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Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Agency--Liability of Master for Servant's Acts--State Permit to Operate

Agency--Possession as Indicia of Ownership

Constitutional Law--Aliens--Detention Where Deportations is Impossible

Courts--Contempt--Delay in Summary Punishment

Criminal Law--Habitual Criminal Statutes--Meaning of Previous Conviction Requirement

Domestic Relations--Liability of Husband for Necessaries of Wife Rightfully Living Apart

Income Taxation--Excludibility from Gross Income of Payment over Ceiling Price

Income Taxation--Taxable Income--Claim of Right

Procedure--Grand Jury--Motion to Expunge Defamatory Remarks in Report

Procedure--Statute of Limitations--Retroactive Operation

Statutes--Holding of Unconstitutionality Overruled--Necessity for Re-Enactment

Wills--Contest--Interest of Legatee's Representative

Discipline Of Judges, Frederic M. Miller

Michigan Law Review

In most of the states, judges of the appellate courts and of the trial courts of general jurisdiction are subject to discipline or removal from office by impeachment at the hands of the legislature, pursuant to constitutional provisions analogous to those applicable to the Federal Judiciary. Such proceedings are seldom instituted. The survey indicates that, during the 20 year period from 1928 to 1948, only three impeachment proceedings were prosecuted and in all three the defense prevailed.

The Original And Exclusive Jurisdiction Of The United States Supreme Court, Wencelas J. Wagner

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

The Commerce Power: An Instrument Of Federalism, Albert S. Abel

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Tidewater Case And Limited Jurisdiction Of Federal "Constitutional" Courts, Joe H. Foy

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the recent case of National Mutual Insurance Ca. v. Tidewater Transfer Co.,' the Act of April 20, 1940, allowing citizens of the District of Columbia and of the territories to sue and be sued in the district courts on the basis of diverse citizenship, was held constitutional insofar as it applies to citizens of the District of Columbia. The practical effect of the decision, in allowing Congress to remove a basic inequality among citizens of the United States, is perhaps commendable. However, there are broad theoretical implications in this holding, emphasized by sharp debate among the justices, which could …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Punishment For Direct Contempt Of Court, William R. Worth

Michigan Law Review

Opposing counsel's objection to material in petitioner's opening statement to the jury was sustained. When petitioner rephrased his statement, the trial court, feeling that he was still trying to get inadmissible material before the jury, threatened to "declare a mistrial if you mess with me two minutes and a half, and fine you besides.'' Petitioner took an exception to the conduct of the court, and was immediately fined $25. His protests led to successive increases in penalty, culminating in a $100 fine and three days in jail. The Supreme Court of Texas denied habeas corpus on the ground that the …

And This, Too, O King, Shall Change And Pass Away, C. T. Graydon

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Administrative Determinations And Personal Rights In The Present Supreme Court, Ralph F. Fuchs

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Federal Courts-Rule 20 Of Federal Rules Of Criminal Procedure-Constitutionality, William B. Harvey

Michigan Law Review

One of the few real innovations in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is incorporated in Rule 20 which provides that a defendant who is arrested in a district other than that in which the indictment has been returned may declare in writing his desire to plead guilty and waive trial in the district of the crime. In this event, with the approval of the United States Attornies for both districts, the clerk of the court to which the indictment was returned is authorized to forward the papers to the clerk of the court for the district in which the …

Constitutional Law-Jury Trial-Validity Of The "Blue Ribbon" Jury, Edward S. Tripp S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendants, labor union officers, were indicted for conspiracy and extortion. The state moved for a "blue ribbon" jury. Defendants objected to the "blue ribbon" panel on grounds of denial of due process and equal protection; first, because laborers and women were unlawfully excluded from the panel, and also because "blue ribbon" juries were more inclined to convict than common juries. Defendants later accepted each individual juror. Defendants were convicted and the New York appellate court affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. Held, affirmed. Defendants failed to show any intentional and purposeful exclusion which would be prejudicial to …

Jury-Determination Of Damages By Appellate Court As Denial Of Right To Trial By Jury Given By Federal Law, William B. Harvey

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's cause of action arose under the federal Merchant Marine Act, which grants a right to trial by jury. Plaintiff recovered judgment and on appeal defendant asked the court to determine the damages pursuant to provision in the Oregon Constitution vesting in the supreme court the power to determine from the evidence the extent of a plaintiff's damages and to direct the entry of a final judgment for the amount thereof, on appeal from a jury's verdict awarding damages claimed by the defendant to be excessive. Held, the provision is inapplicable in cases arising under the federal Merchant Marine …

Res Judicata---State Court's Dismissal As A Bar To A New Suit On The Same Cause In A Federal Court Exercising Diversity Jurisdiction, Richard J. Archer

Michigan Law Review

A citizen of Virginia brought suit in a North Carolina court against a citizen of North Carolina for a deficiency judgment on a note executed in Virginia ·for the purchase of land in Virginia. Defendant's demurrer to the complaint on the ground that a North Carolina statute precluded recovery was - overruled; defendant appealed. In spite of plaintiff's contention that the statute was an invalid abridgment of the full faith and credit clause of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the statute effectively barred the action from the state courts …

Constitutional Law-Due Process Of Law-Freedom Of The Press To Criticize The Judiciary-Clear And Present Danger Test, Merrill N. Johnson

Michigan Law Review

The editor and publisher of the Miami Herald published two editorials and a cartoon which inaccurately portrayed the local circuit court as willing to "accept, even go out to find, every possible technicality of the law to protect the defendant, to block, thwart, hinder, embarass and nullify prosecution" in certain criminal cases then before the court. They were cited in contempt of the circuit court for tending to obstruct and interfere with the impartial administration of justice. Found guilty of the charges, the petitioners appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed the decision declaring that the object of the …

Congressional Silence: A Tool Of Judicial Supremacy, Frank Edward Horack Jr.

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Jury -- Determination Of Damages By Appellate Court As Denial Of Right To Trial By Jury Given By Federal Law, William Burnett Harvey

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Abstracts, Mary Jane Plumer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Growth In The Constitution And Constitutional Law Since The Decision Of The Case Of West Coast Hotel Vs. Parrish, Hugh Evander Willis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Abstracts, Katherine Kempfer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Abstracts, Katherine Kempfer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Abstracts, Katherine Kempfer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Contempt By Publication In West Virginia, G. W. E.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tendencies In American Constitutional Law, Hugh Evander Willis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Federal Courts - Review Of State Courts Decision Involving Federal And Nonfederal Ouestions, John C. Johnston

Michigan Law Review

In exercising appellate jurisdiction over federal questions raised in the highest court of a state, the Supreme Court of the United States has refused to adopt the view that the existence of a federal question in the record or decision of the state court will empower it to decide every other question that is raised in the case. Correlated to this refusal to review the nonfederal question is the further self-imposed limitation that where the decision of the state court rests upon a nonfederal ground sufficient in itself to support the judgment of the state court, the Supreme Court will …

Constitutional Law - Trial By Jury - Right To Waive Presence Of Trial Judge, Robert P. Kneeland

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was tried for the crime of driving a car while intoxicated. After the jury was instructed and had retired, the judge who had supervised the trial up to that point announced that he was going to another town to sit for a judge who was in poor health, but that a second judge would be available to receive the jury's verdict. Defendant's counsel failed to object to these arrangements. After the judge who heard the cause had left, the jury desired further instructions. As defendant objected to this request, however, it was denied. The second judge received the unqualified …

Courts Power To Compensate Attorneys

Indiana Law Journal

Notes and Comments: Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law - Criminal Law And Procedure - Right To Effective Assistance Of Counsel, Walter Muller

Michigan Law Review

Robbery of a Federal Reserve Bank and jeopardizing lives by the use of dangerous weapons were the charges brought against defendant in a federal district court. Ten months after being taken into custody, he was finally brought to trial. On the latter date, for the first time, the defendant expressed to the court a desire to engage different counsel because of recent difficulties he had had with his original choice. The defendant was the complaining petitioner in a pending disbarment proceeding against his attorney. But the record did not show that the defendant disclosed the nature of those differences to …

Constitutional Law - Psychopathic Proceeding - Due Process And Jury Trial, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Proceedings were brought against appellant under a Minnesota statute providing for commitment of psychopathic persons who showed habitual sexual misconduct. Appellant appealed to the state supreme court for a writ of prohibition, claiming denial of due process. Appellant's contentions were overruled and he appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Held, the statute did not deny due process. Minnesota ex rel. Pearson v. Probate Court, (U.S. 1940) 60 S. Ct. 523.