Constitutional Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law-Validity Of The Eighteenth Amendment

Michigan Law Review

Defendants were indicted for violation of the National Prohibition Act, and on motion to quash they argued that the Eighteenth Amendment under which this statute was enacted conferred new direct powers upon the United States and, within the intent of Article V of the Constitution, could not be properly ratified except by convention. The lower court, on a theory of political interpretation, agreed; indictment quashed. On appeal to the Supreme Court it was held, that the Eighteenth Amendment was lawfully ratified by a method clearly and unequivocally left to the election of Congress. United States v. Sprague, U. …

Trusts--Exercise Of A Power With Consent Of Trustee-Retroactive Federal Inheritance Tax

Michigan Law Review

A trust, established in 1908, reserved a power to the settlor to alter or amend the provisions of the trust, conditioned on the assent of the trustee. 26 U. S. C. A. sec. 1094 (d), Rev. Act (1926) sec. 302 (d), which applied to trusts subject at the date of death to any change through the exercise of a power either by the decedent alone or in conjunction with any person, to alter, amend or revoke, was made retroactive by clause (h) of the same section. Held, since the transfer was complete before the death of the settler, section …

Review: Cases On Constitutional Law, Thomas C. Lavery

Michigan Law Review

A Review of: CASES ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW By Dudley O. McGovney.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Reasonableness Of Police Regulation

Michigan Law Review

The New York Agriculture and Markets Law, (Cons. Law, c. 69), sec. 252, 253, required an annual license of all persons or corporations gathering milk from producers for manufacture or resale. This was to be issued only upon execution of a bond for at least $2,000, conditioned upon the compliance with this law and the prompt payment to producers for milk or cream bought by the gatherer. The commission, however, could by formal order relieve the gatherer from having to file this bond if satisfied as to the gather's solvency and probable ability to pay for milk purchased. In case …

Review: The Constitution And What It Means Today. By Edward S. Corwin, Forrest Revere Black

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE CONSTITUTION AND WHAT IT MEANS TODAY. By Edward S. Corwin

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Police Power-Junk Yards

Michigan Law Review

The City of Ashland, Kentucky, acting under a specific power to license and regulate junk yards granted to it by the legislature under section 3058-2 Ky. Stat. (Carroll, 1922) passed an ordinance requiring applicants for licenses to operate junk yards within the city of Ashland. "to make and execute with the Clerk of the City of Ashland, Kentucky, a permit signed by the applicant providing that the Police Department * * * may inspect and search the said shop or place of business." The appellant complied with all other requirements, but refused to execute the permit: Because the clerk would …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Revocationof Driver's License

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner's license was suspended under a statute which provided that if a judgment for personal injuries or property damage resulting from the ownership or operation of an automobile remained unpaid fifteen days after it became final, the driver's license should be revoked or suspended until payment and until proof offered of ability to pay future claims. Arrested and jailed for driving without a license, petitioner sought release by writ of habeas corpus on the ground that the statute was unconstitutional. Held, that the operation of the statute was discriminatory and based on an unnatural classification; petitioner discharged. Ex parte …

Crimes-Procedure-Constitutionality Of The Short Form Of The Indictment

Michigan Law Review

The respondents were tried and found guilty of murder. Held, that the constitutional provision that "the accused shall be fully informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him" requires an indictment returned by the grand jury to contain allegations as to the time and place of the assault and the time and place of death of the decedent where the crime charged is murder. State v. Rector (S. C . 1930) 155 S.E. 385.

Intoxicating Liquors-Liability Of Purchaser To Federal Prosecution

Michigan Law Review

Considering the tremendous amount of public interest evinced in all cases arising under the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act, it seems strange, at first glance, that more attention has not been paid by the courts to the purchaser of intoxicating beverages. Since the passage of the National Prohibition Act the dockets have been crowded with cases dealing with the sale, manufacture, and transportation of intoxicants, but it was not until ten years after the passage of the Act that the United States Supreme Court was asked to consider the legality of the purchase of liquor as such. The question …

Constitutional Law-Action For Personal Injury As Property

Michigan Law Review

In an action for personal injury to the plaintiff while a guest in defendant's car, the trial court instructed the jury that plaintiff must prove the elements required by the Guest Act, i.e., a heedless and reckless disregard of the rights of others, and not merely the common law requirements for negligence. The Guest Act (Pub, Acts, 1927, c. 308) was void for failure of the governor to sign in the prescribed time. Validating acts were passed after the accident in question. Held, action for personal injury was a property interest and the validating acts, operating retrospectively, impaired plaintiff's …

What Rights Are Left, Everett S. Brown

Michigan Law Review

A review of WHAT RIGHTS ARE LEFT By Henry Alan Johnston.

Tenure Of Office Under The Constitution, Everett S. Brown

Michigan Law Review

A review of TENURE OF OFFICE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION By James Hart.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Statutory Interpretation As Judicial Legislation

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought suit in Missouri to enjoin collection of taxes alleged to be discriminatory, basing his claim for equitable relief on the absence of any other remedy. The supreme court of Missouri dismissed the bill, without hearing on the substantive question, on the ground that there existed, under a state statute, an adequate remedy in appeal to the state tax commission. Previously the court had denied, in several cases, that the statute gave such a right, and had allowed equitable relief in one case on that ground. When the decision in the principal case was rendered, it was too late …

The Supreme Court's Construction Of The Self-Incrimination Clause, Edward S. Corwin

Michigan Law Review

The second pivotal decision of the court in construction of the self-incrimination clause is that in Counselman v. Hitchcock, decided in 1892. An advantageous approach to it is furnished by certain earlier state and federal court decisions applying the common law regarding the privilege of witnesses.

Constitutional Law -Elections - Constitutionality Of The Corrupt Practices Act-The Kohler Case

Michigan Law Review

The relator brought an action to test the right of the defendant Kohler to the office of governor of the state of Wisconsin, asserting that his election was invalid for violation of the Corrupt Practices Act, particularly in that he had expended more than $100,000 for political purposes in violation of the provision of the act limiting such expenditures for candidates for governor to $4,000. The defendant demurred to the petition, asserting that the Corrupt Practices Act is void and unconstitutional as applied to the governor because (1) the statute seeks to prescribe either qualifications for the office of governor …

Constitutional Law-Crimes-Waiver Of Jury

Michigan Law Review

The accused, on trial for a felony, was permitted by the trial judge to waive a jury. The trial before the judge alone resulted in an acquittal. The state's attorney petitioned for a writ of mandamus to expunge from the record the orders to dispose of the cause without a jury and for discharge of the accused, on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction to hear and determine the cause. Held, writ of mandamus denied. People ex rel. Swanson v. Fisher (Ill., 1930) 172 N.E. 722.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Procedure

Michigan Law Review

New York Code of Criminal Procedure, sections 921-925, provides, in substance, that the Commissioner of Public Welfare may apply to two magistrates and, upon a showing that a husband or father owning property in the jurisdiction has absconded leaving a wife or children likely to become charges on the public, may secure a warrant for the seizure of such property and that, after confirmation of the warrant by the county court, such property may be applied to the support of the spouse or children. No sort of notice to the absentee is required. Held, affirming the decision of the …

The Supreme Court's Construction Of The Self-Incrimination Clause, Edward S. Corwin

Michigan Law Review

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution reads as follows: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized." The so-called "self-incrimination clause" of Amendment V reads as follows: "No person * * * shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."

Constitutional Law-Usury-Corporations

Michigan Law Review

The complainant corporation filed a bill in chancery to set aside the foreclosure of a mortgage on the ground of usury. Public Acts of Michigan, 1927, No. 335, pt. 2, c. 1, sec. 1, and pt. 2, c. 2, sec. 12, amending Public Acts, 1921, No. 84, provided that a corporation could not set up the defense of usury. The complainant contended that this statute was invalid, being class legislation and hence a violation of the "equal protection of the law'' clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution. Held, that the classification was reasonable and did not …

Witnesses-Immunity From Self-Incrimination-Statute Requiring Testimony That Would Subject Witness To A Penalty

Michigan Law Review

Acts 1921, No. 203 of Vermont required a disclosure from all persons convicted of intoxication as to the persons from whom the liquor was obtained. The petitioner was convicted of intoxication and on his refusal to disclose the person from whom he obtained the liquor was adjudged to be in contempt and committed to jail. Held, petitioner was in unlawful restraint and should be discharged, as the law requiring the disclosure was unconstitutional, article ten of the state constitution providing that no person could be compelled to give evidence against himself. In the light of Acts 1921, No. 204 …

Taxation-Constitutional Law-Classifcation Of Corporations

Michigan Law Review

The equal protection clause does not detract from the right of the state justly to exert its taxing power or prevent it from adjusting its legislation to differences in situation or forbid classification in that connection, but it does require that the classification be not arbitrary, but based on a real and substantial difference having a reasonable relation to the subject of the particular legislation. Though this is the generally accepted rule as to classification, it has long been recognized by the Supreme Court that the very nature of taxation demands that the legislatures be given the widest sort of …

When Is A Treaty Self-Executing, Leslie Henry

Michigan Law Review

A self-executing treaty is a treaty which of its own force furishes a rule of municipal law for the guidance of municipal courts in deciding cases involving the rights of individuals.

Ordinarily treaties are simply agreements or contracts between two or more sovereignties, obligating them to carry out the mutual promises contained therein. But under our Constitution a treaty is of greater force. It may operate as a law, just like an act of Congress. But the constitutional provision is not mandatory. Not every treaty provision is necessarily a law. For example, a promise to secure the passage of legislation …

The Status Of A Municipal Corporation Organized Under An Unconstitutional Statute, Oliver P. Field

Michigan Law Review

A municipal corporation has governmental as well as proprietary functions to perform. It differs from a private corporation in that its primary functions are governmental. Municipal corporations are usually spoken of as legal persons, or entities, in the same sense that private corporations are, but in studying them it must always be borne in mind that the main purpose for which most of them are created is that they may perform certain governmental functions.

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Disparity Of Privilege And Discrimination

Michigan Law Review

The equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment provides that no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of the laws that others in the same place and under like circumstances enjoy. But it has been said that "equality and not identity of privileges and rights is what is guaranteed to the citizen" by the fourteenth amendment. People v. Gallagher, 93 N. Y. 438, 45 Am. Rep. 232. Any law which in terms provides for identity of privileges and rights, but which operates in such a manner as to produce political or economic inequality. because of …

Due Process Of Law In State Labor Legislation, Fowler Vincent Harper

Michigan Law Review

With this material in mind, is it possible to arrive at any useful conclusions as to what constitutes due process of law in labor legislation? In each group of cases, there seem to be two distinct, though inseparable functions of the judicial process of reviewing the legislation in question. The courts, in brief, are arriving at conclusions both of fact and of law. The impression was, at one time prevalent that the extent of review of certain types of labor legislation was limited to the reasonableness of the' statute as respects the end sought and the means of attaining that …

Due Process Of Law In State Labor Legislation, Fowler Vincent Harper

Michigan Law Review

State interference with conditions of employment, as determined by the strength of the contracting parties, by imposing requirements calculated to protect the safety and health of employees, has not been without interruption from the courts. In the earlier cases, when organized labor was not strong enough to enforce the most reasonable demands without assistance from the legislature, the courts were wont to look with astute eye upon the infringement of liberty of contract thus resulting. When the reasoning started with the assumption that liberty of contract was the rule and the employment of the police power of the State the …

Constitutional Law-Eminent Domain-Judcial Review By Certiorari

Michigan Law Review

In a previous number of this volume the holding of the supreme court of Michigan was discussed wherein sections 1 and 2, article 13, of the constitution of 1908 were held to make necessity as well as compensation a judicial question in eminent domain cases. Accordingly, in that case, the court held that the feature of the statute (P. A. 1925, No. 352) authorizing the state highway commissioner to make a conclusive determination of necessity, without notice and hearing to the landowner, and without judicial review, was unconstitutional.

Due Process Of Law In State Labor Legislation, Fowler Vincent Harper

Michigan Law Review

Any regulation on the part of the state of the relations between the laborer and his employer must necessarily deprive the one or the other of his liberty or property, by interfering with his freedom to contract. The protection of freedom of contract which the Constitution affords is not, however, an absolute right. There is nothing necessarily unconstitutional about such legislation unless it is "without due process of law." In other words, legislation of this kind is usually a valid regulation if it can be justified as coming within the due process of law provision.

The Doctrine Of "Hot Pursuit"--A New Application

Michigan Law Review

A recent decision of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina involves a point apparently unique in the records of international law. The Vinces, a schooner of British registry, laden with a cargo of intoxicating liquors not under seal, was discovered by the United States Coast Guard cutter Mascoutin seven and one-half miles off the coast and within one hour's sailing distance from the United States headed in the direction of land. On being hailed by the Mascoutin, the Vinces turned about and headed for the high seas. The cutter followed in continuous chase and overtook …

Constitutional Law-Methods Of Testing The Constitutionality Of Rate Status Involving Heavy Penalties

Michigan Law Review

Where a state statute prescribes maximum intrastate railroad rates and also attaches heavy penalties for violations of the statute by a railroad or its agents, and where a railroad thinks the rates are confiscatory and hence unconstitutional, it is faced with an apparent dilemma. Must it either submit to the supposed confiscatory rates or else run the chance of incurring heavy penalties in case the statute is held constitutional? Or, is there another alternative-a painless way of testing the validity of the rates?