Criminal Law Commons^™

Book Reviews, Edward R. Hayes, Bennett B. Patterson, Elston Roady

Vanderbilt Law Review

Anatomy of a Murder

By Robert Traver

This novel of a killing and its consequences has great dramatic qualities and is outstanding in its description of the lawyer's role in defending one accused of crime. The author, who has written several other books under the name of Robert Traver, qualifies as a legal expert through many years of practice in the Upper Peninsula; he has also recently become a Justice on the Supreme Court of Michigan.

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Groups and the Constitution

By Robert A. Horn

The first chapter in the book, which deals with the growth of the freedom of …

Criminal Law And Procedure -- 1957 Tennessee Survey, James B. Earle

Vanderbilt Law Review

Homicide: The statutory requirement that a killing be "willful; deliberate, malicious, and premeditated" for a finding of murder in the first degree is not applicable to a killing committed while in the perpetration of one of the felonies listed in the statute. This question arose in Farmer v. State, in which it appeared that the killing resulted from the setting on fire of a dwelling, i.e. arson, by the defendant. It was urged on appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court that there was no proof of felonious homicide because there was no showing of an intent to kill nor even …

The Federal Courts And Indirect Criminal Contempt, Philip L. Peeler

Vanderbilt Law Review

The purpose of this note will be to deal with one method of implementation, i.e., the use of the court's power to punish for criminal contempt particularly in regard to decrees, and the extent to which and under what circumstances persons not directly named in those decrees may be subjected to punishment for conduct of a criminal nature which interferes with the enforcement of those decrees...

Judicial decisions which conflict with settled moral and ethnological convictions are not translated overnight into effective standards of acceptable behavior. The decisions, however, must be implemented.'The purpose of this note will be to deal …

Voice Identification, Writing Exemplars And The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Russell J. Weintraub

Vanderbilt Law Review

The problems involved in defining the nature of the privilege against self-incrimination and in setting its limits have been much mooted in recent years. Though these problems have been brought into sharp focus by the present very urgent and certainly justified concern for our national security, they are problems which are inherent in the privilege itself. They have been with us for a long time.

One of these problems concerns the extent to which a person may refuse to participate in criminal proceedings brought against him. Doubtless not even the most liberal proponent of the privilege would claim that an …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

AGENCY--INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR--"ONE WAY LEASE" EFFECTIVE TO TERMINATE RELATIONSHIP

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COURTS--CIVIL RIGHTS ACT--IMMUNITY OF JUDGE FOR ACTS COMMITTED IN THE EXERCISE OF A JUDICIAL FUNCTION

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COURTS--CONTEMPT--VIOLATION OF COURT RULE BANNING PHOTOGRAPHY

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CRIMINAL LAW--ENTRAPMENT BY STATE OFFICIAL AS A DEFENSE TO FEDERAL PROSECUTION

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DAMAGES--BREACH OF WARRANTY--RECOVERY FOR LOSS OF PROFITS

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FEDERAL COURTS--CHOICE OF LAW--APPLICATION OF ERIE DOCTRINE TO DIVERSITY CASES INVOLVING FEDERAL COMMERCIAL PAPER

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TORTS--BATTERY--CONSENT OF MINOR TO SIMPLE OPERATION AS A DEFENSE

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TORTS--DUTY TO ACT--EMPLOYER'S ASSUMPTION OF A DUTY BY GIVING MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS TO EMPLOYEES

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Criminal Law And Procedure -- 1956 Tennessee Survey, James B. Earle

Vanderbilt Law Review

Homicide: Involuntary manslaughter by automobile was involved in the case of Smith v. State.' The evidence tended to show that while the defendant was operating his automobile at a speed of possibly 40 miles per hour, he attempted to turn at a dead-end intersection, skidded on loose gravel, and struck his victim at a point approximately four feet off the street. It also appeared that the victim was a child of six who was playing on a bridge leading to a school; that the accident occurred on Christmas day; and that the defendant had consumed an unknown quantity of intoxicating …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Congressional Investigations --Relevancy of Required Testimony

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Constitutional Law--State Taxation of Interstate Commerce--Sales Taxation of Income from Trans-Shipment of Goods within State

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Criminal Law--Felony Murder Doctrine--Co-Felon Killed by Victim of Crime

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Evidence--Judicial Admissions--Testimony as to Objective Facts

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Federal Tort Claims Act--"Private Individual" Clause--Uniquely Governmental Activity

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Income Taxation--Capital Gains and Losses--Business Purpose for Contracting in Commodity Futures

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Labor Law--Taft-Hartley Act--Discharge of Employees because of Union Membership

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Negligence--High Tension Power Lines--Duty to Warn of Dangerous Condition

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Real Property--Joint Tenancy--Severance of Estate by Murder of Co-Tenant

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Torts--Landowner--Duty to Social Guest

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Wills--Pretermitted Heir Statue--Sole …

The Law Of Infants' Marriages, Robert Kingsley

Vanderbilt Law Review

Just as the law requires, for ordinary contracts, that a party thereto must have reached an age sufficient to give him reasonable discretion, so, in connection with the contract of marriage, the law has required that the parties be not too immature. It must be remembered, however, that the word "infant" is not one of fixed meaning: when used with reference to ordinary contracts, and without further qualification, it usually means a person under twenty-one years of age; but in the field of criminal law the dividing line between "infancy" and "adult" responsibility is fixed at a lesser age (14 …

Criminal Law And Procedure -- 1955 Tennessee Survey, Austin W. Scott Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Homicide: In Ivy v. State' the defendant, in the course of a fight with A, stabbed B, a peacemaker, killing him. The defendant appealed his conviction of involuntary manslaughter on the theory that the evidence did not support the verdict, since it showed that the defendant was striking at A in self-defense when he unfortunately stabbed B. The court held that the jury could properly find on the evidence either that (1) the defendant, not A, was the aggressor, or (2) even if A were the aggressor, defendant was not in imminent danger or reasonably supposed danger of death or …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases --

Criminal Law--Habitual Criminal--Right of Accused to Counsel under Fourteenth Amendment

Divorce--Alimony Decree Terminating upon Remarriage of Wife--Effect of Annulment of Subsequent Marriage

Divorce--Statutory Modification of Domiciliary Jurisdiction--Congressional Limitation of Power of Territorial Legislature

Labor Law--Unfair Labor Practice--Primary Jurisdiction in NLRB

Life Insurance--Good Health Clause--Existence of Malady Unknown to Insured

Nuisance--Liability for Non-Trespassory Interference with the Use and Enjoyment of Land--Intentional Invasion

Wills--Holographic Codicil--Publication of an Invalid Typewritten Will

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

Criminal Law--Insanity--Test of Irresponsibility

Criminal Procedure--Continuances--Delay of Trial Because of Crowded Civil Docket

Elections--Underage Candidate--Power of Judiciary over Names Appearing on Ballot

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure--Impleader--UnderRule 14(a)--Effect of Judgment between Plaintiff and Third-Party Defendant

Husband and Wife--Expenses of Last Illness--Husband's Right to Reimbursement under Wife's Will

Joint Tort Feasors--Release of One as Release of All--Application of Rule when First Tort Feasor is not Legally Liable

Restraint of Trade--Employee's Covenant Not to Compete--State-Wide Restraint

Specific Performance--Conveyance of Leased Premises upon Lessee's Exercise of Option to Purchase--Defense of Hardship

Unemployment Compensation--"Suitable" Employment--Refusal of Sabbath on Religious Grounds

Wrongful Death--Unborn …

Criminal Law And Procedure -- 1954 Tennessee Survey, Clyde L. Ball

Vanderbilt Law Review

Most of the criminal law cases in the Tennessee courts during the past year have dealt with matters of procedure. The basic principles derived from these cases are treated in the Procedure and Evidence article of this 1954 Survey.' However, those cases of especial interest and significance will be considered here in somewhat greater detail. In addition to procedural matters there were a few cases which turned on concepts basic in the substantive law of crimes.

Substantive Law

Homicide: Tennessee has enunciated and followed a rule which states that driving an automobile while intoxicated is an act malum in se, …

Current Trends In The Business Of The Federal District Courts, Will Shafroth

Vanderbilt Law Review

Congestion in the dockets of many United States district courts in metropolitan centers has called attention to the effects on the judicial business of the great economic development of the past few years, a growth which far exceeds in extent that in any period of equal duration in our history. In the short space of thirteen years from 1940 to 1952 the market value of the output of goods and services produced by the nation's economy increased from 101 billions to 346 billions. Part of this phenomenal rise was due to a 90 percent increase in the cost of living, …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Bankruptcy--Acts of Bankruptcy--Petition for Dissolution under State Statute

Corporations--Stockholders' Derivative Suits--Equitable Stockholder's Rights under Security Statute

Criminal Law--Evidence--Immunity Statutes

Criminal Procedure--Grand Jury Indictments--Failure of Jurors to Hear All the Evidence as Grounds for Setting Aside Indictment

Domestic Relations--Torts--Action by Wife against Husband for Personal Injuries

Federal Jurisdiction--Scope of Federal Common Law--Characterization of Foreign Statute for Purpose of Applying Federal Constitution

Labor Law--Unfair Labor Practice--Intent to Encourage or Discourage Union Membership by Discrimination

Criminal Law And Procedure, William D. Warren

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the field of Criminal Law and Procedure, the Tennessee Supreme Court might be said to have completed a normal, even typical, year; some new law was announced, and much existing law was reiterated and reshaped. The Court's respect for local precedent persisted undiminished. No Tennessee case was directly overruled, and Tennessee precedents were closely adhered to when available. Not a single dissent appeared in the cases discussed in this article. The brevity of appellate opinions--particularly their highly condensed fact paragraphs--makes critical analysis of them a difficult and somewhat risky procedure. Nevertheless, an attempt has been made in this article …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONDUCT OF JUDGES and LAWYERS

By Orie L. Phillips and Philbrick McCoy

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

By Orvill C. Snyder

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FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IN ENGLAND 1476-1776

By Frederick Seaton Siebert

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FREEDOM THROUGH LAW

By Robert L. Hale

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HISTORY OF AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

By Edson R. Sunderland

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HISTORY OF A LAWSUIT

By Abraham Caruthers

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HOLMES-LASKI LETTERS

by Mark DeWolfe Howe

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LEGAL EDUCATION IN THE U. S.

By Albert J. Harno

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LIFE INSURANCE AND ESTATE TAX PLANNING

By William J. Bowe

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NACCA LAW JOURNAL

By the National Association of Claimants' Compensation Attorneys

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PSYCHIATRY …

The Court Of Military Appeals -- Its History, Organization And Operation, Daniel Walker, C. George Niebank

Vanderbilt Law Review

When a civilian "supreme court" for the review of court-martial convictions was first proposed in Congress, it evoked immediate, vociferous and emotional reactions from those most directly concerned with military criminal law. Vigorous opposition came from the traditional militarist, who argued that there was no place for civilians in a military procedure, and that creation of such a court would place unnecessary emphasis on civilian influence. It was said that military effectiveness would be unduly restricted and that the nonmilitary mind would not be able to appreciate fully the military problems often involved in court-martial cases. Some of these officers …

Foreword: Comments By The Court, Robert E. Quinn

Vanderbilt Law Review

The United States Court of Military Appeals has been referred to as the "most vital element" in the reformation and unification of military criminal law brought about by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It represents a further extension of civilian control over the military--a concept long deemed vital to the American framework of democratic government.

The Court is not faced with an easy task, and no one is more aware of this than the judges themselves. Like all institutions established as a result of reform movements, its activities are subject to close public scrutiny. The work of the Court …

The Background Of The Uniform Code Of Military Justice, Edmund M. Morgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Articles of War and the Articles for the Government of the Navy have always constituted the code of criminal law and criminal procedure for the Armed Forces. In contrast to the law governing civilians, the punishments imposable are not specified in the Code but are left to be fixed by the military authorities, except that the later codes do not authorize punishment by death save for specifically designated offenses. The system also provides for summary punishment for minor infractions and a series of courts--a general court having power to try all offenses, a special court with limited power to …

Unconvicting The Innocent, Richard C. Donnelly

Vanderbilt Law Review

"Innocent Man is Unable to Clear Record after 7 1/2 Years in Prison. Under this headline, the New York Times recently reported the courthouse tragedy of Nathan Kaplan, 49-year-old salesman.' Mr. Kaplan's brush with the law began on September 28, 1937, when the Federal Government indicted him under the name of Nathan Kaplan, alias "Kitty," for the sale of heroin to a government undercover agent. Although he vigorously proclaimed his innocence from the day of his arrest, he did not take the witness stand at his trial. He was represented by able counsel and other due process requirements were fully …

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

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Adverse Possession--Statutes--May One Acquire an Indefeasible Life Estate under Tennessee Code Section 8582

Constitutional Law--Freedom of the Press--Effect of City Ordinance Prohibiting Solicitation of Magazine Subscriptions without Prior Consent of Person Solicited

Constitutional Law--Statutes--Requirement of Loyalty Oath as Valid Exercise of Police Power

Contracts--Procurement of Government Contracts on Contingent Fee Basis--Effect of Executive Order

Criminal Law--Mens Rea--Requirement in Action for Converting Government Property--Necessity for Criminal Intent

Damages--Injury to Child--Expenses of Parent in Attending Child

Divorce--Determination of Place Where Abandonment Occurs--Effect of Residence Requirement for Bringing Action

Domestic Relations--Legitimation Statute--Interpretation and Effect

Evidence--Unreasonable Searches and Seizures--Admissibility of Evidence Obtained …

Delinquent Parents And The Criminal Law, Frederick J. Ludwig

Vanderbilt Law Review

"There are no delinquent children; there are only delinquent parents." This tautological truism has long been the speaker's mainstay at Rotary luncheons, parent-teacher meetings, and assorted roundtables and institutes on juvenile delinquency. When a New York Children's Court judge undertook to put the principle into practice five years ago, a storm of controversy was unleashed which has not yet subsided. The case, tragic enough, involved 14-year-old Frankie, who scored hits on three passers-by with a stolen gun. The boy, who had been sleeping in hallways and on buses, was committed as a juvenile delinquent to a state training school. His …

Some Developments In The Law Concerning Confessions, William Wicker

Vanderbilt Law Review

Our system of administering criminal laws is predicated upon accusatorial rather than inquisitorial proceedings. To maintain inviolate the safeguards consonant with this principle, we have placed upon the State an ever-increasing burden in proving the commission of the crime charged. That this burden has begun to weigh heavily, and perhaps onerously, becomes unmistakably evident from a study of recent developments in the law of confessions.

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CHARLES EVANS HUGHES AND THE SUPREME COURT

By Samuel Hendel

New York: King's Crown Press, 1951. Pp. 337

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DUE PROCESSES OF LAW

By Virginia Wood

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1951. Pp. 436. $6.00.

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LEGAL AID IN THE UNITED STATES

By Emery A. Brownell

Rochester: The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co., 1951. Pp. 333. $4.50.

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LEVIATHAN AND NATURAL LAW

By F. Lyman Windolph

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951. Pp. 147. $2.50.

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OIL AND LAW

Articles reprinted from the Texas Law Review

Austin:Texas Law Review, 1951. Pp. 1736. Bound copies $15.00, unbound copies $12.00.

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PRICE POLICIES …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW--FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT--REVOCATION OF DRIVER'S LICENSE WITHOUT HEARING

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--ECONOMIC REGULATION--STATE COURT INTERPRETATIONS OF SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--EMINENT DOMAIN FOR SLUM CLEARANCE--EFFECT OF SALE OR LEASE OF PROPERTY TO PRIVATE PERSONS FOR REDEVELOPMENT

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS--STATE SALES TAX ON INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR DEALING WITH FEDERAL AGENCY WHOSE "ACTIVITIES" ARE EXEMPTED

CRIMINAL LAW--EFFECT OF PROOF OF COMPLETED CRIME ON CHARGE OF ATTEMPT--FATAL VARIANCE

FEDERAL JURISDICTION--FORUM NON CONVENIENS--STAY OF FEDERAL ACTION PENDING STATE DECISION

INSANE PERSONS--COMMITMENT PROCEEDINGS--REQUIREMENT OF REASONABLE NOTICE

RIGHT OF PRIVACY--PUBLICATION OF PICTURES AS OFFENSE TO "ORDINARY SENSIBILITIES"--QUESTION OF LAW OR FACT?

TRUSTS--DUALITY OF INTEREST--MERGER OF TITLE …

Criminal Law Administration Prior To Trial: Recent Constitutional Developments, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

Probably the most pervasive dilemma in human experience is that which poses the choice with respect to the use of normally-condemned means in order to attain what are considered to be desirable ends. The field of criminal law administration offers a particularly apt illustration of the dilemma in modern society. The actual, day-to-day methods of operation of our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and other officials concerned with the investigation, trial and punishment of those charged with crime,--all reflect the choice that has been made in fact by our society. We can each judge, within the limits of our experience, …

The Right Of A Businessman To Lower The Price Of His Goods, Stanley D. Rose

Vanderbilt Law Review

The present actions being taken to mark the transition from cold to hot war are settling a number of problems and creating a host of others. The direction of our national effort within the economy will shift to production; our normal interest would be in distribution. This shift will not mean that the antitrust laws will be entirely suspended. There remain certain vital functions of protecting whole classes of citizens during the coming years of stress and for that day when once again we return to our new two-cars-for-every-family ideal.

'But it cannot be denied that a discussion of lowering …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Attorney and Client--Unauthorized Practice of Law--Drafting of Legal Instruments by Realtors

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Bailments--Bailee for Hire--Validity of Contract Provision Limiting Liability for Negligence

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Brokers (Real Estate)--Statement that Principal Might Take Less than List Price as Breach of Fiduciary Obligation--Breach as Defense to Action for Commission

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Corporations--Preferred Stock--Cancellation of Accrued Dividends by Charter Amendment

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Criminal Law--Evidence--Admissibility of Uncommunicated Threats under Plea of Self-Defense

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Domestic Relations--Consortium Right of Wife to Sue for Loss Due to Negligent Injury to Husband

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Eminent Domain--Lessee as Condemnor--Requirement that Compensation be Given for Improvements to Land Made by Lessee

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Evidence--Unanswered Letters--Admissibility on …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE--COMPREHENSIVE CLAUSE EXCLUDING MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN--REQUIREMENT THAT EXCLUDED RISK BE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE

BAILMENTS--DELIVERY OF POSSESSION--PROPERTY DEPOSITED IN PUBLIC LOCKER

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INFRINGEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS--CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER FEDERAL STATUTE

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL--ACTION FOR STATUTORY PENALTY UNDER PRICE ..CONTROL ACT

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--UNITED NATIONS CHARTER--APPLICATION AS TREATY TO RENDER STATE LAW INVALID

CONTRACTS--CONSIDERATION--NEW AGREEMENT TO PAY LESS THAN ORIGINAL CONTRACT PRICE

CONTRACTS--DEFINITION OF TERMS--EFFECT OF PART PERFORMANCE IN MAKING TERMS CERTAIN

COPYRIGHT--ARTIST'S RIGHTS IN PRODUCTION AFTER SALE--"MORAL RIGHT" TO PREVENT DESTRUCTION

CRIMINAL LAW--SEARCHES AND SEIZURES--EFFECTS OF VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT ON JURISDICTION OF FEDERAL COURTS

JOINT …