The Compulsory Manufacturing Provision-An Anachronism In The Copyright Act, Clinton R. Ashford S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The protection afforded foreign authors under the United States Copyright Act at the present time is subject to stringent restrictions. Copyright will not be granted to a person who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States unless he complies with a great many formalities, and, in addition, conforms with the compulsory manufacturing requirement. It is the object of this comment to examine the manufacturing provision, section 16 of the Copyright Law, and to show why it should be deleted from the act.