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Articles 91 - 120 of 542

Full-Text Articles in Evidence

Criminal Procedure--Evidence--Composite Drawing Not Producible Under Jencks Act--United States V. Zurita, Michigan Law Review Feb 1968

Criminal Procedure--Evidence--Composite Drawing Not Producible Under Jencks Act--United States V. Zurita, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Following a bank robbery, the bank manager and his wife provided descriptions enabling an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compose drawings of the robbers which were then "approved" by each of these witnesses as being substantially accurate. At the defendant's trial four years later, he was identified by the manager and his wife as one of the robbers. The defendant, in an attempt to impeach their testimony, requested that the government be compelled under the Jencks Act to produce the original composite drawings. The trial court denied this request, stating that the production of these drawings was …


Evidence--Medical Treatises To Be Admitted As Direct Evidence In Wisconsin--Lewandowski V. Preferred Risk Mutual Ins. Co., Michigan Law Review Nov 1967

Evidence--Medical Treatises To Be Admitted As Direct Evidence In Wisconsin--Lewandowski V. Preferred Risk Mutual Ins. Co., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant's attorney in a personal injury action sought on cross-examination to impeach plaintiff's physician regarding his determination of the degree of plaintiff's disability by referring to the medical standards set forth in the American Medical Association's Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment--The Extremities and Back. Pointing to the physician's testimony that he had not relied on the Guide in making his evaluation, the trial court sustained plaintiff's objection that such cross-examination was not permissible. On appeal, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the trial court was correct in sustaining the objection in accordance with the established rule that it …


Reformation And The Parol Evidence Rule, George E. Palmer Mar 1967

Reformation And The Parol Evidence Rule, George E. Palmer

Michigan Law Review

The parol evidence rule of itself is never an obstacle to reformation, provided there is satisfactory evidence of a mistake in integration. If the parties intend to express the terms of a transaction in a writing, which is then to be looked to as the sole repository of those terms, the longstanding tradition of the law courts, described as the parol evidence rule, has been that the writing is controlling. If through mistake the writing failed to express correctly what the parties meant to express, the law courts still regarded the written word as decisive, but it has been recognized …


Criminal Law-Confessions-Admission Of Illegally Obtained Confession In State Criminal Prosecution Is Harmless Error Not Requiring Reversal Of Conviction--People V. Jacobson, Michigan Law Review Jan 1967

Criminal Law-Confessions-Admission Of Illegally Obtained Confession In State Criminal Prosecution Is Harmless Error Not Requiring Reversal Of Conviction--People V. Jacobson, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant voluntarily admitted that he had murdered his daughter to a social worker, two ambulance attendants, and three police officers sent to investigate the incident. He continued to declare his guilt to these officers after his arrest, on the way to the police station, and at the police station where he was interrogated without the benefit of counsel although he had not waived his right to counsel. All of the confessions-approximately ten-were admitted in evidence at the defendant's trial over his objection that the two confessions obtained during the interrogation should have been excluded since he had been denied his …


Use Of Record Of Criminal Conviction In Subsequent Civil Action Arising From The Same Facts As The Prosecution, Michigan Law Review Feb 1966

Use Of Record Of Criminal Conviction In Subsequent Civil Action Arising From The Same Facts As The Prosecution, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The overwhelming majority of courts considering the issue without the aid of pertinent legislation have held that a record of a prior criminal conviction may not be used against a convicted person in subsequent civil proceedings arising from the same facts as the criminal prosecution but to which the state is not a party. It is admissible neither as evidence of the facts underlying it, nor as the basis of an estoppel preventing the convicted party from relitigating those issues which must have been decided against him in the criminal trial for the judge or jury to have found him …


Evidence Illegally Seized By Private Persons Excluded From Criminal Prosecution--People V. Mccomb, Michigan Law Review Nov 1965

Evidence Illegally Seized By Private Persons Excluded From Criminal Prosecution--People V. Mccomb, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

At common law, illegally seized evidence was admissible on the theory that the nature of the seizure did not necessarily affect the probative value of the evidence. However, in 1914 the United States Supreme Court, in order to protect the fourth amendment's guarantee of freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, adopted a rule excluding from federal courts evidence illegally seized by federal officials. In 1961, the scope of this rule was extended by Mapp v. Ohio, which held that all evidence obtained in violation of the fourth amendment is inadmissible in state courts. However, the Mapp doctrine applies only …


The Psychiatrist As An Expert Witness: Some Ruminations And Speculations, Bernard L. Diamond, David W. Louisell Jun 1965

The Psychiatrist As An Expert Witness: Some Ruminations And Speculations, Bernard L. Diamond, David W. Louisell

Michigan Law Review

Consider the difference between the expert testimony of an orthopedic surgeon in a personal injury suit and the testimony of a psychiatrist in a murder trial in which some elements of the mens rea are at issue. In both instances an expert opinion is received in evidence, providing the trier of fact with technical, specialized information which must, or should, be available in order to permit a rational decision-making process. Well-established rules govern the nature of expert evidence and its mode of presentation. In legal theory, the orthopedic surgeon and the psychiatrist are both experts-physicians-who perform comparable functions in the …


Social Security Disability Determinations: The Burden Of Proof On Appeal, Michigan Law Review Jun 1965

Social Security Disability Determinations: The Burden Of Proof On Appeal, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In 1956, the Social Security Act was amended to provide monthly disability insurance benefits to qualifying individuals under a uniform national program administered by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Under this program, a claimant is entitled to disability benefits if he is unable to "engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to be of long continued and indefinite duration." This definition and its accompanying statutory standards were purposely made conservative in order to minimize the problems inherent in initiating the program; it was contemplated that …


Admissibility Of Parol Evidence In Judicial Determinations Of Arbitrability, Michigan Law Review May 1965

Admissibility Of Parol Evidence In Judicial Determinations Of Arbitrability, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Whether parol evidence of bargaining history is admissible in a court's determination of arbitrability is a problem arising out of the United States Supreme Court's 1960 decisions in the Steelworkers Trilogy. The Court there emphasized the national labor policy favoring arbitration as the best means of resolving labor disputes. Citing its earlier Lincoln Mills decision interpreting section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, the Court stated that, in enacting section 301, Congress assigned the question of the jurisdiction of an arbitrator to the courts in the absence of an agreement by the parties specifically assigning the question to …


Controlling The Police: The Judge's Role In Making And Reviewing Law Enforcement Decisions, Wayne R. Lafave, Frank J. Remington Apr 1965

Controlling The Police: The Judge's Role In Making And Reviewing Law Enforcement Decisions, Wayne R. Lafave, Frank J. Remington

Michigan Law Review

We have chosen to focus here upon judicial involvement (1) in determining whether arrest and search warrants should issue and (2) in reviewing such decisions after they have been executed (and, perhaps, made) by police officials. A comparison of some recent findings respecting the actual practice at the trial level with the "ideal" as set forth in appellate opinions may allow some conclusions to be drawn both as to the present effectiveness of appellate rulings on these subjects and as to the ultimate feasibility of further implementation of those rulings. Finally, since the exclusionary rule is, theoretically at least, one …


Evidence Of The Absence Of Fresh Complaint Is Admissible In Sodomy Prosecution-United States V. Goodman, Michigan Law Review Feb 1965

Evidence Of The Absence Of Fresh Complaint Is Admissible In Sodomy Prosecution-United States V. Goodman, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of two counts of sodomy by a general court martial. The alleged victims of the defendant had failed to complain immediately following the incidents, and evidence of such failure on the part of one of the witnesses had been admitted at trial. A Navy board of review affirmed the conviction, modifying the sentence. Defendant appealed to the United States Court of Military Appeals on the ground that it had been prejudicial error for the law officer to refuse to give a proffered instruction to the court-martial panel respecting the victim's failure to make fresh complaints. On appeal, …


Grand Jury Secrecy, Richard M. Calkins Jan 1965

Grand Jury Secrecy, Richard M. Calkins

Michigan Law Review

When a leading state such as Illinois enacts "reform" legislation, an impact on the legislatures of other jurisdictions may be anticipated. Accordingly, a need exists for an examination of this legislation in the light of the common-law background of grand jury secrecy and for a further analysis of it in the face of the growing trend toward more liberalized discovery of grand jury minutes in other jurisdictions. It is the contention of the author that such an empirical study will demonstrate that this legislation adopted by Illinois is contrary to all modern judicial thinking and is, in fact, a retrogressive …


Evidence-Admissibility And Weight Of Photographs, James W. Collier May 1964

Evidence-Admissibility And Weight Of Photographs, James W. Collier

Michigan Law Review

In a prosecution for fellatio, the people's only witness was a woman who testified that she had participated in the alleged activity with the defendant. Her testimony also verified for introduction a motion picture purporting to show the alleged violations. Defendant was convicted on the basis of this evidence. On appeal, held, reversed. A conviction cannot be sustained on the basis of an accomplice's uncorroborated testimony; and the film, although properly admitted, could not supply the necessary corroboration, since a determination of its accuracy must rely upon the accomplice's foundation testimony. People v. Bowley, 59 Cal. 2d …


Criminal Law-Aiding And Abeiting-Criminal Liablity For Knowingly Furnishing Racing Results To Bookmakers, John H. Blish Apr 1964

Criminal Law-Aiding And Abeiting-Criminal Liablity For Knowingly Furnishing Racing Results To Bookmakers, John H. Blish

Michigan Law Review

Appellant, who received a weekly salary for distributing horse-racing results by telephone to some twenty bookmakers, was convicted of aiding and abetting bookmaking activities in violation of section 986 of the New York Penal Law. He admitted knowing that the information would be used by his employer's customers in violation of section 986, but no actual evidence of bookmaking was presented to the court. On appeal, held, reversed, one judge dissenting. Knowingly transmitting racing results to bookmaking establishments by telephone does not, without proof of acceptance of bets on a professional basis, constitute aiding and abetting bookmaking in violation …


Government Contracts-Judicial Review Under Disputes Clause, Amos J. Coffman Jr. Apr 1964

Government Contracts-Judicial Review Under Disputes Clause, Amos J. Coffman Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In a factual dispute arising under a standard government construction contract, the contractor followed the procedures required by the disputes clause. The contractor, after its claim was denied by the contracting officer, appealed to the Board of Claims and Appeals of the Corps of Engineers. The Board rejected the claim, and the contractor brought suit in the Court of Claims, alleging, in the words of the Wunderlich Act, that the Board's decision was "capricious or arbitrary or so grossly erroneous as necessarily to imply bad faith, or was not supported by substantial evidence." Over the Government's objection, a commissioner of …


Rights Of Persons Compelled To Appear In Federal Agency Investigational Hearings, David C. Murchison Jan 1964

Rights Of Persons Compelled To Appear In Federal Agency Investigational Hearings, David C. Murchison

Michigan Law Review

By statutes designed to protect the public interest, many federal administrative agencies-such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Civil Aeronautics Board-are granted authority to conduct investigations dealing with substantive matters committed to their respective jurisdictions. In an increasing number of instances, these agencies are empowered to utilize compulsory process; persons may be ordered to appear and give testimony or to produce documents in so-called investigational hearings, subject to criminal sanctions for noncompliance. The use of investigational hearings by these agencies as an ancillary law enforcement tool …


Antitrust-Clayton Act-Admissibilty Of Criminal Conviction Entered On A Plea Of Guilty As Prima Facie Evidence In Civil Suit For Treble Damage, Arthur M. Sherwood Dec 1963

Antitrust-Clayton Act-Admissibilty Of Criminal Conviction Entered On A Plea Of Guilty As Prima Facie Evidence In Civil Suit For Treble Damage, Arthur M. Sherwood

Michigan Law Review

In a civil action for treble damages under section 4 of the Clayton Act, the plaintiff sought to allege as prima facie evidence of a Sherman Act violation a criminal conviction entered on a plea of guilty by the defendant in an earlier prosecution by the government. The trial court sustained a motion by the defendant to strike from plaintiff's complaint any reference to the criminal prosecution. On appeal, held, reversed, one judge dissenting. A judgment entered on a plea of guilty is not a consent judgment within the meaning of the proviso to section 5(a) of the Clayton …


The New Michigan Pre-Trial Procedural Rules-Models For Other States?, Robert Meisenholder Jun 1963

The New Michigan Pre-Trial Procedural Rules-Models For Other States?, Robert Meisenholder

Michigan Law Review

The new Michigan procedural laws are embodied in a revised set of statutes and court rules which became effective January 1, 1963, after a long period of study by a Joint Committee on Michigan Procedural Revision. They abolish an anachronistic distinction between procedures in law and equity, abrogate a scattered, disorganized set of rules and statutes, and create a unified, coherent procedural system.


Evidence-Hearsay-Exclusion Of Self-Serving Declarations, John M. Price S.Ed. May 1963

Evidence-Hearsay-Exclusion Of Self-Serving Declarations, John M. Price S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

One of the most venerable of all legal principles is the evidentiary rule excluding hearsay. This rule, which was first espoused by the English courts in the sixteenth century, arose when it became apparent that there was an inherent danger of untrustworthiness in a witness's uncorroborated recital of a prior declaration made outside the courtroom. The courts gave several reasons for regarding hearsay as untrustworthy. First, these statements, offered into evidence for the truth of the matter asserted, were not made under oath. Secondly, objection to such testimony was raised because the trier of fact had no opportunity to pass …


Civil Procedure-Trial Practice-Introduction Of Inadmissible Evidence To Cure Improper Argument By Counsel, Arthur M. Sherwood May 1963

Civil Procedure-Trial Practice-Introduction Of Inadmissible Evidence To Cure Improper Argument By Counsel, Arthur M. Sherwood

Michigan Law Review

In a suit to recover damages for wrongful death arising out of an automobile accident, plaintiff's counsel offered in evidence the official report of a police officer, which included the officer's opinion that defendant's parked car had contributed to the collision. Defendant's objection to this evidence was sustained on the grounds that the report was hearsay and that it set forth a conclusion which only the jury could draw. Defendant's counsel, during his summation, asserted that no police officer had said that defendant's car had in any way caused the accident. The court, sua sponte, admitted into evidence the officer's …


Evidence-Confessions-Admissiblity Of A Subsequent Confession Under The Mcnabb-Mallory Doctrine, Ira J. Jaffe S.Ed. May 1963

Evidence-Confessions-Admissiblity Of A Subsequent Confession Under The Mcnabb-Mallory Doctrine, Ira J. Jaffe S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was indicted for first degree murder and convicted of manslaughter in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. Defendant had willingly directed the police to the victim's body and voluntarily signed a written confession during a period of thirty-four hours detention prior to arraignment. At the arraignment defendant was informed of his rights and indicated that he was aware of them; in addition, the preliminary hearing was postponed in order to provide him opportunity to obtain counsel. Twenty hours after his arraignment the defendant once again voluntarily confessed while giving a police officer instructions as to the …


Evidence-Hearsay-Admissbility Of Accident Reports Under The Federal Business Records Act, Thomas G. Dignan Jr. May 1963

Evidence-Hearsay-Admissbility Of Accident Reports Under The Federal Business Records Act, Thomas G. Dignan Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The United States, as assignee of a civilian seaman's claim, brought an action against the defendant for injuries received when the seaman slipped on a walkway which the defendant had contracted to maintain in good repair. At the trial plaintiff sought to introduce into evidence a report compiled by the seaman's superior, such report being required to accompany the seaman's claim for compensation from the Government. Admission of the report under the Federal Business Records Act was denied, and the Government's case was thereby materially weakened. Judgment was entered on a jury verdict for the defendant. On appeal, held, …


A Radical Restatement Of The Law Of Seller's Damages: Michigan Results Compared, Robert J. Harris Mar 1963

A Radical Restatement Of The Law Of Seller's Damages: Michigan Results Compared, Robert J. Harris

Michigan Law Review

Conventional doctrine does not address itself directly to the choice among valuation techniques, although the various parochial damage formulae give some clues. Underlying this series of articles is an assumption that the doctrine makes more sense when restated in valuation terms. These articles involve an effort to restate in such terms one sector of expectation damage law-the part that governs cases in which plaintiff is a "seller."


Federal Civil Procedure-Discovery-Availability Of Attorney-Client Privilege To Corporations, Stephen M. Wittenberg Jan 1963

Federal Civil Procedure-Discovery-Availability Of Attorney-Client Privilege To Corporations, Stephen M. Wittenberg

Michigan Law Review

During the pre-trial stage of a civil antitrust suit, plaintiff sought inspection of certain documents in the files of the corporate defendants' outside counsel. The defendant contended that these documents were protected from discovery by the attorney-client privilege. Upon motion for inspection, held, granted. The attorney-client privilege is not available to any of the corporate parties in this action. Radiant Burners, Inc. v. American Gas Ass'n, 207 F. Supp. 771, aff'd on rehearing, 209 F. Supp. 321 (N.D. Ill. 1962).


Betts V. Brady Twenty Years Later: The Right To Counself And Due Process Values, Yale Kamisar Dec 1962

Betts V. Brady Twenty Years Later: The Right To Counself And Due Process Values, Yale Kamisar

Michigan Law Review

I am quite distressed by talk that the landmark case of Mapp v. Ohio "suggests by analogy" that the Court may now overrule Betts v. Brady. For whether one talks about the fourth or the sixth amendment, there is much to be said for Justice Harlan's dissenting views in Mapp. "[W]hatever configurations ... have been developed in the particularizing federal precedents" should not be "deemed a part of 'ordered liberty,' and as such ... enforceable against the States .... [W]e would not be true to the Fourteenth Amendment were we merely to stretch the general principle [ of …


Packer: Ex-Communist Witnesses, Malcolm Sharp Nov 1962

Packer: Ex-Communist Witnesses, Malcolm Sharp

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Ex-Communist Witnesses. By Herbert L. Packer


Procedural Problems Of Class Suits, Joseph J. Simeone May 1962

Procedural Problems Of Class Suits, Joseph J. Simeone

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to discuss numerous aspects of the class device, to discuss the many procedural problems confronting court and counsel, to determine the effectiveness of one type of class suit-the spurious-and in the conclusion, to propose legislation for a new rule independent of the rules regarding class actions, a remedy which would more effectively permit the dispatch of numerous claims arising from similar fact patterns.


Federal Trade Commission-Adjudicatory Proceedings-Receipt Of Evidence In Camera, Peter W. Williamson Mar 1962

Federal Trade Commission-Adjudicatory Proceedings-Receipt Of Evidence In Camera, Peter W. Williamson

Michigan Law Review

During an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, counsel for the Commission offered as evidence some confidential documents subpoenaed from respondent. The hearing examiner, on his own motion, ordered all confidential documents placed in camera. Counsel for the FTC objected to the order and filed an interlocutory appeal to the Commission. On the interlocutory appeal, held, error in part. Because these documents do not contain highly secret business information they must appear on the public transcript, unless tendered to the Commission and obtained subject to an express stipulation that, if offered in …


Evidence - Presumptions - Statutory Presumption Of Due Care In Wrongful Death Action, Francis X. Beytagh Jr. Feb 1962

Evidence - Presumptions - Statutory Presumption Of Due Care In Wrongful Death Action, Francis X. Beytagh Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Consolidation of two actions arising from a multi-vehicle highway accident resulted in verdicts in both causes against appellants. One action was brought against appellants by the administratrix of a deceased driver under a wrongful death statute, and resulted in a verdict for the administratrix because of a statutory presumption of deceased's due care. The other action was a personal injury suit by a third party against appellants and the administratrix as co-defendants, and resulted in a verdict exonerating the deceased driver, despite circumstances raising an inference of his negligence. Appellants' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and new trial were …


Some Problems Of Evidence Before The Labor Arbitrator, R. W. Fleming Dec 1961

Some Problems Of Evidence Before The Labor Arbitrator, R. W. Fleming

Michigan Law Review

Legal rules of evidence do not, of course, apply before the labor arbitrator. This is not surprising since such rules were developed in connection with jury trials, and do not apply strictly in any tribunal but a jury-court. The whole theory of the arbitration tribunal is that it is composed of experts who repeatedly inquire into a relatively homogeneous kind of cases. Exclusionary rules are hardly required as a precautionary measure. Indeed, as the late Harry Shulman said in his classic Oliver Wendell Holmes lecture at Harvard in 1955, "The more serious danger is not that the arbitrator will hear …