Constitutional Law Commons^™

A Supplement To "Constitutionality Of Marketable Title Acts"-1951-1957, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

An article bearing the title, "Constitutionality of Marketable Title Acts," was published in December 1951. It was there pointed out that such legislation, of which the Michigan act is an example, should be found to be within constitutional limits. It was recognized, however, that direct authority was scarce and that cases that might be deemed pertinent were conflicting.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Adequacy Of Notice By Publication, Cyril Moscow S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In condemnation proceedings instituted by a city against a landowner, notice of proceedings to determine his compensation was given only by publication in the official city newspaper. The statute in force called for notice either in writing or by publication. After the time authorized for appeal from a compensation award had elapsed, the landowner brought an equitable action to enjoin the city from entering upon the property, alleging that he knew nothing of the condemnation proceedings until after the time for appeal had passed. The trial court denied relief, holding that the newspaper publication was sufficient notice to meet due …

Severance Damage In Eminent Domain Proceedings, Sheldon J. Plager

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Notice Required To Validate Tax Foreclosure Of Property Of Known Mental Incompetent, Frank M. Lacey S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On May 8, 1952, the town of Somers instituted an action to foreclose a number of tax liens. One of these was upon the property owned by a person known in the community to be a mental incompetent, but who had not yet been so certified by a court. Notice was given to the incompetent taxpayer in compliance with the statute by mail, posting, and publication. When she failed to answer within the prescribed period, foreclosure was entered and a deed to her property delivered to the town. Five days later she was declared a person of unsound mind, and …

Book Reviews, Arthur M. Sammis, Michael H. Cardozo, George T. Frampton, Percy Bordwell, S. E. Thorne, Herbert A. Kuvin, W. Bryan Bolich, Joseph Dainow, Robert B. Looper

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law--Gift Of Land "For Use By White Race Only" Creates Possibility Of Reverter For Violation, C. M. C.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law-Congressional Powers-Validity Of The 1953 Submerged Lands Act, William D. Keeler

Michigan Law Review

In 1947 and 1950 the Supreme Court held that the coastal states had no property interest in the submerged lands lying seaward from the low water mark, whether ownership of this land was held by the state prior to admission into the Union or not, and that the federal government had paramount rights in and power over this land, including the resources of the soil beneath it. In 1953 Congress passed, and the President signed, the Submerged Lands Act, which vested in the coastal states title to and proprietary power over this land. Alabama and Rhode Island petitioned the Court …

Constitutional Law, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Supreme Court of Tennessee has been faced with few major Constitutional Law problems during the period under consideration. Statistically, the action of the Court in invalidating one law out of almost a score that were attacked before it on the basis of constitutional defect suggests an attitude of judicial restraint toward the product of a coordinate branch of government. The relatively small number of constitutional questions raised-- and many of them were obviously make-weight rather than points of principal reliance-- suggests a general awareness of the Court's stability and the unlikelihood of its departing from established precedent. Similarly, regard …

Treaties Governing The Succession To Real Property By Aliens, Willard L. Boyd, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Under customary international law no nation has the duty to grant to aliens the right to hold real property. Although international law accords to an alien the privilege of participating in the economic life of the state of his residence, this privilege does not encompass the right to hold real property. The right to succeed to and hold real property is a matter solely within the competence of a nation. It is for each nation exclusively to regulate the acquisition and tenure of real property. National authority in this regard can be traced to the concept that the sovereign may …

Constitutional Law-Eminent Domain-Destruction Of Private Property To Prevent Enemy Capture, John F. Spindler S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Respondent oil companies owned terminal facilities in Manila at the time of the Japanese attack on the Philippines. The terminals were destroyed by the United States Army as the Japanese entered the city. Although the Army had requisitioned oil from the terminals prior to their destruction, respondents were bound by the decision of the court of claims to the effect that prior to December 27, 1941, when respondents were notified that the terminals themselves were requisitioned for the purpose of destruction, there had been no taking within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment. The court of claims allowed recovery on …

Claims Against The State Of Kentucky--Reverse Eminent Domain, Paul Leo Oberst, Thomas P. Lewis

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law--Privacy--Right Of Individual On Public Conveyances, G. D. H. S.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Thomas Reed Powell, Bernard D. Meltzer, Louis L. Jaffe, Edward D. Morgan, Paul H. Sanders, Neill H. Alford Jr., Carl M. Franklin, Fowler Harper, Robert E. Childs, David E. Watts, Joseph L. Frascona, Maynard E. Pirsig, Samuel M. Fahr, Robert S. Stevens, Corwin W. Johnson, W. Friedmann, Thomas A. Cowan

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--RACIAL RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS--ALLOWANCE OF DAMAGES FOR BREACH

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CORPORATIONS--PARENT AND SUBSIDIARY--SUBSIDIARY AS INSTRUMENTALITY OF PARENT WHEN USED TO CARRY ON UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

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EVIDENCE--ADMISSIBILITY OF CONFESSION--SCOPE OF REVIEW OF COURT-MARTIAL BY COURT OF MILITARY APPEALS

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EVIDENCE--CONFLICT OF LAWS--APPLICATION OF DOCTRINE OF RES IPSA LOQUITUR

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EVIDENCE--DUE PROCESS--USE IN STATE PROSECUTION OF EVIDENCE FORCIBLY OBTAINED BY STOMACH PUMP

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EVIDENCE--ENTRIES IN THE REGULAR COURSE OF BUSINESS--TEST FOR EXTENT OF ADMISSIBILITY UNDER FEDERAL JUDICIAL CODE

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EVIDENCE--HEARSAY--ADOPTION OF LIBERAL ADMISSION RULES OF ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS IN ANTITRUST COURT ACTION

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EVIDENCE--IMPEACHMENT OF ONE'S OWN WITNESS--USE OF PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS

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Eminent Domain—Private Property Destroyed Pursuant To Scorched Earth Policy—Held Compensable, Neil R. Farmelo

Buffalo Law Review

Caltex (Phillipines) Inc. v. United States, 100 Fed. Supp. 970 (Ct. Cl. 1951).

Public Use, Public Policy And Recent Developments In The Law Of Eminent Domain, Morree Levine

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONFLICT OF LAWS--DOMICIL FOR PURPOSES OF INCOME TAXATION--ABSENCE OF FIXED INTENT TO REMAIN IN RESIDENCE OR TO RETURN TO DOMICIL OF ORIGIN

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INTERSTATE COMMERCE--VALIDITY OF STATE TAX UPON GROSS RECEIPTS OF SEGMENT OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--PEACEFUL PICKETING--POWER OF STATE COURT TO ENJOIN

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--POWER OF COURT TO PUNISH FOR DIRECT CONTEMPT--OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN COUNSEL

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EVIDENCE--ADMISSIBILITY OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS--HARGER DRUNKOMETER TEST TO DETERMINE INTOXICATION

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FEDERAL JURISDICTION--REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL QUESTION APPEAR ON FACE OF COMPLAINT--APPLICATION TO DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ACTION

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INCOME TAXES--DEDUCTION OF BUSINESS EXPENSES--DEDUCTIBILITY OF PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF PRICE REGULATIONS

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INSURANCE--"COMPREHENSIVE" COVERAGE …

Corporations-Restrictions On Holding Real Estate-Lnterpretation Of Michigan's Constitutional Restriction, W. M. Myers

Michigan Law Review

While it is now well settled that a corporation has the power to acquire and hold real estate, this power may be limited by the charter creating the corporation, by legislative enactments of a general nature, or by specific constitutional provisions. When such a limitation is imposed by constitution, a problem of construction arises in interpreting it in a workable way after the social conditions motivating it have changed or disappeared.

Eminent Domain-Right Of Abutting Owner To Compensation For Use Of Roadway For Purpose Other Than Travel. [Ohio]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law--Impairment Of Obligation Of Contract--Mortgage Moratorium--Determination Of The Existence Of An Emergency, George Brody

Michigan Law Review

In 1943 the New York State Legislature extended its moratorium legislation for another year, thereby continuing the suspension of mortgage foreclosure proceedings on real property due to default in payments on principal. The legislature declared that an emergency still existed and therefore the continuance of legislative action, first taken in 1933, was justified. The law made payment of interest, taxes, insurance and amortization charges a prerequisite to suspension of foreclosure. Appellant brought an action to foreclose a mortgage on appellee's property for the non-payment of principal, contending that the suspension of foreclosure proceedings resulted in an impairment of the obligation …

Municipal Corporations - Constitutional Law-Exemption Of Homesteads From Taxation For State Purposes, Hobart Taylor, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A taxpayer brought a class suit in his own name for the use and benefit of himself and other taxpayers against the city of Wichita Falls to have an ordinance exempting from all taxes $3,000 of the assessed taxable values of all residence homesteads of the city declared void, and for a permanent injunction restraining the city from allowing such exemption and issuing certificates therefor to owners of homesteads. The ordinance had been passed under authority of a constitutional amendment permitting a similar exemption for "state purposes." Held, a homestead is taxable under the constitution for all purposes other …

Constitutional Law - Highways - Billboard Regulations-Application Of Easement Principles, Ruth I. Wilson

Michigan Law Review

In Kelbro, Inc. v. Myrick, where the license and setback requirements of the Vermont outdoor advertising law were sustained together with provisions for summary removal of nonconforming advertisements, the Vermont Supreme Court declared that the commercial billboard companies have no common-law right to the privilege of visibility on which their business depends. Their exploitation of this privilege, it held, is a commercial use of the public thoroughfares which has been permitted only by sufferance and has always been subject to prohibition or regulation by the legislature.

Constitutional Law - Validity Of Rent Provisions Of Emergency Price Control Act, George T. Schilling

Michigan Law Review

The administrator of the Office of Price Administration brought an action in a federal district court to enjoin defendant from violating the rent provisions of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, and orders and regulations issued pursuant thereto. Defendant, by way of counterclaim, challenged the constitutionality of the act and Regulation No. 10 and sought an in junction restraining plaintiff from enforcing against her the provisions of the act, from interfering with the use and occupancy of her premises and her right to invoke the jurisdiction of the state courts, and requesting the suspension of the penal provisions of …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Notice And Hearing - Validity Of Statute Authorizing Seizure Of Property Illegally In Possession Of Pawnbroker, Wilbur Jacobs

Michigan Law Review

Complainant, believing his property to be illegally in the possession of defendant pawnbroker, obtained a search warrant, authorized by statute to be issued, on complaint under oath, by any magistrate who is satisfied that there is reasonable cause for complainant's belief. Although the statute required the property to be seized and delivered to complainant on his posting a bond for double the value of the property, the property was not in fact seized. However, actual notice to appear and be heard on a certain date was given to the defendant, even though such notice was not expressly required by the …

Constitutional Law - Federal Power To Dispose Of Property - Use Of Imposed Conditions To Induce State Conformity To Congressional Policy, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A federal grant of public land to the city of San Francisco, on condition that the land be used for municipal production and distribution- of water and electricity, contained an express prohibition against the sale of electric energy to any private company for resale. The United States sought to enjoin the city from carrying out a contract with a private corporation whereby the latter distributed the electricity to consumers at rates set by the state railroad commission. The federal circuit court of appeals declared the relationship between the city and corporation was that of agency, rather than vendor and vendee. …

Constitutional Law- Eminent Domain - Power Of State To Condemn Land For Low-Cost Housing And Transfer To The United States, Oscar Freedenberg

Michigan Law Review

Public low-cost housing legislation on a national scale in this country began with title II, section 202 of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which authorized the administrator to embark upon a program for "construction, reconstruction, alteration, or repair under public regulation or control of low-cost housing and slum-clearance projects." But soon thereafter, in United States v. Certain Lands in the City of Louisville, a majority of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that the N.I.R.A. was unconstitutional so far as it attempted to authorize the condemnation of land by the United …

Constitutional Law - Eminent Domain - Value As Fixed By Agreement Between The Parties - When Is Property Taken For Purpose Of Determining Payment Of Interest?, John H. Pickering

Michigan Law Review

Defendant's land, situated between the riverside and set-back levees of the proposed floodway extending along the western bank of the Mississippi from Bird's Point to New Madrid, Missouri, was inundated in the flood of 1937, at which time the floodway, with its system of fuse plugs (whereby the riverbank levee was to be lowered to allow flood waters to spend their destructive force by spreading over larger areas) was not yet in operation. Thereafter the United States, under authority conferred by the Flood Control Act of 1928, instituted condemnation proceedings to secure flowage rights over defendant's land. Defendant claimed that …

Constitutional Law - Mortgages - Moratoria On The Way Out?, Elbridge D. Phelps

Michigan Law Review

As a general proposition, one might perhaps feel prone to quarrel with the statement that "history repeats itself," but there can be little doubt that it applies full well to legislation aimed at relieving hard-pressed debtors in times of financial crises. From our earliest American history, every economic "winter" has provoked a landslide of pro-debtor legislation. Nor have mortgage debtors been overlooked in this regard. The remedies suggested have been as varied and ingenious as human minds could concoct. A brief review of the past decisions indicates that when they could be said to impair the obligation of contract, such …

Constitutional Law - Special Assessments - Property Owner's Right To Hearing Under Due Process Clause - Legislative Determination Of Benefits, Richard S. Brawerman

Michigan Law Review

The California legislature created the Los Angeles Flood Control District, empowered a board of supervisors to construct improvements and acquire property necessary or useful for carrying out the purposes of the act, and provided for the organization of drainage districts within the flood control district. An amendatory act provided that the board of supervisors might accept a transfer of "all, but not less than all," improvements of defined classes lying within the flood control district, whereupon the district should become liable for principal and interest of bonds afterward maturing which had been issued by any drainage district to cover the …

Constitutional Law - Validity Of Mortgage Moratorium Act - Effect Of Lapse Of Time On "Emergency'' Legislation, Ralph Winkler

Michigan Law Review

A mortgage moratorium law was enacted in Nebraska in 1933. It was re-enacted in 1935 and again in 1937. The act recited that an emergency existed and that the law was adopted to provide for this condition. The instant case involved the constitutionality of this law. A majority of the court held that the law violated the due process clause and the contracts clause of the state constitution. While the court admitted that "land values have not been restored to the prices they had attained prior to March 1, 1934," nevertheless, "It appears that there is no crisis now prevailing …