Common Law Commons^™

Federal Rule Of Evidence 803(3) And The Criminal Defendant: The Limits Of The Hillmon Doctrine, Thomas A. Wiseman, Iii

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Note has examined the use of the common-law Hillmon doctrine and rule 803(3) in a limited context. Several approaches are available to a court that considers whether to admit a Hillmon statement. A court in a jurisdiction that still applies the common-law hearsay rule may adhere to the status quo. Ample authority exists to permit this approach. Nevertheless, because admission of a Hillmon statement risks certain inherent dangers, a common-law court should avoid a perfunctory application of the exception. Instead, the court must examine carefully each Hillmon statement to ensure that it does not prejudice the defendant's right to …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION EXISTS IN CASES STEMMING FROM BOAT COLLISIONS ON NAVIGABLE WATERS REGARDLESS OF THE COMMERCIAL OR NONCOMMERCIAL NATURE OF THE VESSELS INVOLVED--Foremost Insurance Co. v. Richardson, 102 S. Ct. 2654 (1982).

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SHIPOWNER MAY ATTACH CHARACTER'S PROPERTY AS SECURITY FOR BREACH OF A CHARTER CONTAINING A FORUM SELECTION CLAUSE--Polar Shipping, Ltd. v. Oriental Shipping Corp., 680 F.2d 627 (9th Cir. 1982).

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WORKER EMPLOYED ABOARD AN OFFSHORE DRILLING PLATFORM MAY BRING A CLAIM UNDER MARITIME TORT LAW FOR WRONGFUL DISCHARGE--Roberie v. Gulf Oil Corp., No. 820013 (W.D. La.Aug. 4, 1982)

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THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION ACT DOES NOT APPLY …

The Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act: A Survey Of The Case Law, Carol C. Honigberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act's genesis lay in the belief that a state's codification of its rules on the recognition of foreign money-judgments would increase the likelihood that similar judgments rendered by that state would be recognized abroad. The treatment of United States judgments in the courts of foreign nations concerned the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws because United States courts traditionally accord far better treatment to foreign judgments than is accorded United States judgments abroad. The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, or recognition practice, has long posed special problems because of the vast differences in the various …

Commercial Hardship And The Discharge Of Contractual Obligations Under American And British Law, John J. Gorman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

There are several doctrines under which contractual obligations have been judicially discharged. This Note will examine the United States doctrine of commercial impracticability or commercial impossibility and the English doctrine of frustration of contract or frustration of the commercial objective. The focus of this Note therefore is on those situations in which discharge from contractual obligations is sought because of supervening economic hardship. Part II provides a brief historical account of the development of the English common law doctrine of impossibility. Part III traces the development of the United States concept of commercial impossibility and commercial impracticability from the early …

Book Review, Igor I. Kavass

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The limited use of American case law in the Commonwealth countries should not be surprising. With the exception of English cases, the decisions of other Commonwealth countries receive the same indifferent treatment in all Commonwealth jurisdictions; the English courts studiously ignore the decisions of other Commonwealth countries. For that matter, American courts do not consult the case law of English and other Commonwealth countries all too frequently. Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co. is a recent example in point. In that case, the Supreme Court was asked to interpret the meaning of the terms "nationality" and "national origin" as used. in …

Book Review, James W. Ely, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The hypothesis of continuity has now been ably tested and challenged by William E. Nelson's fine book, Americanization of the Common Law. Relying upon years of painstaking research in courthouse files throughout Massachusetts, Nelson utilizes unpublished opinions, court records, and attorneys' notes to fashion a striking interpretation of the significant changes that occurred in Massachusetts law following the Revolution. The author undertakes an analysis of the doctrines of substantive law and techniques of law-making and enforcement in order "to trace the emergence of modern American law... Nelson's stress upon nineteenth century majoritarianism and governmental coercion must be qualified by consideration …

The Community Court And Supremacy Of Community Law: A Progress Report, Peter Hay, Vicki Thompson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The dedication of an annual issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities is an appropriate tribute to the significant contribution of the Community Court to the integration of the European Communities. The Court of Justice is perhaps the most remarkable and successful of the common institutions (Council, Commission, Parliament, and Court), which the process of European integration has produced thus far. The Communities--Common Market, Coal and Steel Community, and Euratom--have been beset by numerous political and economic problems; integration beyond the original Treaties, and sometimes within …

The Tennessee Rule Against Perpetuities: A Proposal For Statutory Reform, C. Dent Bostick

Vanderbilt Law Review

For several decades, there has been agitation for reform of the common-law Rule Against Perpetuities. For the most part, the reformers have urged that improvements in the Rule and the manner of its application be accomplished through legislative enactment.' Only a few jurisdictions have opted for reform by the judiciary. Thus far, there has been no legislative reform of the Rule in Tennessee; the appellate courts of the state continue to apply the Rule inits common-law form with all the confusing rubrics attached to it by centuries of development. The condition of Tennessee's law on the subject contrasts sharply with …

Recent Treaties And Statutes, Donald C. Van Pelt, Jr., George H. Carnall Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, constituted a major step toward international acceptance of responsibility for the control of licit and illicit drug traffic. The Single Convention achieved a unified codification4 of existing multilateral treaties in the field' and created the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), center of illicit traffic...In an effort to carry out the principle of limiting the use of narcotic drugs to medical and scientific purposes, the Narcotics Convention of 1931 required noncontracting parties as well as parties to the Convention to furnish annual advance estimates of narcotics needed for these purposes. These estimates were examined …

The Bases And Range Of Federal Common Law In Private International Matters, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

During the past decade, there has been increasing attention on the part of legal scholars to the need for a clear statement outlining the divisions of state and federal power in this difficult area. In two important cases, the Supreme Court indicated renewed judicial interest in the problem. To date, however, the federal courts have not succeeded in establishing a uniform and workable guide by which the validity of state action may be judged in the absence of definitive federal policy. This deficiency has posed difficulties for state legislatures in arriving at law-making decisions and for the courts in testing …

Observations Of An Appellate Judge:The Use Of Law Clerks, Eugene A. Wright

Vanderbilt Law Review

Time-judicial time-is our most valuable commodity. We must employ it effectively and efficiently if we are to keep abreast of new developments in the law, new areas of litigation, and modern procedural improvements and to dispose of increasing backlogs of appealed cases. Circuit judges, each authorized two law clerks, have become increasingly dependent upon the help of their staffs to meet the demands of their expanding workload. The role of the law clerk is to aid the experienced judge in his ultimate task, decision-making. An appellate judge will have a varied background of skills and experience. Often he brings to …

The Bremen And The Model Choice Of Forum Act, Robert A. Leflar

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Model Choice of Forum Act, promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1968, was designed to set standards for the effectuation of contractual forum-selecting clauses, sometimes called "derogation" or "prorogation" clauses, while restricting their effectiveness to situations in which their operation would be fair to all concerned parties. The Commissioners chose not to draft the statute as a Uniform Act to be recommended for adoption by all the states, but rather as a Model Act setting out sound standards that might be followed not only by states drafting their own statutes on the …

The Three Faces Of Zapata: Maritime Law, Federal Common Law, Federal Courts Law, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., the Supreme Court upheld the selection of a London forum in a towage contract between a German firm and an American firm and dismissed a suit brought in a Florida federal district court whose jurisdiction was otherwise valid. In doing so, the Court stated the rule: "[Forum-selection clauses] are prima facie valid and should be enforced unless enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be 'unreasonable' under the circumstances." The Court qualified the rule by indicating that to be enforceable such clauses must be actually bargained for and agreed to by the …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Plaintiff, a major commercial publisher of medical journals,'brought a copyright infringement action for damages against the. United States--specifically, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), agencies of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare--in the United States Court of Claims.Plaintiff alleged that defendant had infringed its copyrights by making unauthorized photocopies of plaintiffs medical journal articles and distributing them free of charge to library users on a no-return basis. Defendant conceded that it had made photocopies of each of the articles in question and that plaintiff was the record owner of the copyright registrations …

Book Reviews, Garrett Power, Joseph M. Boyd, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Environmental Law Reporter in the Classroom

The Environmental Law Reporter' is a cumulative monthly loose-leaf service devoted chiefly to the environmental issues confronting private attorneys, governmental officials, and teachers. During the fall semester of 1971, the Reporter was employed as a text for the University of Maryland's basic course in environmental law. This review will attempt to measure its potential as a teaching tool.

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Guidebook for Litigation

The common law is still the most useful and flexible weapon in the arsenal of those who care enough about the quality of our environment to do something about it. This …

The Alien's Access To Local Remedies: The African Commonwealth Countries' Experience, Ivan L. Head

Vanderbilt Law Review

Of the 27 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 11 are located on the continent of Africa. They range in size from Nigeria, with an area of 356,000 square miles and a population of 60 million, to The Gambia, with an area of 4,000 square miles and a population of 350,000 persons. Prior to 1957 all of the 11 States were colonies of the British crown. In little more than a decade they have all gained political independence-one hundred and six million people residing in autonomous communities which are, in the words of the 1926 Balfour Declaration, "equal in status, …

The "Reception" Of Defamation By The Common Law, Colin R. Lovell

Vanderbilt Law Review

The rather low opinion held by Mr. Bumble concerning the logic of the law must be set off by the Holmesian reminder that not "logic," but"experience" has kept the law viable. The warning has peculiar applicability in looking at the common law doctrines on defamation. Only the experience of history can explain why, in contrast to Roman civil law systems with their view that all defamations and insults are injuriae, with a single remedial action, the common law has no interest in mere bad language' and goes on to have two separate actions for defamation. Moreover, these are quite artificially …

The Common Law And Statutory Background Of The Law Of Musical Property, George D. Cary

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article comprises a brief but comprehensive presentation of the history and evolution of the law of musical copyright; it is particularly designed for the practitioner seeking a general view of musical copyright law before proceeding on to more specialized problems. After a discussion of the English and American history of musical copyright, the article examines the common law and statutory aspect of the subject, and concludes by discussing the international rules and conventions governing musical copyright.

Book Reviews, Donald P. Kommers, I. C. Rand

Vanderbilt Law Review

Law and Social Process in United States History:

The excellence of Law and Social Process in United States History in every respect matches the high honor accorded Professor Hurst when invited to deliver the ninth series of the Thomas M. Cooley Lectures under the sponsorship of the University of Michigan Law School. This volume, following upon the heels of his Growth of American Law and Law and the Conditions of Freedom, the latter having won the James Barr Ames prize granted quadrennially by the Harvard Law School, merely affirms his stature as an eminent legal historian. Like the earlier volumes, …

The Objective And Function Of The Complaint: Common Law -- Codes -- Federal Rules, Fleming James, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Before a court can properly decide a case and enter judgment, certain things must have taken place. The court must have obtained jurisdiction over the parties and over the controversy to be decided.'Limits must be set to the controversy so that the court and the parties may know how to direct their efforts, and so that the court may rule on questions of relevancy. The issues of fact and of law must be framed so that each is allocated to the appropriate tribunal for decision and is presented clearly enough so that the tribunal knows what to decide. The adversary …

Justice Holmes And The Common-Law Tradition, John C.H. Wu

Vanderbilt Law Review

Briefly, case law may be described as "a method of developing law which preserves the continuity of legal doctrine, and is, at the same time, eminently adaptable to the needs of a changing society." On the whole, it is not far from the truth to say that "it hits the golden mean between too much flexibility and too much rigidity .... -" But what makes it so matter-of-fact and racy of the soil is to be found in Holdsworth's further observation that "this method keeps the law in touch with life, and prevents much unprofitable speculation upon academic problems which …

Wrongful Death-Bases Of The Common Law Rules, T. A. Smedley

Vanderbilt Law Review

One of the oft-sung glories of the English common law is the vitality of its many rules which evolved originally from ancient custom, usage, tradition and experience. This truly amazing vitality has the virtue of imbuing the law with stability, of providing legal sanction for established commercial practices, of protecting vested property interests, and of furnishing some measure of predictability of decisions. Unfortunately, it also serves to perpetuate the force of some rules far beyond the period of their usefulness and to maintain their influence after the reason for their existence has been long forgotten.'Such was the case in regard …

I Am Not My Guest's Keeper, Warren A. Seavey

Vanderbilt Law Review

The laisez-faire policy of the common law recently won a resounding victory in Pennsylvania. In an action for the death of her husband, the plaintiff alleged that he was invited by the defendant to visit the latter's land for a consultation upon problems common to their work, strip-mining for coal, which requires deep cuts in the land from which it is necessary to remove accumulated water; that during the conversation the defendant invited the deceased to aid in the repair of a pump in one of the water-filled cuts; that the defendant, by "urging, enticing, taunting and inveigling" his visitor, …

Extent Of The Legislature's Reserve Power To Change Common Law Attributes Of Corporations, Edward R. Hayes

Vanderbilt Law Review

Does a stockholder have a right, at common law, to dissent and have his stock repurchased when his corporation purchases the assets of another business? If he does, is this a common law attribute of corporations? What other common law attributes may there be? To what extent has a legislature power to alter or modify these attributes, or to authorize alteration or modification by the holders of a majority of a corporation's stock? The discussion will be directed first to what attributes a corporation has apart from those bearing on its relations with its stockholders; next, to what attributes are …

The Attorney's Liability For Negligence, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

The concept of negligence was late in developing in the common law. Perhaps the first group of cases in which the idea began to take shape involved the liability of persons who professed competence in certain callings.' One of these "callings" was that of the attorney,and cases as early as the middle of the eighteenth century hold an attorney liable on this basis.

Collective Bargaining, Labor Arbitration And The Lawyer, Nathan P. Feinsinger

Vanderbilt Law Review

The role of the lawyer in labor arbitration must be appraised in the light of his function in society generally and the unique demands of the institution of collective bargaining, of which arbitration has become an integral part.

The role of the lawyer generally is to assist in resolving conflicts among individual and group interests within a framework of rules developed by the common law or by legislation, as interpreted and applied by courts and administrative agencies. Operating within that framework, the lawyer advises his client whether and how he can accomplish his immediate objective. The professional skills which he …

The Limits Of State Jurisdiction In Affording Common Law Protection To Clothing Designs, Leonard S. Elman

Vanderbilt Law Review

The recent case of Dior v. Milton' indicates that the "misappropriation" doctrine of the law of unfair competition will be applied to impose liability upon unlicensed users of original clothing designs. The purpose of this article is to outline briefly the statutory protection presently available for such designs, and to discuss certain problems raised by the Dior v. Milton decision.

The Constitution, in article I, section 8, provides that Congress shall have power to enact legislation "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their …

Support Rights And Duties Between Husband And Wife, Monrad G. Paulsen

Vanderbilt Law Review

According to the common law a husband was entitled to his wife's earnings and most of her personal property in addition to the pleasure of her company and services in the home. These advantages have been considered the quid pro quo for the man's duty of support. Today, because of legislation, most of a husband's legal control over the income and means of his wife is gone. If a husband's duty to support is to be grounded in a reciprocal benefit to him, that benefit is derived almost wholly from the wife's obligation to be a wife and to live …

The Law Of Infants' Marriages, Robert Kingsley

Vanderbilt Law Review

Just as the law requires, for ordinary contracts, that a party thereto must have reached an age sufficient to give him reasonable discretion, so, in connection with the contract of marriage, the law has required that the parties be not too immature. It must be remembered, however, that the word "infant" is not one of fixed meaning: when used with reference to ordinary contracts, and without further qualification, it usually means a person under twenty-one years of age; but in the field of criminal law the dividing line between "infancy" and "adult" responsibility is fixed at a lesser age (14 …

Justice Story On The Common Law Of Evidence, John C. Hogan

Vanderbilt Law Review

In our system of jurisprudence it is the province of the jury to decide all matters of fact. The trial is held and the verdict of the jury is delivered in the presence of a judge who is bound to decide matters of law which arise in the course of the trial. Whenever a thing offered as proof is questioned as not proper to go before the jury as evidence, that question is to be resolved by the judge, and unless he permits it to be introduced as evidence at the trial, it can not legally come to the consideration …