Constitutional Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Discharge Of Teachers For Subversive Activity, William H. Bates

Michigan Law Review

An action was brought seeking a declaratory judgment as to the constitutionality of New York's Feinberg law. The statute provided that the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York should list organizations found to be subversive. Membership in such organizations was made prima facie disqualification for the position of public school teacher. At the time of suit the Board of Regents had made no listing of subversive groups nor had any teacher been discharged under the provisions of this enactment. The supreme court of New York, special term, held the law unconstitutional; the appellate division …

Constitutional Law-Fifth Amendment-Privilege Against Self-Incrimination By Admission, Or Knowledge, Of Communist Activities, Morris G. Shanker

Michigan Law Review

ln response to a subpoena, petitioner appeared as a witness before a United States district court grand jury. Several questions concerning· her knowledge and association with the Communist Party were put to her. In each case, she refused to answer the questions, claiming the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. For refusal to answer these same questions when brought before the district court, petitioner was adjudged to be in contempt of court. The court of appeals affirmed the holdings, and certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court. Held, judgment reversed. The Smith Act makes it unlawful to advocate knowingly the desirability …

Constitutional Law-Commerce Clause-State Regulation Of Interstate Commerce, William O. Allen

Michigan Law Review

The City of Madison enacted an ordinance prohibiting the sale within the municipality's jurisdiction of milk not pasteurized and bottled within five miles of the city's central square. Plaintiff, an Illinois corporation engaged in distributing milk and milk products in Illinois and Wisconsin, had its pasteurization plant in Illinois, approximately sixty-five miles from Madison. After it had been denied a permit to distribute milk in Madison, plaintiff brought an action for a declaratory judgment as to the validity of the ordinance. The ordinance was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court as a reasonable exercise of the municipality's police power. On …

International Law-Aliens-Confiscation Of Alien Enemy Property-Alien Enemy Character Of Shinto Shrine In Hawaii, Jean Engstrom S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Hawaiian corporation, brought suit under section 9 of the Trading with the Enemy Act for the return of real and personal property vested in 1948 under authority of section S(b). Evidence was introduced to show that plaintiff's members were largely alien Japanese; that, prior to December 7, 1941, plaintiff operated what purported to be a Shinto shrine in Honolulu where three Japanese gods were worshiped; that the shrine looked like a Shinto shrine and was in some respects operated like one. It was further shown that plaintiff's members had no real understanding of the tenets of Shintoism as …

Constitutional Law-Due Process Of Law-Thornhill Reexamined, Rex Eames S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In the spring of 1940, the Isle of Thornhill emerged from the watery depths and assumed a position in the Sea of American Constitutional Law. The discoverors of this Isle indicated their success was largely due to certain revelations made known three years· before by another highly distinguished explorer. The pronouncement in 1940 of the Isle's existence excited great furor and debate among the professional geographers as to its substance and future utility. In the early days of its discovery, Thornhill's area and coastline were not precisely or clearly charted, and only through several subsequent voyages have these important …

Civil Procedure-Venue-Forum Non Conveniens-Application Of Doctrine By State Court In Case Arising Under Federal Employers' Liability Act, Nancy J. Ringland S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Two suits based on the Federal Employers' Liability Act were brought in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. In both cases, plaintiff was not a Missouri resident, the defendant carrier was a foreign corporation, and the cause of action arose outside the state of Missouri. A motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens was denied as beyond the jurisdiction of the court, and mandamus proceedings were begun in the Supreme Court of Missouri to compel the trial court to exercise its discretion in disposing of the motions. The writs were quashed by the …

Constitutional Law-Freedom Of Speech, Alan C. Boyd S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant addressed a crowd of people, white and Negro, on a public sidewalk for the purpose of urging them to attend a certain meeting. During the course of his speech he "'called Mayor Costello [of Syracuse] a champaign [sic] sipping bum and President Truman a bum. He referred to the American Legion as Nazi Gestapo agents-he also said the fifteenth Ward was run by corrupt politicians and that horse rooms were operating.'" He also appealed to the Negroes to rise up and fight for equal rights. The police were called but at first merely observed the gathering. Angry …

Constitutional Law-Freedom Of Speech, Alan C. Boyd S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant addressed a crowd of people, white and Negro, on a public sidewalk for the purpose of urging them to attend a certain meeting. During the course of his speech he "'called Mayor Costello [of Syracuse] a champaign [sic] sipping bum and President Truman a bum. He referred to the American Legion as Nazi Gestapo agents-he also said the fifteenth Ward was run by corrupt politicians and that horse rooms were operating.'" He also appealed to the Negroes to rise up and fight for equal rights. The police were called but at first merely observed the gathering. Angry …

The Legislative Status Of An Unconstitutional Statute, Earl T. Crawford

Michigan Law Review

Once a statute has been found to violate some constitutional provision, a legislature is faced with a difficult problem of how to change the statute so as to effect the desired policy and still not violate constitutional principles. The general nature of this problem is suggested by such inquiries as these: Will the subsequent overruling of a previous judicial decision declaring a statute unconstitutional require any legislative action to put the statute into effect? Can a statute, which has been held violative of the constitution, be amended by corrective or curative legislation without complete re-enactment if the statute as amended …

Conflict Of Laws-Death By Wrongful Act-Recovery Under Foreign Statute, Douglas L. Mann S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A was killed in an automobile accident occurring in Illinois. Alleging that defendant wrongfully caused A's death, A's administrator sought recovery in Wisconsin, basing his claim on the Illinois death act. The trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment. Held, affirmed, two justices dissenting. The Wisconsin death act allows recovery of damages for wrongful death "provided, that such action shall be brought for a death caused in this state." It follows that maintenance of an action for a death caused in a sister state is against the public policy of Wisconsin. Hughes v. Fetter, 257 …

Constitutional Law-Power Of State To Discriminate Against Federal Government By Testamentary Transfer Statute, Gordon W. Hueschen

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, domiciled in California, made a testamentary gift to the United States. By an interpretation of the state probate code, the California Supreme Court held the gift invalid and directed distribution to decedent's heirs. The United States asserted unconstitutional interference with the federal government's power to receive gifts. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed. The California Probate Code did not violate the supremacy clause of the Constitution, and no unconstitutional discrimination was effected against the federal government thereby, even though the statute allows testamentary gifts by state domiciliaries to the state and prohibits testamentary gifts …

Administrative Agencies And The Court, Frank E. Cooper

Michigan Legal Studies Series

The limits which courts place on the powers of administrative tribunals have particular significance to practicing attorneys and law students. It is largely to the extent that such limits are imposed, that our government remains a government of laws and not a government of men.

The following pages have been written to describe the standards which the courts impose upon administrative agencies, thereby controlling and limiting their powers. More particularly, the writer has sought: (1) to bring together the leading cases in which the courts have laid down the principles that govern frequently litigated questions in contests between the agencies …

Constitutional Law-Search And Seizure -Inspection Of Private Dwelling By Health Officer Without A Warrant, Robert P. Griffin S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A health officer sought to enter and inspect respondent's private home without a search warrant after a neighbor complained that the premises were not "clean and wholesome" as required by a District of Columbia ordinance. Respondent denied the officer permission to enter and refused to unlock the door, maintaining that his entry would violate her constitutional rights. As a result, respondent was convicted in municipal court of violating an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to interfere with or prevent an authorized sanitation inspection. On appeal, reversal of the conviction by the Municipal Court of Appeals was affirmed by the Court …

Administrative Law-Federal Trade Commission-Constitutional And Statutory Authority To Order Additional Compliance Reports, Charles Myneder S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Proceeding under section 5 of its organic act, the Federal Trade Commission issued an order requiring defendants to cease and desist from engaging in certain trade practices. The court of appeals, in its decree affirming the order, directed compliance reports to be filed with the commission within a specified time, reserving jurisdiction to enter further orders. Four years after the compliance reports were filed, the commission, on its own motion, ordered additional reports to show continued compliance. Defendants refused to report, challenging the authority of the commission to issue the order. The district court dismissed suit by the commission for …

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection Clause-County Unit Vote, Charles Myneder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs brought an action against defendants, Chairman of the Georgia State Democratic Executive Committee and others, to restrain adherence to a state statute providing that the County Unit Vote shall determine the outcome of a primary election. Under the statute each county is alloted a number of unit votes. The candidate receiving the highest popular vote in the county is awarded the unit votes of that county. Plaintiffs, residents of the most populous county in the state, alleged that their votes had on an average but one-tenth the weight of those in the other counties in the state. From a …

Constitutional Limitations On The Regulation Of Union And Employer Conduct, Charles O. Gregory

Michigan Law Review

This is a discussion of constitutional issues involved in federal and state regulations pertaining to labor. The importance of substantive due process has dwindled away, except in relation to picketing and Jim Crow unionism. The dominant issue has become the exercise of power, in a jurisdictional sense, to eliminate socially injurious practices. During the past half century the Supreme Court has taken almost all possible positions on these matters. Pursuing the ideal of a living document, the Court has retailored the Constitution to suit the political exigencies and the dominant interest pressures of any given time.

Constitutional Law- Sixth Amendment-Impartial Jury-Government Employees On Jury When Government Is Party, G. B. Myers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, General Secretary of the Communist Party in the United States, was convicted of contempt of Congress after he failed to obey a subpoena of the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives. At the trial counsel for the petitioner during voir dire examination inquired as to the employment of each prospective juror, and challenged all Government employees for cause. Counsel argued that because of the "Loyalty Order" and other security investigations taking place in Washington, Government employees would be afraid to risk the possible consequences of an acquittal and were therefore subject to implied bias. The challenge …

Labor Law--Federal-State Relations--Validity Of Michigan's Labor Mediation Act, R. L. Storms S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff labor union called a strike against defendant auto corporation in May, 1948, without conforming to the prescribed state procedure. The purpose of the strike was to enforce demands for higher wages and the strike was conducted peacefully. To enjoin possible criminal prosecution the union instituted the instant suit in the state courts, contending that the Michigan labor mediation law, the much publicized "Bonine-Tripp Act," violated the due process and commerce clauses of the Federal Constitution. The Michigan Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court which had granted the injunction. On appeal, held, reversed. Congress has occupied …

Some Problems In Federal Question Jurisdiction, George B. Fraser, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Congress has given the federal district courts original and removal jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States, but the power of these courts to hear such cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court holds that the district courts have jurisdiction of a case if a federal question is raised in the complaint, but jurisdiction cannot be based on a federal question in the answer. This means that the district courts are closed to many cases that involve a substantial federal issue, while many cases …

Freund: On Understanding The Supreme Court., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of ON UNDERSTANDING THE SUPREME COURT. By Paul A. Freund.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Right Of Condemned Prisoner To A Hearing On Claim Of Supervening Insanity, Robert P. Griffin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was convicted of murder in a Georgia court and sentenced to die by electrocution. He made application to the governor to postpone execution on the ground that he had become insane after conviction. The governor, acting under authority of a state statute, appointed three physicians who conducted an examination of petitioner and found him sane. Thereupon, petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a state court contending that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment entitled him to a hearing on his insanity claim before a judicial or administrative tribunal at which he could …

Constitutional Law-Exports-Immunity From State Taxation, Paul E. Anderson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Article 1, section 10 of the Constitution provides, "No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports . . . . " This clause places a limitation on state taxing power. The basic problem is to determine at what point goods in the process of being manufactured and prepared for foreign shipment become exports. If the goods are found to be exports, they are immune to state taxation. Two recent Supreme Court decisions have dealt with this question in an attempt to lay down a general rule applicable to future situations. Because …

Constitutional Law-Corporations-Artificial "Persons" And The Fourteenth Amendment, Robert P. Griffin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

That a corporation is a "person" for certain purposes within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore entitled to invoke its protection, is considered by students of constitutional law to be well settled. For that reason the dissent of Justice Douglas in the recent case of Wheeling Steel Corporation v. Glander demands more than passing recognition. Therein he restates and adds his support to the view of Justice Black that the word "person" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment refers exclusively to human beings and affords no protection whatsoever to corporations against arbitrary state action.

Constitutional Law-Federal Courts-Diversity Jurisdiction- District Of Columbia Citizens, John D. Mcleod S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Act of Congress of April 20, 1940, provided that district courts should exercise original jurisdiction over actions "between citizens of different States, or citizens of the District of Columbia, the Territory of Hawaii, or Alaska, and any State or Territory . . . . " The committee report and the title indicate the purpose to extend to citizens of the District of Columbia and the territories the right to sue in federal district courts on grounds solely of diversity of citizenship. Although the committee reports indicated no constitutional difficulties, the majority of the lower federal courts which considered the …

Constitutional Law-Congressional Committees-Quorum, G. B. Myers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, having testified falsely before a committee of the House of Representatives, was convicted of perjury. On trial, petitioner contested the competency of the committee, maintaining that a quorum must actually be present when the testimony is given. Evidence was offered tending to show that though there was a record quorum at the beginning of the meeting in question, this quorum was not maintained at the time petitioner testified. The trial court agreed that presence of a quorum was essential, but charged, in effect, that this requirement is satisfied by a showing of a record quorum at the outset together …

Constitutional Law–Due Process–Equal Protection Of The Laws–Anti-"Strike Suit'' Legislation Held Constitutional, Joseph Gricar S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought a derivative suit against the defendant, a Delaware corporation, in a United States district court in New Jersey. While the suit was in process, New Jersey passed a statute permitting a corporation in whose name a suit was brought to demand security for reasonable expenses including attorney fees. The plaintiff stockholder was to be liable for such expenses if the suit was unsuccessful. The statute was not to apply when the complainant's holding represented 5% of the par or stated value of the corporation's outstanding stock or had a value of $50,000. Since the act applied to suits …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Right To Counsel In State Courts, Charles Myneder

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was tried before a jury on a charge of larceny, convicted and sentenced to a penitentiary term. He did not request counsel, and the court made no offer to appoint counsel. In the course of the trial, petitioner was prejudiced by his failure to object to certain errors in evidence. In a petition for habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he alleged denial of a constitutional right of counsel. On answer, it was averred that in petitioner's conduct of his own defense he displayed a "familiarity with legal process in the criminal courts." A transcript of petitioner's …

Constitutional Law-Eminent Domain-Elements Of Fair Value, Hugh B. Muir

Michigan Law Review

Respondent bought the tug MacArthur from the Coast Guard in March, 1942. Exclusive of his own labor, his outlay for purchase and repair of the tug totaled $8,574.78. In October, 1942, the War Shipping Administration, acting under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, requisitioned the tug and awarded compensation of $9,000. Respondent contested the award, and the Court of Claims found that the fair market value at the time of taking was $15,500. This determination was made without deduction for enhancement of value due to the government's need of vessels, or previous taking of vessels of similar type. The Court …

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Foreign Corporations-Discriminatory Intangibles Tax, Robert P. Griffin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An Ohio statute required foreign corporations doing business within the state to pay an ad valorem tax on accounts receivable which arose through outstate sales of goods shipped from warehouses within the state, even though the sales were consummated by an agent maintaining his office without the state. Such intangibles were declared by the Ohio statutory formula to have a situs within the state. At the same time, the accounts receivable of Ohio residents and domestic corporations which were derived from outstate sales by agents having their offices without the state were exempt, even though the goods were shipped from …

Constitutional Law-Privilege Against Self-Incrimination-Waiver Under Compulsory Testimony Act, John A. Nordberg

Michigan Law Review

Smith, sole owner and officer of a clothing corporation, appeared before an OPA examiner in response to a subpoena to produce the corporate books. Under the Emergency Price Control Act these records were required to be kept and preserved. Smith said that the records were "destroyed, lost, or misplaced.'' Then, on claiming privilege against self-incrimination, he testified as to activities of the corporation and contents of the absent records. During the interrogation Smith made a long statement in partial summation of his testimony. When he finished, he was asked, ''This is a voluntary statement. You do not claim immunity with …