Courts Commons^™

Disposition Of A Federal Criminal Case When Defendant Dies Pending Appeal, Lori R. Dickerman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article discusses the way in which courts historically have disposed of such cases and the apparent change recently introduced by the United States Supreme Court. After an examination of the ramifications of the new and old rules, certain changes in current practice are recommended which will better serve the interests of the deceased, his survivors, and society as a whole.

Rewriting Roe V. Wade, Donald H. Regan

Articles

Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial cases the Supreme Court has decided. The result in the case - the establishment of a constitutional right to abortion - was controversial enough. Beyond that, even people who approve of the result have been dissatisfied with the Court's opinion. Others before me have attempted to explain how a better opinion could have been written. It seems to me, however, that the most promising argument in support of the result of Roe has not yet been made. This essay contains my suggestions for "rewriting" Roe v. Wade

Customs Court Jurisdiction In International Trade Cases, Jonathan S. Brenner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article discusses the specific problems involved in Customs Court jurisdiction. After outlining in Part I these jurisdictional problems and the court's failure to deal with them, the article, in Part II, proposes an analytic framework that focusses attention on the relevant criteria for ascertaining Customs Court jurisdiction. This framework is built upon the exclusivity of Customs Court jurisdiction and exhaustion of the administrative review process. The distinct rights of importers and manufacturers are also discussed and the special problem of cases which do not meet the procedural prerequisites for Customs Court jurisdiction are explored. Finally, Part III of this …

Limitation Borrowing In Federal Courts, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note studies limitations on federal actions in light of Occidental Life. Part I discusses the reasons for limiting actions and presents a short history ·of the limitation of actions. Part II analyzes the alternatives for the federal courts when no statute of limitations applies directly. Finally, the Note suggests a solution that will achieve a result most nearly consistent with both the reasons for limiting actions and the proper role of the judiciary. It suggests, notwithstanding Occidental Life, that in some situations courts should borrow specific federal statutes of limitations and that in the remainder they should …

Toward A European System Of Appellate Courts, Hjalte Rasmussen

Michigan Law Review

A Review of European Law and the Individual by F.G. Jacobs

The Cardinal's Court: The Impact Of Thomas Wolsey In Star Chamber, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Cardinal's Court: The Impact of Thomas Wolsey in Star Chamber by John A. Guy

Plea Bargaining Reexamined, Lynn M. Mather

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Plea Bargaining: The Experiences of Prosecutors, Judges, and Defense Attorneys by Milton Heumann

From Rhetoric To Reality: The Juvenile Court And The Decline Of The Rehabilitative Ideal, Samuel M. Davis

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Best-Laid Plans: America's Juvenile Court Experiment by Ellen Ryerson

Litigation And Mediation In Thailand, Sally Falk Moore

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Code and Custom in a Thai Provincial Court by David M. Engel

Reflections On Unconstitutionality In Futuro: Shavers V. Attorney General And Robinson V. Cahill, Philip H. Hecht

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article will argue that holdings of unconstitutionality in futuro are difficult to reconcile with the separation of powers doctrine because they foster impermissible intrusions on the ability of the legislative and executive branches to act independently of the judiciary. It is further argued that in the two cases where courts have adopted the unconstitutionality in futuro approach, the failure to satisfy all of the proposed standards for the appropriateness of unconstitutionality in futuro and the further considerations of judicial legitimacy and competency should have led the courts to consider other less drastic alternatives before deciding to use unconstitutionality in …

A Proposed New Federal Intermediate Appellate Court, Charles R. Haworth, Daniel J. Meador

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article begins with an analysis of the recent history of federal appellate court reform efforts. It then focuses on three areas of federal litigation - tax law, patent law, and environmental law - in which there are exceptional needs for uniformity in the law but in which uncertainty in legal doctrine is especially pronounced. To make the law more uniform and predictable in these areas, the article proposes the new intermediate appellate court and sets forth in detail the jurisdiction arid structure of this court. The article concludes by pointing out aspects of this proposal that should make it …

Allocation Of Scarce Goods Under Section 2-615 Of The Uniform Commercial Code: A Comparison Of Some Rival Models, James J. White

Articles

Section 2-615 of the Uniform Commercial Code authorizes a contract seller to allocate goods in short supply when full performance has become commercially impracticable. Most of the cases under and commentary on that section have focused on the issue of commercial impracticability. The allocation aspects of the section have attracted much more modest attention in the cases and in the scholarly journals. The purpose of this article is to examine critically the allocation rule set out in section 2-615(b). That subsection authorizes a seller, upon a finding of commercial impracticability, to allocate "in any manner which is fair and reasonable." …

A Defense Of The Exclusionary Rule, Yale Kamisar

Articles

The exclusionary rule is being flayed with increasing vigor by a number of unrelated sources and with a variety of arguments. Some critics find it unworkable and resort to empirically based arguments. Others see it as the product of a belated and unwarranted judicial interpretation. Still others, uncertain whether the rule works, are confident that in some fashion law enforcement's hands are tied. Professor Yale Kamisar, long a defender of the exclusionary rule, reviews the current attacks on the rule and offers a vigorous rebuttal. He finds it difficult to accept that there is a line for acceptable police conduct …

Young Adults As A Cognizable Group In Jury Selection, Donald H. Zeigler

Michigan Law Review

In support of its thesis, this Article presents what the literature has failed to provide: a comprehensive analysis of the concept of cognizability and empirical data. Part I traces the history of cognizability; identifies the sources of the cross-sectional right; and defines the criteria of cognizability, drawing special attention to the interests which a designation of cognizability protects. Part I also discusses the different approaches courts have taken to cognizability and suggests several factors which may explain the many treatments of the concept.

Part II reviews the case law concerning the cognizability of young adults in particular. That Part also …

The Proposed Federal Rules Of Evidence: Of Privileges And The Division Of Rule-Making Power, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note proposes that the lower federal courts accord the same binding authority to the Proposed Rules that they give those judicially promulgated procedural rules, such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, that have been implicitly approved by Congress.

Part I of the Note analyzes the constitutional division of the rule-making power by examining both the policy considerations involved and the relevant constitutional language and doctrines. That examination indicates that the power to establish such rules is shared by Congress and the Supreme Court. To determine when that power is appropriately exercised by one branch rather than the other, …

The Evolution Of State Supreme Courts, Robert A. Kagan, Bliss Cartwright, Lawrence M. Friedman, Stanton Wheeler

Michigan Law Review

Part I of this Article describes in broad quantitative terms the changing relationship between the caseload of supreme courts and the population of the states in which these courts sit. Part II examines the various means states used to control supreme court caseloads, the political problems involved, and the types of courts that have resulted. Part III presents evidence that changes in court organization in response to caseload pressure are accompanied by changes in the kinds of cases state supreme courts hear, the style of their opinions, and the results of the cases.

Appellate Justice, Ruggero J. Aldisert

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Justice on Appeal is a pithy analysis of the problem facing appellate courts. Dragon hunters Carrington, Meador, and Rosenberg were not content to look at the problem from an armchair. Instead, they walked to the mouth of the cave; pulled the troublesome dragon into the light, counted its teeth, measured its girth and tail, and decided neither to kill it nor kiss it. They decided to try taming it. I agree with their analysis of the specimen, its size, its growth, and the urgent necessity to bring the beast under control. I have some modest disagreements with some of their …

Judicial Administration And Invisible Justice, Mary Murphy Schroeder

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

My theme here is the conflict between the visibility of the appellate judge and recent procedural changes designed to cope with the quantum leaps in the numbers and complexity of cases. I will develop that theme, first, by suggesting the ways that three of the major controls on the system, namely the selection, evaluation, and discipline of judges, depend upon the exercise of recognizable and individual judicial responsibility; second, by illustrating how this "imperative" can be undermined if devices intended to cope with increased volume are adopted without vigilance; and finally by pointing up some approaches to permit courts to …

Justice On Appeal—One Way Or Many?, Michael E. Smith

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

After two centuries of our nation's existence, discussions of federalism are certain to sound familiar. The ground of argument has been worked so thoroughly, there is hardly a patch left unturned. Conventional watchwords suggest the competing interests: adaptability to local circumstances contrasted with efficiencies of scale, circumscribed experimentation contrasted with prevention of forum-shopping, local self-government contrasted with the cosmopolitan perspective. The most that can be done now, absent exceptional insight, is to display these choices in a fresh context.

What follows is yet another variation on the theme. It concerns the propriety, perhaps the desirability, of diversity among the federal …

The Trial Transcript—An Unnecessary Roadblock To Expeditious Appellate Review, William H. Erickson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A number of innovations have been made in the appellate process which expedite appeals and tend to eliminate the need for a trial transcript. The American Bar Association Standards Relating to Judicial Administration and Standards Relating to Criminal Justice have provided the procedural means for improving our entire system of criminal justice. This article explores some innovations in the appellate process which eliminate the need for a complete record on appeal and discusses the various means to obtain a record of the proceeding in the trial court.

Brewer V. Williams, Massiah And Miranda: What Is 'Interrogation'? When Does It Matter?, Yale Kamisar

Articles

On Christmas Eve, 1968, a ten-year-old girl, Pamela Powers, disappeared while with her family in Des Moines, Iowa.2 Defendant Williams, an escapee from a mental institution and a deeply religious person, 3 was suspected of murdering her, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.4 Williams telephoned a Des Moines lawyer, McKnight, and on his advice surrendered himself to the Davenport, Iowa, police.5 Captain Learning and another Des Moines police officer arranged to drive the 160 miles to Davenport, pick up Williams, and return him directly to Des Moines. 6 Both the trial court 7 and the federal district court8 …

Some Impressions And Reflections On Observing Legal Proceedings In The People's Republic Of China, Christina B. Whitman, Sallyanne Payton

Articles

Very few foreign visitors have been allowed an opportunity to observe legal proceedings in the People's Republic of China. We were included in the first American group ever favored with a professional exchange legal tour. During the month of May 1977, we spent three weeks in China with a group of Black American judges and lawyers, headed by the Hon. George C. Crockett, Jr., Judge of the Recorder's Court of Detroit. Since we ourselves would be skeptical of the claim of a visitor to the United States who purported to have "studied" the American legal process during the course of …

Urban Politics And The Criminal Courts, Milton Heumann

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Urban Politics and the Criminal Courts by Martin A. Levin

Hospital Medical Staff: When Are Privilege Denials Judicially Reviewable?, David Hejna

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The relationship between a hospital and its medical staff is unique. Most physicians serving as hospital staff are not salaried employees . Rather, they use hospital facilities to care for their patients pursuant to "staff privileges" granted by the hospital's board of governors. Staff privileges at one area hospital are practically indispensable for the modern physician, and privileges at a conveniently located hospital are considered important. By extending staff privileges the hospital benefits from having a staff large enough to ensure maximum use of its facilities. The public benefits when an adequate number of qualified physicians have access to hospital …

Jurisdictional Conflicts Over Counterclaims Against The United States, David G. Swenson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article first discusses the different approaches that courts have used in determining district court jurisdiction over counterclaims and the differing limits that are imposed upon the size of the counterclaim. Second, it examines the relationship between the Court of Claims and the district courts in cases where the defendant cannot counterclaim for full relief in a district court. The article concludes with several legislative proposals that could lessen the uncertainty and lack of uniformity among the courts currently facing a defendant who wants to counterclaim against the government.

A Reconsideration Of The Sworn Testimony Requirement: Securing Truth In The Twentieth Century, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this Note is relatively modest-to explore whether the traditional uncritical confidence placed in the sworn nature of testimony is justified in light of twentieth-century practice. As such, its intention is not to propose legal reforms, but rather to invite its readers to pause and reconsider a ritual too often taken for granted by the legal profession. To this end, this Note will examine the following factors influencing the character of the oath in modern times: the common-law and religious roots of the oath, the rise of nonreligious affirmation within the last century, the relationship between the oath …

Reflections On Stare Decisis In Michigan: The Rise And Fall Of The "Rezoning As Administrative Act" Doctrine, Roger A. Cunningham

Michigan Law Review

In an earlier article in this law review, I discussed the new doctrine that in certain municipalities a decision by the local governing body to rezone or not to rezone land should be deemed an "administrative" or "quasi-judicial," rather than a "legislative," act. This doctrine was introduced into Michigan law several years ago in a series of opinions signed by only three justices of the Michigan Supreme Court. The earlier article dealt principally with the merits of the new "rezoning as administrative act" doctrine. The present article discusses troublesome aspects of the Michigan Supreme Court's attitude toward the principle of …

Modeling Relevance, Richard O. Lempert

Michigan Law Review

During the past decade, particularly during the years immediately following the California Supreme Court's decision in People v. Collins, a number of articles have appeared suggesting ways in which jurors might use certain mathematical techniques of decision theory as aids in the rational evaluation of circumstantial evidence. Professor Tribe, in an important response to the post-Collins articles, argues against introducing these techniques into the factfinding process. Problems that Tribe foresees include the necessary imprecision of the probabilistic estimates that these techniques require, the dwarfing of soft variables by those that are more readily quantified, and the potential dehumanization …

Men Who Know They Are Watched: Some Benefits And Costs Of Jailing For Nonpayment Of Support, David L. Chambers

Articles

Suppose that by some mysterious process the police in your town received each Monday a list of all the robberies and burglaries committed during the preceding week and the names of the persons who committed them. Suppose further that the list itself was admissible in evidence at trial and generally led to conviction. And suppose finally that persons considering committing offenses knew that the police had such a list and used it, relentlessly tracking down the miscreants named on it. Under such circumstances, one would probably expect that many potential offenders in the town with the magical list would resist …

Judicial Review Of Labor Arbitration Awards: A Second Look At Enterprise Wheel And Its Progeny, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Logic, so the cliche goes, is not the life of the law. But logic is very much like the DNA of the law-the structural principle without which all is sprawl and muddle. In the last ten years a controversy has raged over the role of the labor arbitrator in issuing awards, and the role of the courts in reviewing and enforcing those awards. This controversy has largely taken the form of a continuing debate among scholars and practicing arbitrators at the annual meetings of the National Academy of Arbitrators. With due respect to the thoughtful and experienced persons who have …