Courts Commons^™

Federal Courts - Jurisdiction Over Violations Of Civil Liberties By State Governments And By Private Individuals, Eugene Gressman

Michigan Law Review

The long-term security of civil liberties in the United States must in the end depend upon the spirit and attitude of the public. Many violations of these rights never reach the stage of justiciable issues. But even when they do, public sentiment is often reflected in the courts. Especially is this true in the state courts, which are often too near local prejudices and entrenched mores to withstand their effect. This situation was recognized as long ago as the Reconstruction Era, when the various civil rights acts provided for federal protection of civil liberties. Apparently it was felt that from …

Costs - Assessment Of Court Costs Against An Agency Of The Federal Government, Walter Muller

Michigan Law Review

A complaint against defendant, filed in equity by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, was dismissed without costs, the lower federal court being of opinion that it had no power to impose costs upon a governmental agency. The rule of court which bears on this point says, "costs against the United States, its officers, and agencies shall be imposed only to the extent permitted by law." Held, on appeal to the circuit court of appeals, the district court did have power to assess costs against the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Reconstruction Finance Corp. v. J. G. Menihan Corp., (C. C. A. …

Federal Courts - Deposition-Discovery Practice - Rule 26 And Hearsay Evidence, Jamille G. Jamra

Michigan Law Review

In an action for personal injuries suffered in defendant's store, plaintiff moved for an order requiring one Jackson to answer certain questions propounded to him at the taking of his deposition. Jackson, an investigator for defendant's insurer, had ascertained certain facts from witnesses to the accident. The questions, to which Jackson objected on the ground of privilege, sought to elicit the number and names of persons who he learned were present at the accident. Held, the motion should be denied on the ground that the evidence sought was hearsay. Poppino v. Jones Store Co., (D. C. Mo. 1940) …

The Premises Of The Judgment As Res Judicata In Continental And Anglo-American Law, Robert Wyness Millar

Michigan Law Review

That every judicial judgment, whatever its character, consists of premises and conclusion is a fact sufficiently obvious. In our system, especially, expression of the premises must very often be sought outside the actual judgment-order and collected from other parts of the judicial record or even from evidence aliunde of what took place at the hearing. But the legal nature of the relation between premises and conclusion is independent of the particular structure of the record and the mode of ascertaining what those premises were. Given satisfaction of the requirements of the law with respect to identity of parties, it is …

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.

Trial - Directed Verdict Where Testimony Is Conflicting, Edward S. Biggar

Michigan Law Review

Defendants engaged the plaintiff to repair a barn roof. In his suit to recover damages for injuries sustained while on the defendants' premises, the plaintiff testified that he had been struck by a truck which one of the defendants had been driving. The defendants testified that they had discovered the plaintiff lying injured at the side of the barn, near a ladder which had been placed against it. Defendants moved for a directed verdict, which was denied, and after a verdict for the plaintiff, defendants appealed from the denial of their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Held, that …

Federal Courts - Appeal And Error - Does A Statute Which Authorizes An Interlocutory Appeal Require Such Appeal?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A bill seeking an injunction and an accounting was filed in a United States district court for alleged infringement by defendant of plaintiff's rights in the words of a song. Defendant's appeal from a decree enjoining further use of the song and directing an accounting for profits was denied, because the appeal had been taken more than thirty days after its entry and so the circuit court of appeals was without jurisdiction. The case proceeded to an accounting in the district court, and a final decree was entered from which defendant appealed again to the circuit court. Held, the …

Contempt - Constitutional Law - Pardons - Power Of A Governor To Pardon For Contempt, W. Wallace Kent

Michigan Law Review

Dolan and Quinn were indicted for crime, and while awaiting trial were cited for contempt because of alleged attempts to influence members of the jury panel who might be drawn to sit on the jury in the trials of Dolan and Quinn. They were convicted of contempt and committed to jail, from which they petitioned the governor for pardon. The governor and his council adopted an order requiring the opinion of the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court on the question whether the governor had power to pardon such a contempt. Held, these contempts were criminal in their nature …

Parties - Representative Suits - Is Represented Person A Party?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The petitioner was a member of the class against whom a decree was rendered in a class suit. The petitioner was not named as a party and had no actual notice of the proceedings although notice was published according to court rules. After the time for appeal had expired, petitioner filed a petition to reopen the decree, under the terms of a statute which gave this right to any defendant against whom a court had rendered a decree without personal service. The petition was dismissed and the petitioner appealed. Held, order affirmed because the petitioner was not a party …

Circuit Courts And The Nisi Prius System: The Making Of An Appellate Court, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

Judicial systems organized under the influence of the English tradition have exhibited a tendency to pass through four stages of development. (1) In the first stage the highest court (not taking into consideration legislative bodies) has final appellate jurisdiction and a superior original jurisdiction, civil and criminal. The court is composed of three or more judges who sit in bank for the trial of cases. The judges may sit at a central place or go on circuit throughout the territory. (2) In the second stage the highest court has both original and appellate jurisdiction but does not undertake to try …

Appeal And Error - Harmless And Prejudicial Error, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In the trial of defendant for embezzlement, the prosecutor's opening address to the jury included a hearsay statement, regarding a tacit admission by defendant, tending to establish his guilt. Subsequently in the trial such hearsay statement was not allowed in evidence and the defendant now claims on appeal from conviction that the opening statement was prejudicial and thus he is entitled to a new trial. Held, that the statute governing reversals by an appellate court for prejudicial errors did not apply; and that a new trial follows as a matter of course because of a deprivation of the constitutional …

Appeal And Error - Reviewability Of An Order Granting A New Trial, Robert M. Warren

Michigan Law Review

When a trial court sets aside a verdict and grants a new trial, the order may or may not be reviewable depending on the jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions which permit a review, the aggrieved party must save an exception to the order and assign this ruling as error when an appeal is ultimately taken from a subsequent appealable decision. In other jurisdictions, he may take an appeal directly from the order.

This comment will discuss (1) the common-law practice which permitted no review of an order granting a new trial; (2) the practice allowing the aggrieved party to save an …

Evidence - Admissibility Of Hospital Records As Business Entries, John S. Pennell

Michigan Law Review

Following the report of the Commonwealth Fund Committee, in which they advocated the adoption of a model act to govern the admission of business entries as evidence, a comparatively small number of states have enacted legislation of this kind, either the model act or an act of similar nature. The extent of this comment is to show: (1) in what states hospital records have been held not to be admissible as business entries, the states where there has been no decision on the subject, and the states where the status of the rule is in doubt; (2) the states where …

Practice And Procedure - General Verdict On Several Counts - Is New Trial Necessary When One Of Two Counts Is Unsupported By Evidence?, Edmund R. Blaske

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued defendant to recover damages arising from personal injuries claimed to have been suffered by him while in the employ of defendant, who was not under the workmen's compensation statute. In the first count of his declaration plaintiff claimed that defendant did not furnish him a safe place in which to work, and in the second count that defendant set him at work on dangerous materials. The jury returned a verdict of "guilty on both counts" and assessed "total damages" at $998.71. The trial court, on a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, ruled that as a matter of …

Evidence - Use Of Transcript Of Grand Jury Proceedings To Refresh Memory Of Witness - Right Of Opponent To Inspect Transcript, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In a criminal prosecution under the anti-trust laws, counsel for the United States, in the cross-examination of witnesses for the defense, based certain questions upon a transcript of the testimony of these same witnesses before the grand jury. The transcripts were used for the sole purpose of refreshing the memories of the hostile witnesses. The transcripts were not placed in the hands of the witnesses, but the witnesses were asked, "Did you testify thus-and-so before the grand jury?" The district court refused the demand of the defense counsel that they be allowed to inspect the transcript thus used for the …

Federal Courts - Substance And Procedure - Effect Of Erie Railroad V. Tompkins And Rule 8 (C) Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure Upon Burden Of Proof Of Contributory Negligence, John H. Uhl

Michigan Law Review

The case of Erie Railroad v. Tompkins has wrought a great change in the relationship between the state and federal courts. Prior to its decision, the federal courts under the rule of Swift v. Tyson did not have to apply the state non-statutory law. They could apply their own notions as to what the law was in matters of general law relating to substance. The Conformity Act compelled the federal courts to follow the practice, pleading, and forms and modes of proceeding in like causes in the courts of the state within which the federal district courts were held. In …

Constitutional Law - Power Of Legislative Investigating Committee To Supersede Grand Jury, D. M. Swope

Michigan Law Review

The court of quarter sessions of Dauphin County ordered a grand jury investigation of alleged criminal misconduct by civil officers of the commonwealth. The governor then issued a call for a special session of the legislature. When this body had convened, seven members of the House of Representatives were appointed a committee to investigate the charges against those civil officers liable to impeachment. This committee sought a writ of prohibition to restrain the quarter sessions court from proceeding with the grand jury investigation, in pursuance of a statute enacted at the special session of the legislature giving the legislative investigating …

Administrative Law - Labor Law - Federal Courts - Equity - Propriety Of Interrogatories Directed To The Members Of The National Labor Relations Board, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The National Labor Relations Board brought a proceeding under section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act for the enforcement of an order to cease certain unfair labor practices, its petition stating that the board had considered the case before it and upon all the testimony and evidence made its findings of fact and issued its order. The answer alleged that the board did not consider the evidence but referred it to others for suggested findings of fact, and that with no opportunity to respondent to know of or criticize the suggestions they were adopted by the board without further …

Principal And Agent - Extent To Which An Agent May Testify As To The Existence Of The Agency, Arthur A. Greene Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The legal concept that opinions of lay witnesses are not admissible evidence is of comparatively recent origin, and a matter of historical accident. The theory underlying the exclusion of opinions of laymen is not one of qualification, but of policy. If the witness testifies as to the facts, his opinion or inference is superfluous, as it is the function of the jury to draw the inferences. The testimony of the agent to the existence of the agency relation is limited by this general rule. It is the purpose of this discussion to determine the line of demarcation between opinion and …

Prohibition - Is The Writ Of Prohibition A Prerogative Writ?, Russel T. Walker

Michigan Law Review

The writ of prohibition originally issued from the king's temporal courts to the ecclesiastical courts to prevent any usurpation of jurisdiction of the king's courts by the spiritual courts. Prohibition has been classed as one of the prerogative writs, that is, a writ issued by the extraordinary power of the sovereign to interfere with private rights in order to preserve the prerogatives and franchises of the state. The writ of prohibition differed historically from the other prerogative writs in that its issuance was not discretionary with the court, but rather it was held to issue as a matter of right …

Administrative Law - Requirements Of "Full Hearing", Collins E. Brooks

Michigan Law Review

The late Professor Ernst Freund once wrote, "A judicial hearing involves two things: that the party be heard as to his own case and that he hear the case against him." Were the words "quasi-judicial" to be substituted for the word "judicial" in Dr. Freund's definition, it would be difficult more concisely to paraphrase the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Morgan v. United States. Fifty suits, later consolidated for purposes of trial, were started by certain market agencies of the Kansas City Stockyards to enjoin the enforcement of an order of the …

Courts - Federal Courts - Removal Of Causes - Amendment To Complaint After Removal Reducing Amount In Controversy To Less Than The Jurisdictional Amount, Robert E. Sipes

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff began his action for breach of contract in a state court of Indiana. On defendant's timely petition the suit was removed to the United States District Court. Plaintiff then amended his pleadings by filing particulars of his claim which reduced the amount recoverable below the jurisdictional amount. On a writ of certiorari it was held that the jurisdiction of the district court was not defeated by the amendment reducing the amount claimed to below the jurisdictional amount. Saint Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 58 S. Ct. 586 (1938).

Limitation Of Actions - Contempt Proceedings, Menefee D. Blackwell

Michigan Law Review

The application of statutes of limitation to proceedings for criminal or civil contempt involves some obscurity and confusion in the modern cases. Legislation has rarely provided expressly for the limitation of contempt proceedings, and their hybrid character has made it difficult to rely with confidence on analogies. The modern tendency of courts has been to differentiate between criminal and civil contempts for many purposes. While the tests for distinguishing civil and criminal proceedings are not yet clear, it seems that the application of limitation acts depends very largely on this distinction.

Appeal And Error - Effect Of Rule That Appellate Court Can Take Notice Of The Failure Of The Defendant To Testify, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In affirming a conviction on an indictment for conspiracy to cheat and defraud, the Illinois Appellate Court, an intermediate court of appeals, decided that the evidence was sufficient to justify the jury in concluding that the representations made by the defendants were false. The defendants brought error to review the judgment of the Appellate Court, one ground being that in considering the sufficiency of the evidence, the Appellate Court took notice of the fact that the defendants failed to take the stand and explain the representations. Held, it was not error for the Appellate Court on review to consider …

Libel And Slander - Privilege - Broadcasting A Trial, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A microphone was installed in the courtroom, with consent of the judge and counsel, for the purpose of broadcasting a murder trial. Prisoner's attorney, in his closing argument to the jury, made remarks concerning the plaintiff, state's witness, which the latter claimed were defamatory. Joining as defendants the trial judge, counsel for the alleged felon, and the director of the radio station, plaintiff alleged the utterances were libelous per se. The trial judge's motion for non-suit was granted at the close of the plaintiff's case. As to the other defendants, on appeal, held, with one judge dissenting, that counsel …

Constitutional Law - Federal Courts - Law To Be Applied In Cases Of Diversity Of Citizenship - Swift V. Tyson Overrule, Frank B. Stone

Michigan Law Review

A recent personal injury case, Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, arose in the federal district court, based upon diversity of citizenship, in which the defendant urged that state judicial decisions of Pennsylvania, the locus delicti, imposed no liability on it for negligence to trespassers. The plaintiff denied that such was the Pennsylvania law and alternatively replied that the issue of law was one to be determined by the federal court without regard to the law of Pennsylvania. On April 25, 1938, a verdict for the plaintiff was unanimously set aside by the Supreme Court. Two members, Justices Butler and McReynolds, …

Injunctions - Courts - Labor Law - Power Of A State Court To Enjoin National Labor Relations Board Officials, Amos J. Coffman

Michigan Law Review

The Circuit Court of Washtenaw County, Michigan, recently issued an injunction enjoining the regional officials of the National Labor Relations Board from holding a scheduled hearing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The injunction was issued on the theory that if any unfair labor practices were being practiced by the Ann Arbor Press (a local job printer charged with violating the act) they did not affect interstate commerce and hence were not within the jurisdiction of the board. The injunction was at least temporarily effective. The hearing was not held in Ann Arbor. The regional office of the board in Detroit withdrew …

Courts - Judicial Ethics - Broadcast Of Murder Trial, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A microphone was installed in a court room with consent of the trial judge and counsel, for a direct broadcast of a murder trial. Prisoner's counsel, in his argument to the jury, made certain remarks concerning the plaintiff, state's witness, which the latter claimed were libelous per se. Joining as defendants the trial judge, counsel for the alleged felon, and the director of the radio station, plaintiff asserted that the installation of the equipment was an "extrajudicial and illegal" act. Defendant trial judge's motion for non-suit was granted at the close of plaintiff's case, The case was submitted to the …

Jurors - Disqualification For Relationship To Parties - Who Are Parties, James H. Kilbourne

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of grand larceny. His motion for a new trial on the ground that one of the jurors was disqualified for implied bias because she was the mother of a deputy prosecuting attorney of the county was denied. Defendant appealed. Held, there was no error in denying the motion, for the juror was not disqualified. State v. Peterson, 190 Wash. 668, 70 P. (2d) 306 (1937).

Waters And Watercourses - Extent Of Riparian Land -Compensation On Condemnation, G. M. Stevens

Michigan Law Review

In a recent case compensation was sought for the taking of riparian land for public use. The Supreme Court of Nebraska held that the award should be limited to damages to those sections of land {by the government plat) bordering on the stream. A decision note in this REVIEW criticized that ruling. It was there said that proximity to riparian land might add value even to non-riparian land. Later a rehearing of the case was granted and a new opinion filed. Held, "damages . . . are not limited to governmental sections a part of which is included in …