Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Constitution And Preclusion/Res Judicata, Allan D. Vestal

Michigan Law Review

The interrelation of lawsuits is one of the most troublesome, yet least commented upon, areas of the law. The ramifications are great; related lawsuits may be pending concurrently, either brought by the same individual-repetitive litigation--or brought by different parties-reactive litigation. Such lawsuits may occur serially over a period of time. The courts are then faced with problems which have traditionally been discussed in terms of res judicata, bar, merger, or estoppel. It is impossible to cover the whole area or even a sizable part of it in a single article, but it is feasible to examine one facet which certainly …

Dissenchick V. Attorney General, Yoel Sussman, Moshe Landau, Zvi Berinson

Translated Opinions

The trial of one Rafael Blitz for murder stretched over a number of days. On the second day. a newspaper (of which the first appellant was the editor and the second appellant the responsible journalist) published a report which indicated that in answer to the charge defence counsel had pleaded not guilty before the accused could say anything. In the body of the article it was reported that before trial the accused had in fact admitted his guilt to a journalist, although it was noted that such admission not having been made in court was not binding. The appellants were …

Legislative Apportionment And Representative Government: The Meaning Of Baker V. Carr, Jo Desha Lucas

Michigan Law Review

In three recent cases the Supreme Court has reopened the question of the extent to which federal courts will review the general fairness of state schemes of legislative apportionment. It is a question on which the Court has had nothing to say for over a decade, leaving the bar to patch together the current state of the law from the outcome of cases disposed of without opinion considered against a backdrop of language used in earlier decisions.

The Marshall Court: Nationalization Of Private Rights And Personal Liberty From The Authority Of The Commerce Clause, W. Howard Mann

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Gideon V. Wainwright: The Art Of Overruling, Jerold H. Israel

Articles

During the 1962 Term, the Supreme Court, on a single Monday, announced six decisions concerned with constitutional limitations upon state criminal procedure. The most publicized of these, though probably not the most important in terms of legal theory or practical effect, was Gideon v. Wainwright. In an era of constantly expanding federal restrictions on state criminal processes, the holding of Gideon-that an indigent defendant in a state criminal prosecution has an unqualified right to the appointment of counsel-was hardly startling. And while Gideon will obviously have an important effect in the handful of states that still fail to appoint counsel …

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 …

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 …

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.

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Racial Segregation Of Spectator Seating In Courtroom, Thomas W. Van Dyke

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, judge of a municipal court in Virginia, assigned seating on the basis of race in that part of his courtroom reserved for spectators and for those awaiting the call of their business before the court. The same number of seats were provided for Negroes as for whites. There was no separation of the races in the area immediately before the bench nor was there any complaint of discrimination in the administration of justice. Plaintiffs are Negroes who have been required on more than one occasion to occupy seats in the spectator section on a racially-segregated basis. In a suit …

Executive Privilege In The Federal Courts, Paul Hardin Iii

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Compulsory Disclosure And The First Amendment - The Scope Of Judicial Review, Robert B. Kent

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Involvement of the Supreme Court of the United States with highly charged public issues understandably occasions fresh debate concerning the proper role of the Court in determining questions of ultimate governmental power, in short, debate over the doctrine of judicial review.

As it is sometimes difficult for the judge to distinguish between what is unconstitutional and what is merely unwise, so it is difficult for the critic to disassociate his reaction to the results reached in a given case from his evaluation of the competence of the particular judicial performance. For some the failure to draw such a line robs …

The Supreme Court And The Decline Of State Power, Roger C. Cramton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Powers Of Single Judge Under Three-Judge Acts

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court And State Power To Deal With Subversion And Loyalty, Roger C. Cramton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, Professor Cramton discusses the effect of recent United States Supreme Court decisions on state control of Subversive activities. He finds that while the decisions to some extent restrict state activity in this area, and though the Court in its decisions gives the impression of vacillation and confusion, some definite and workable principles are emerging which contribute to a resolution of the inherent conflict of federal-state relations which these issues pose. He concludes that as the states grow more sophisticated in their treatment of these issues, so the policy of judicial self-restraint will become more influential in restricting …

"Federal Question" Jurisdiction -- A Snare And A Delusion, Ernest J. London

Michigan Law Review

Poorly defined criteria in the area of jurisdiction are especially wasteful, generating as they often do expensive and protracted litigation over threshold issues, rather than promoting the speedy determination of lawsuits on their merits. One of the most perplexing exercises in American law practice is the effort to define with certainty the original jurisdiction of the lower federal courts in matters where there is no diversity of citizenship. Although this general head of federal jurisdiction has persistently and pervasively been characterized as "federal question" jurisdiction, it is doubtful whether there is, in fact, original jurisdiction in the lower federal courts …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Due Process of Law--Constitutionality of the Federal Youth Corrections Act in Its Application to Youthful Criminal Offenders

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Constitutional Law--Legislative Power--Infringement of Constitutional Guaranties by Demands of Legislative Investigating Committees for the Production of Membership Lists

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Courts--Process--Immunity of Nonresident Defendants in Federal Criminal Actions from Service of State Civil Process

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Damages--Installment Verdict in Tort Action

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Domestic Relations--Separation--Suit by Mentally Incompetent Wife

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Interstate Commerce--Hobbs Act--"Robbery" Provision Construed as Requiring Proof of Common Law Elements of Offense

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Taxation--Income--Determination of "Useful Life" of a Business Asset for Purposes of Depreciation

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Taxation--Income--Full Payment of Tax Deficiency as …

Constitutional Law - Right To Jury Trial In Indirect Criminal Contempts In Federal Courts, Denis T. Rice S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Should constitutional provisions for jury trial apply to contempts committed outside the physical presence of a federal court? The United States Supreme Court, in the recent case of Green v. United States, reviewed this long disputed question. The case involved two Communist Party leaders who had been convicted of Smith Act violations and then had "jumped bail" when they disappeared in violation of surrender orders requiring their presence in court for sentencing. After four and a half years as fugitives they surrendered in 1956 and were charged with criminal contempt of court. Following a so-called "summary" hearing (without the …

Habeas Corpus - Jurisdiction - Exhaustion Of State Remedies As Prerequisite To Federal Relief, John D. Kelly S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, a prisoner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted of armed robbery in 1947, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court after several efforts to secure the writ in a state court had been unsuccessful. Jurisdiction was based on exhaustion of available state remedies. The petition alleged that the Commonwealth had violated petitioner's rights under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by denying him the right to be represented by counsel at his trial. The Commonwealth moved to dismiss on the ground that the petition on its face showed that state remedies …

The Supreme Court: Constitutional Revolution In Retrospect, By Bernard Schwartz, Irving Dilliard

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Advisory Opinions In The Federal Judiciary -- A Comparative Study, Wencelas J. Wagner

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Federal Procedure - Trial Practice - Not Reversible Error For Trial Judge To Summon Jury Sua Sponte After Waiver, Thomas A. Dieterich

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff instituted this action for breach of contract and defendant counterclaimed. Neither party demanded a jury trial during the period in which it was claimable as of right. Subsequently defendant moved for a jury trial. The motion was denied and was never renewed. Seven months later, on the eve of the trial, the court issued an order sua sponte for a jury trial. Plaintiff's objection was overruled. The jury awarded damages to plaintiff in the same amount as the conceded counterclaim. On appeal, held, affirmed, one judge dissenting. Although the trial judge's action in calling a jury on his …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of A State Court Over A Foreign Corporation, Robert L. Knauss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Peninsular Gas Company, a Michigan corporation, brought an action in Missouri against the plaintiff for breach of contract. A judgment was returned for plaintiff, and plaintiff immediately filed suit for malicious prosecution and served process on the president of the corporation who was in Missouri for the prior trial. On a motion to quash, held, sustained. Under the due process clause of the United States Constitution, the court had no right to assume jurisdiction. Defendant corporation was not doing business in Missouri, for bringing a prior lawsuit was a single isolated act and was not a part of its …

Constitutional Law - State Action - Effect Of State Court Interpretation Of A Contract, Dudley H. Chapman

Michigan Law Review

Mrs. Doris Walker, president of her local union, was discharged by Cutter Laboratories in 1949 because of membership in the Communist Party and falsification of her employment application. The employer acquired knowledge of these facts in 1947, but did not act at that time to avoid charges of persecuting a union officer. The union, pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, which authorized discharge for "just cause" only, sought and obtained reinstatement from the arbitration board, which action was affirmed by the district court of appeal, but reversed by the California Supreme Court. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, …

Constitutional Law - Grand Jury Under The Fifth Amendment Indictments Not Subject To Attack On Evidentiary Ground, Jerome K. Walsh, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of willfully evading federal income taxes due for the years 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. His motion before trial to dismiss the indictment on the ground that he was firmly convinced that there could have been no legal or competent evidence before the grand jury was denied by the trial court. At the conclusion of the government's case, and again just before the case went to the jury, counsel for the defendant moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that only hearsay evidence offered by three revenue agents had …

Courts--Supervisory Powers--Enjoinment Of Federal Narcotics Agent From Testifying In State Court, T. E. P.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Right To Counsel In Juvenile Court, John A. Ziegler Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In April 1953 petitioner was found to have violated a law by the juvenile court. Being under the age of eighteen, he was committed to the National Training School for Boys of the District 0£ Columbia. He was paroled about a year later but was re-arrested in March 1955 for violation of his parole and brought before the United States Parole Board. Before the parole board could take action he petitioned the federal district court for a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that the action of the juvenile court in 1953 had been unconstitutional in that petitioner had …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Use Of Habeas Corpus To Allow Federal Court To Review State Court Jury Determination Of Voluntariness Of Confession, Herbert R. Brown S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The prisoner had been convicted of murder in the state court. He brought a habeas corpus proceeding in federal district court to secure his release from custody on the ground that the conviction was based on a confession which was obtained by physical violence. The confession had been submitted to the jury, which was instructed to consider it only if it found that it was not obtained by duress or fear produced by threats. The district court granted the writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, held, affirmed. The district court could determine the facts of the case for itself. …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Conflict of Laws--Governmental Activities--Recognition in Forum of Sister State's Original Revenue Claim

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Constitutional Law--State Taxation of Interstate Commerce--Sales Tax on Shipboard Sales to Passengers

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Courts--Certiorari from United States Supreme Court--Loss of Importance Ground for Dismissal

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Domestic Relations--Adoption--Revocation of Consent by Natural Parents

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Evidence--Admissibility--Exclusion of Evidence Obtained by Unreasonable Search and Seizure

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Federal Procedure--Illegal Search--Injunction Against Agent's Testifying in State Court

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Income Taxation--Claim of Right Income--Time of Deduction when Restoration Required

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Malicious Prosecution--Privilege--Filing of Complaint with Bar Ethics and Grievance Committee

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Power Of Michigan One-Man Grand Jury To Punish Contempt, Stephen C. Bransdorfer S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners were two witnesses called before a Detroit Recorder's Court judge sitting as a Michigan one-man grand jury to investigate suspected police corruption. During the hearings both petitioners were cited for contempt. An order to show cause why they should not be punished was issued by the judge. Subsequently, in open hearings, the same judge convicted and sentenced petitioners. The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed. To allow a judge who sat as a one-man grand jury to preside at a contempt hearing regarding the same witnesses violates due process. In …

Constitutional Law - Right To Effective Assistance Of Counsel In Federal Courts And Waiver Thereof, Richard M. Adams S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Indicted for illegal traffic in narcotics, petitioner and his trial counsel allegedly attempted to fabricate an alibi on the false testimony of petitioner's girl friend. The evidence indicated that on several occasions before trial, the girl was invited to the office of petitioner's attorney, given narcotics, and told to memorize certain false testimony to be used in petitioner's defense. Later the girl bad a change of mind and agreed to testify for the government Despite the strenuous objections of defendant's counsel, a description of this alleged fraud on the court was given in the prosecution's opening statement, and the witness …