Civil Procedure Commons^™

Cases On Pleadings And Procedure, Mason Ladd

Michigan Law Review

A review of CASES ON PLEADINGS AND PROCEDURE By Charles E. Clark.

How To Prove A Prima Facie Case, T. W. Arnold

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Appraisal Of English Procedure, Edson R. Sunderland

Michigan Law Review

On paper the program of the London meeting of the American Bar Association last year was not a crowded one. No busy morning sessions hurried the members away from their hotels; at noon there was a leisurely opportunity for comfortable luncheons; and the drowsy summer afternoon was far advanced before the real business of the day began. But the printed program only marked the high points of the meeting. All through the week, by day and by night, there was London to be seen, the Abbey, the Tower, the Thames, palaces, parks and galleries, and the thousand historic spots which …

Arbitration Under The Modern Statutes

Michigan Law Review

Of late years the way of the "fair and free trial in open court," to which every man is deemed to have an inalienable right, has become so long, devious, intricate and costly, that the law faces the danger of falling into general disrepute. The calendars of courts in most jurisdictions ·are crowded and filled for months and years in advance. the situation being most acute in the larger cities and commercial centers. the very places where delays are most undesirable. New York City serves as a horrible example-here an ordinary case generally takes three years to come to trial. …

The Trial Brief, Edson R. Sunderland, Clifford W. Crandall

Book Chapters

From the chapter Introduction: "The object of the preceding chapters is to show the brief maker where to find the material for his brief, how to find it, and how to select out of the mass of material found that which will be suitable for his use.... The present purpose is to outline a course of investigation suitable to the preparation of a case for trial and to suggest methods of making the material collected during the search for authorities readily available." [p.417-418]

Bringing Third Parties Into Actions At Law—Set-Off Against The Assignor, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

It frequently happens, in an action by an assignee, that the defendant wishes to use as a cross-action a claim against the assignor. This results in no diffiulty unless the amount of the set-off against the assignor is greater than the claim of the plaintiff, or unless the cross-action calls for a specific remedy against the assigner in addition to its defensive effect upon the plaintiff's demand. In each of these cases we have a three-sided controversy. In the first, the set-off operates against the plaintiff to the extent of his claim and against the assignor for the balance. In …

Should A Correct Verdict Be Set Aside Because The Jury Failed To Follow Erroneous Instructions?, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

One of the common grounds of a new trial is that the verdict is contrary to law. What law is meant,--the law as it really is, or the law that was given to the jury by the court's instruction? Most cases hold to the latter view. It is the duty of the jury to take the law from the court, whether the court in so giving it is right or wrong. Hence, the jury violate their duty if they fail to follow instructions, even if the instructions are wrong, and a verdict based on a breach of the jury's duty …

New Trials For Technical Errors, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

A witness called to testify is presumed to be of good character. Hence no proof of it is necessary. But out of abundant caution this presumption is fortified by evidence. The witness is thus shown to be in fact exactly what the law presumes him to be. Result-the case is reversed for the commission of this grave and prejudicial error.-Lockett v. State (Ark. 1918), 207 S. W. 55. No one but an American lawyer could treat the above statement seriously. Only an American court could announce so extraordinary a decision. In no other English speaking country would the people tolerate …

Verdicts, General And Special, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The most remarkable thing about this case of Georgia v. Brailsford is that a matter of such elementary importance in the daily administration of the law, after being announced in so dramatic a way by the Supreme Court of the United States at the very threshold of its career, could have dropped into oblivion for a hundred years only to be repudiated in a way hardly less dramatic by a sharply divided court. The controversy here disclosed goes to the very heart of the jury system as it has been developed by the common law and is still almost universally …

Reversal And Retrial Exclusively On The Quantum Of Damages, L. C.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Michigan Judicature Act Of 1915, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

IN 1848 a wave of reform in judicial procedure began to sweep over the United States. In that year the legislature of New York enacted the Code of Civil Procedure, a statute of far-reaching importance, for it became the source of and the model for similar legislation in almost two-thirds of the States in the Union.

Sane Procedural Reform, Robert E. Bunker

Articles

In these later days much is said about reforming the procedure of our courts, about recalllng our judges, at arbitrarily appointed times, and about reversing their decisions by popular vote. Most of what is said about these matters is said by those who have least reason to say it. It is no exaggeration to assert that those who are most severe in their criticism of the courts and of their procedure and most lavish in their suggestions of reform are they who know little, beyond the most general, about the courts and nothing about their procedure from personal contact with …

The Trial Brief, Edson R. Sunderland

Book Chapters

From the chapter Introduction: "The object of the preceding chapters is to show the brief maker where to find the material for his brief, how to find it, and how to select out of the mass of material found that which will be suitable for his use.... The purpose of this lesson is to outline a course of investigation suitable to the preparation of a case for trial, and to suggest methods of making the material collected during the search for authorities readily available." [p.353]

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Common Law Pleading, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“No subject is more intimately connected with the history and development of our law than common law pleading. In sharp contrast with the other great system of law, that founded by the Romans, the common law has not been the product of legislation, but of litigation. It has grown up in the atmosphere of courts of justice. Such a genesis would necessarily give it a strong procedural favor, and would tend to emphasize remedies at the expense of rights. Procedure might therefore be expected to play a much larger part in the development of the common law than in the …

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Trial Practice, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“The present volume is intended to develop and disclose the rational basis for the main principles of practice employed in the trial of civil actions at law. Recourse has been had to the whole body of American case law, and the choice of cases has been determined by the clearness with which the court has shown a logical justification for the decision made….

“The cases have been very freely edited, and everything not germane to the subject for which the case was chosen has been omitted….” --Preface

Pleading Estoppel, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

No subject is fraught with more difficulties for the pleader than that of estoppel. The problems of "when" and "how" to plead seem never so perplexing as when they arise in connection with this subject. That these problems are not confined to any day or age is evidenced by the reports from the time of Lord COKE down to the latest advance sheets of the present day reporter systems, and the lawyers of no generation have been wholly agreed on their solution. No system of pleading yet established has been free from these questions and with each general change in …

The Trial Brief, Edson R. Sunderland

Book Chapters

Professor Sunderland writes in introduction to his chapter: "As this is not a book of practice, an extended discussion of the general subject of 'Preparation for Trial' would manifestly be out of place.... The purpose of this part is to outline a course of investigation suitable in preparing a case for trial and to suggest methods for making the materials so obtained readily available." [p.207]

Cases On Equity Pleading And Practice, Bradley M. Thompson

Books

The cases contained in this volume have been selected with a view of assisting both the student and the instructor, with illustration of the practical application of the general principle and rule of equity pleading and practice. Only so much of the statement of fact and of the opinion of the court have been retained in each case as is sufficient to make the decision upon the question of pleading before the Court intelligible and clear. As far as possible all padding has been excluded. Littleton ha aid: "And know, my son, that it is one of the most honorable, …

Can The Present Jury System Be Improved?, Bradley M. Thompson

Articles

There is unquestionably much dissatisfaction with the quality of the modern jury, and with the character of its work. Since juries are composed of men possessing finite intelligence, at best, we ought not to expect that their verdicts would show evidence of infinite wisdom. But the most charitable, who do not expect the impossible are often disappointed at the quality of the possible. All this goes without saying and consequently the question is often discussed, how can the system be improved?

An Analysis Of The Principles Of Equity Pleading : Containing A Compendium Of The High Court Of Chancery, And The Foundation Of Its Rules : Together With An Illustration Of The Analogy Between Pleadings At Common Law And In Equity, D. G. Lube, Bradley M. Thompson

Books

Since the publication in 1823 by Mr. D. G. Lube of his Principles of Equity Pleading that work has been recognized by the profession as a standard treatise upon that subject. The two generations of lawyers and judges who have come and gone since Lube wrote have contributed little to the a~t and science of equity pleading, so that to-day Lube's work is the best in existence. In this edition of the second part of his work the Editor has added little to the text of importance and has omitted substantially nothing. The only object he had in view in …

A Manual Of Equity Pleading And Practice, Bradley M. Thompson

Books

The following manual is intended simply as an introduction to the study of Equity Pleading and Practice, and to the course of lectures delivered upon that subject. The manual has been divided into lectures for the purposes of indicating the ground which a particular lecture will cover. It is expected that the student will master the printed synopsis before attending a given lecture.

Some Hints On Defects In The Jury System, James V. Campbell

Articles

The occasional freaks of juries have now and then led some members of the bar to speculate on the policy of doing without them entirely, and some persons no doubt think that they have strong convictions that the jury system has become useless. It is safe to say that these extreme views are altogether speculative, and not based on any careful comparison of results. Most persons who have looked into their own experience with courts and juries are ready to agree that where there is no dispute about main facts, so that the chief dispute is one of law, there …