Law Commons^™

Betts V. Brady Twenty Years Later: The Right To Counself And Due Process Values, Yale Kamisar

Michigan Law Review

I am quite distressed by talk that the landmark case of Mapp v. Ohio "suggests by analogy" that the Court may now overrule Betts v. Brady. For whether one talks about the fourth or the sixth amendment, there is much to be said for Justice Harlan's dissenting views in Mapp. "[W]hatever configurations ... have been developed in the particularizing federal precedents" should not be "deemed a part of 'ordered liberty,' and as such ... enforceable against the States .... [W]e would not be true to the Fourteenth Amendment were we merely to stretch the general principle [ of …

The Constitution And Contempt Of Court, Ronald Goldfarb

Michigan Law Review

Few legal devices find conflict within the lines of our Constitution with the ubiquity of the contempt power. These conflicts involve issues concerning the governmental power structure such as the separation of powers and the delicate balancing of federal-state relations. In addition, there are civil rights issues attributable to the conflict between the use of the contempt power and such vital procedural protections as the right to trial by jury, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and indictment-to name only the most recurrent and controversial examples. Aside from these problems, there are other civil liberties issues, such as those involving freedom …

Bankruptcy-Fradulent Transfers-Venue For Plenary Actions Under Section 70(E), Martin B. Dickinson Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff trustee in bankruptcy brought a plenary action under section 70(e) of the Bankruptcy Act in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for recovery of fraudulently transferred property located within the district. The defendants were citizens of Illinois, except the bankrupt's daughter, a California citizen. The district court granted the daughter's motion to dismiss for lack of venue. On appeal, held, reversed and remanded. Sections 23(b) and 70(e)(3) of the Bankruptcy Act exclude actions under section 70(e) from the requirements of the general venue provision of Title 28, U.S.C.; in all cases under section 70(e) …

Federal Civil Procedure--Right To Trial By Jury--State Law Controlling In Characterization Of Issues As Legal Or Equitable, Donald E. Vacin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An action for declaratory relief was brought in a federal district court to determine the validity of a contingent fee contract and the reasonableness of attorney's fees in a will contest case. Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment was sustained. On appeal, the court of appeals reversed and remanded with instructions to grant defendant's motion for jury trial, in accordance with Oklahoma practice, on the question whether the contingent fee contract was fair and free from fraud. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case for reconsideration in the light of a recent state decision. On reconsideration …

Federal Courts-Jurisdiciton-District Court Transfer Of Action Under Section 1406(A) Without Jurisdiction Over Person Of Defendant, J. Patrick Martin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1956 plaintiff corporation brought a private antitrust action against various persons and corporations in a federal district court in Pennsylvania. Service was made upon defendant corporations by means of alias summonses in New York where they were amenable to suit. Since defendant corporations were not inhabitants of, "found," or transacting business in Pennsylvania, venue was improper there and the extraterritorial service of- process provision of the Clayton Act was not available to plaintiff. Defendant corporations moved to dismiss for lack of in personam jurisdiction. Instead, however, the court, invoking section 1406(a) of the Judicial Code, transferred the action in …

Taxation-Federal Income Tax-Enjoining Collection, D. Michael Kratchman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer sued to enjoin collection of federal insurance contributions and unemployment taxes with respect to certain fishermen who worked on boats operated by the corporate taxpayer. The Government contended that under the Internal Revenue Code an injunction could not be sustained on a showing of non-liability. The district court issued the injunction on the grounds that the tax was illegal because no employer-employee relationship in fact existed and that collection of the tax would ruin the corporation financially. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that a taxpayer may enjoin the collection of a federal tax when he shows its illegality …

Paul & Schwartz: Federal Censorship: Obscenity In The Mail, Harry Kalven Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Federal Censorship: Obscenity in the Mail. By James C. N. Paul and Murray L. Schwartz.

Recent Books, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A List of Books Received by Michigan Law Review

Turner: The Law Of Trade Secrets, John Stedman

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Law of Trade Secrets. By Amedee E. Turner.

Conflict Of Laws-Full Faith And Credit-Extraterritorial Enforcement Of State Revenue Law, Edwin A. Howe Jr.

Michigan Law Review

As the operator of a parking lot within plaintiffs city limits, defendant was subject to a ten percent city tax on his gross receipts. He failed to report the whole of his receipts on his monthly tax returns, and plaintiff, the City of Philadelphia, duly notified him of a five thousand dollar deficiency. Defendant had a statutory right to petition for administrative review of the assessment within sixty days, failing which the liability would become fixed and no longer subject to review or appeal. Rather than appealing, defendant removed himself and his assets to New York, thus preventing plaintiff from …

Federal Appellate Jurisdiction-International Extradition-Review Of Extradition Proceedings, Martin R. Fine S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Consul General of Venezuela filed a complaint in a federal district court, pursuant to treaty and statute, seeking the extradition of former President Perez Jimenez for the crimes of murder and embezzlement. While the required extradition hearings were pending, Venezuela sought to use the civil deposition and subpoena procedure8 to compel several New York banks to produce records of deposits and to give depositions concerning the accounts of Jimenez and his alleged confederates. Jimenez moved for a protective order' to prevent Venezuela from obtaining and using these records as evidence against him in the extradition hearings. On appeal from …

International Law-Sovereign Immunity-State Court Authority To Determine Title To Property Under Its Jurisdiction Despite A Department Of State Suggestion Of Immunity, John A. Krsul Jr., S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1952 plaintiff brought a creditor's action for the appointment of a permanent receiver for the assets of the defendant located in New York. Defendant, Zivnostenska Banka, was a Czechoslovak corporation that had at one time been engaged in banking activities in New York. Plaintiff succeeded in having a receiver appointed upon proving that defendant had been nationalized, contrary to New York policy and law, by a 1950 decree of the Czechoslovak Government which had merged the defendant and its assets with the State Bank of Czechoslovakia. The instant controversy arose when the receiver attempted to set aside, as a …

Suretyship-Subrogation-Rights Of Surety To Funds Withheld Under A Government Contract, William T. Holcomb Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner surety, under the terms of its payment bond, paid laborers and materialmen of a government contractor, who was later adjudicated bankrupt. The Government paid to the trustee in bankruptcy funds it had retained but which had been earned prior to termination of the contract. The district court1 reversed the referee's ruling denying the surety's petition for an order directing the trustee to transfer the retained funds to the surety. On appeal, held, affirmed. The surety was entitled to the funds, in preference to the trustee in bankruptcy, by subrogation to the laborers' and materialmen's equitable priority in the …

Frank: Lincoln As A Lawyer, Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Lincoln As A Lawyer By John P. Frank

Taxation-Federal Income Tax- Taxpayer's Dividend To Shareholders Allowable As Amortizable Bond Premium Deduction, H. C. Snyder Jr., S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In an effort to make an amount distributed to its shareholders tax deductible, taxpayer bought utility bonds which were selling at a large premium and which were callable on thirty days' notice. Taxpayer borrowed an amount equal to the lowest call price, mortgaged the bonds to secure the loan, and paid cash equal to the difference, i.e., the premium in this case. After holding the bonds for thirty days, taxpayer declared a dividend of the bonds and distributed them to its shareholders subject to the indebtedness. The shareholders sold the bonds, paid off the loan from the proceeds, and …

Insider Securities Dealings During Corporate Crises, Victor Brudney

Michigan Law Review

The problem of assuring the fidelity of corporate insiders to the public investors in their enterprises figured prominently in legal literature and law reform proposals twenty-five or thirty years ago. In recent years, that question has attracted relatively less attention-in part because of the appearance or recognition of more significant problems in the relationship of publicly-held corporate enterprise to the national well-being, but in part also because of the development by courts, legislatures and administrative agencies-and to some extent by the insiders' community itself-of more exacting standards of loyalty. Recognition of broader obligations to their corporations and to public investors …

Territorial Courts And Law: Unifying Factors In The Development Of American Legal Institutions-Pt.1-Establishment Of A Standardized Judicial System, William Wirt Blume, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

Michigan Law Review

The United States first became a sovereign nation when individual states of the Confederation ceded to the states collectively their several interests in the lands west of the Appalachians which lay east of the Mississippi, north of Spanish Florida, and south of the Great Lakes. This area had been relinquished by Great Britain by the Treaty of 1783 and, with the exception of Kentucky, now became the property of the United States. It was the first area over which the states as a group had complete sovereignty, subject only to the claims of the various Indian tribes. Colonies fresh from …

Federal Income Taxation-Accounting Methods-Accounting For Prepayments And Estimated Future Expenses, Jerome M. Salle S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

"It is the essence of any system of taxation that it should produce revenue ascertainable, and payable to the government, at regular intervals." In order to obtain regular periodic revenues from the federal income tax, Congress requires all taxpayers to determine their taxable income annually.

Income may be defined as "value added" as a result of a given economic activity. Logically, the most opportune time to measure income occurs whenever that activity has ended, for at that time the continuous growth or contraction in the attributable value will likewise have ended and the income or loss from the activity will …

Attorney And Client- Attorney's Rights Under Contract Of Partial Assignment-Effet Of Premature Termination Or Settlement Of Action, Charles Frederickson S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

In an action for personal injuries, defendant caused a subpoena to be served upon plaintiff requiring him to appear to give his deposition. Plaintiff wholly failed to appear, and no cause was shown for such failure. Defendant then filed a motion for dismissal of the suit pursuant to subsection (c), 215a, of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and notice thereof was served upon plaintiff. Although plaintiff again made no appearance, his attorneys moved to intervene, asserting the contingent interest in the cause of action acquired by their contract with plaintiff. The trial court denied the motion for intervention and …

Declaratory Judgments-Avoidance Of Peril-Refusal To Adjudicate Rights Of Will Beneficiary Under No-Contest Clause-Testator, Burton L. Raimi S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Testator, plaintiff's father, acquired property in the joint names of himself and his wife by using money belonging to his wife. At her death testator claimed sole ownership of the property as the survivor. Plaintiff agreed not to probate his mother's will if testator would bequeath the property to his children. Also, testator agreed that if he should remarry he would, by a prenuptial agreement, make it possible to carry out the plan. The agreement was not reduced to writing. Testator remarried and shortly thereafter executed a will in which he disregarded the verbal agreement and left a substantial part …

Mechanics' Liens-Improvements Outside Building--Lien Allowed For The Clearing Of Land Unconnected With The Construction Of A Building, Byron Bronston S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff filed a bill of complaint seeking to enforce a mechanic's lien for the clearing of eighty acres of land pursuant to an agreement with the owners. The bill alleged that plaintiff's lien was superior to a mortgage which, though prior in time of execution, had been recorded subsequent to the inception of the clearing contract. Defendant mortgagee demurred on the ground that land clearance did not qualify for a lien under the pertinent mechanic's lien statute which provided that "every ... person ... who shall do or perform any work or labor upon ... any building or improvement on …

Packer: Ex-Communist Witnesses, Malcolm Sharp

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Ex-Communist Witnesses. By Herbert L. Packer

Recent Books, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A List of Books Received by Michigan Law Review

Conflict Of Laws-Torts-Application Of Whole Law, Including Choice-Of-Law Rules, Of State Of Negligent Act Under Federal Tort Claims Act, Byron Bronston S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Representatives of passengers killed in an airplane crash in Missouri, due in part to the alleged negligence of government personnel in failing to enforce certain regulations of the Civil Aeronautics Act at an American Airlines' overhaul depot in Oklahoma, sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) (1958), section 410(a) of the Tort Claims Act of 1946, provides that the Government shall be liable for the tortious conduct of its employees, "under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be …

Constitutional Law-Freedom Of The Press-Right Of News Media Personnel To Refuse To Disclose Confidenial Sources Of Information, Francis X. Beytagh Jr., S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

A former personnel director of a local Civil Service Commission instituted an action for reinstatement to that position, alleging that her recent ouster was illegal. In preparing for trial, defendant commission members took the deposition of a reporter for a local newspaper. Appellant reporter stated on direct examination that his suspicions regarding a contemplated attempt to fire plaintiff were in part based on certain information received from a confidential source. On pre-trial cross-examination appellant refused to disclose the source of this information, and plaintiff obtained a court order directing him to do so. On interlocutory appeal, held, order affirmed, …

Hurst: Law And Social Process In United States History, Robert S. Hunt

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Law and Social Process in United States History. By James Willard Hurst.

The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission: Its Functions And Jurisdiction, Edward D. Re

Michigan Law Review

Even the casual student of nationalizations and confiscations must be aware of the fact that whereas nationalizations were formerly isolated occurrences, they have today become matters of almost common practice. The Mexican expropriations, the Soviet nationalizations, and the Iranian nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company are in modern times merely landmarks of an apparently ever-widening path. A reading of the daily newspapers has offered adequate warning to the American investor abroad that no part of the world has been immune from this phenomenon. Whether under the label of "agrarian reform" or "socialization," these nationalizations are of the greatest importance, and, …

Labor Law-Collective Bargaining Agreements-Implied Limitation On Management's Right To Subcontract, A. Paul Victor

Michigan Law Review

During the existence of a collective bargaining agreement which included both exclusive recognition and union shop clauses but did not include a management prerogatives clause, defendant employer, without the consent of the plaintiff union, contracted out janitorial work which had previously been performed by three of its employees. Subsequently, these employees were laid off and the plaintiff's protest, though in compliance with all grievance procedures, was unsuccessful. Thereupon, the plaintiff sought declaratory judgment relief under section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, alleging that the defendant had no right to subcontract work customarily performed on its premises by its employees …

Congressional Repair Of The Erie Derailment, Leonard V. Quigley

Michigan Law Review

It is the thesis of this article that such legislative review and repair is required today on the part of the federal legislature in regard to the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts. Such reconsideration is particularly appropriate where, as in the analogous commerce clause area, the subject matter has been committed specifically to the Congress by the Constitution.

Federal Antitrust Law--Price Discrimination--Proof And Measurement Of Damages In Treble Damage Action, Richard A. Miller S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Section 2(a) of the Robinson-Patman Act makes it unlawful for a seller to charge buyers who compete with each other different prices for commodities of like grade and quality. Price discrimination which violates this section operates to confer an unlawful benefit upon a favored buyer by making his costs of obtaining, using, or reselling the particular commodities involved lower than the similar costs of non-favored buyers and puts non-favored buyers at a competitive disadvantage to the extent that the difference in costs affects the ability of favored and non-favored buyers to compete with one another. If this wrongfully induced competitive …