Fourteenth Amendment Commons^™

Church And State: Cooperative Separatism, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

Nothing is better calculated to stimulate argument, arouse controversy, excite the emotions and even produce intense visceral reactions than a discussion of church-state relations. Always a subject of lively interest, it has received added attention and emphasis in recent months. Perhaps at no time in at least the modem era of American history have the questions of the proper relationship between religion and government been more thoroughly publicized and explored, and the issues more widely debated, than during the period beginning with the presidential campaign of 1960.

Constitutional Law- Freedom Of Religion- Tuition Payments To Parochial Schools Violate Fourteenth Amendment, William S. Bach

Michigan Law Review

Because defendant school district did not maintain a high school within the school district, tuition payments were made, as provided by statute, to the high schools attended by pupils residing within the district. The parents of each student selected the high school to be attended. As a result of this program, some tuition payments were made to high schools operated by the Roman Catholic Church. Plaintiff taxpayer sought in a declaratory judgment a determination of the validity of tuition payments made to Catholic high schools under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Vermont. The court of chancery held …

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Racial Discrimination And The Role Of The State, William C. Griffith S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Constitutional history from the 1857 Dred Scott decision to the 1954 Brown decision records "a movement from status to contract" for the American Negro. Although uncertainty clouds the definition of "state action," the civil rights of the Negro under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment have been clearly established. The Negro citizen has arrived; the Negro minority group remains one of the gravest social problems of twentieth century America. De facto school segregation, limited economic opportunity, and inadequate housing are problems not solved by invocation of the fourteenth amendment or incantation of the Declaration of Independence. Solution, …

Habeas Corpus - Procedural Prerequisites - Motion Denied For Failure To Appeal Convicion Despite Failure Being Excusable, Harvey O. Mierke Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was convicted of robbery in a federal district court and, although represented by counsel, failed to appeal within the statutory ten-day period. Three months later he filed a motion in the same court under section 2255 of the judicial code to vacate the sentence on the ground that the conviction, because it was based on a coerced confession, was unconstitutionally obtained without due process of law. The motion was denied and the denial affirmed, in the absence of any attempt to excuse the failure to appeal. On reargument, plaintiff attempted to excuse his failure to appeal by alleging that …

Constitutional Law - Search And Seizure - Duty Of Home Owner To Permit Housing Inspection Without A Warrant, Joseph J. Schneider

Michigan Law Review

A Dayton, Ohio, city ordinance authorized housing inspectors to inspect any dwelling, without requiring a search warrant, for the purpose of safeguarding the public health and safety. Acting in compliance with the requirements of this ordinance, city housing inspectors requested admittance to appellant's home in order to conduct a health inspection. Appellant refused to permit the inspectors to enter and inspect his home without a search warrant, and was therefore arrested and confined for violating the ordinance. Discharge of appellant in habeas corpus proceedings was reversed by the Ohio Court of Appeals. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, …

Color Blindess But Not Myopia: A New Look At State Action, Equal Protection, And "Private" Racial Discrimination, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Michigan Law Review

Mr. Justice Frankfurter has remarked: "In law also the right answer usually depends on putting the right question." For nearly one hundred years now the courts have been putting certain key questions whenever confronted by the claim that a person was being deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the fourteenth amendment of the federal constitution. From the time the "separate-but-equal" doctrine was enunciated in Plessy v. Ferguson until it was repudiated in the School Segregation Cases two principal questions were likely to be asked about any classification based on racial grounds: (I) Did the classification result, …

Freedom Of Association, William J. Hotes, Catherine H. Hotes

Cleveland State Law Review

To determine whether a limitation upon freedom of association by a state is constitutionally justified, the Court must balance the interests of those individuals whose rights have been restricted against the interests of the state involved. Constitutional freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment may be restricted only when the state has a compelling interest. A state may take action in the interest of public safety, health, or welfare to prevent abuse of the exercise of these freedoms, but it may not curtail the rights themselves. Only the public interest or a clear and present danger would justify restriction of First …

Constitutional Law- State Action And The Equal Protection Clause - Status Of Lessee Of Public Property, Stephen Bard

Michigan Law Review

Defendant Wilmington Parking Authority was a tax-exempt state agency organized under the Delaware Parking Authority Act to build and operate a public off-street parking facility. Financing of the project was accomplished primarily by the issuance of self-liquidating bonds, but fifteen percent of the necessary capital was advanced by the City of Wilmington from its public funds. The state agency had statutory authority to lease space in the facility for private commercial uses, but only to the extent that the rentals thereby obtained were needed to meet the state requirement that the facility be self-supporting. In accordance with this authority space …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Collection Of State Use Tax From Nonresident Vendor, Jerome M. Salle

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Georgia corporation not qualified to do business in Florida, solicited orders for merchandise from Florida residents through independent brokers who forwarded the orders to plaintiff's Georgia office for acceptance. Plaintiff did not maintain any place of business in Florida nor have any regular employee or agent there. In a suit to enjoin the enforcement of a distress warrant issued upon plaintiff's failure to collect the Florida use tax, the chancellor denied relief and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed, one Justice dissenting. Enforcement of the statute requiring collection …

State Action, William W. Van Alstyne, Kenneth L. Karst

Faculty Publications

In this extensive discussion of the Civil War amendments, this article proposes to identify the functions of the state action limitation. Specific accommodation of those functions is discussed in a variety of contexts: freedom from brutality, voting, education, employment, housing, etc.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Right Of Second Offender To Pre-Sentence Hearing Regarding Prior Conviction, John Edward Porter S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Relator was convicted of burglary in 1953 and of voluntary manslaughter in 1954. While passing sentence after the latter conviction, the court declared that it was exercising its discretion under the Habitual Criminal Act by imposing a double penalty on the relator. Neither relator nor his counsel objected to the procedure or demanded a hearing regarding the prior conviction. On petition for writ of habeas corpus, which was denied by the lower court, relator admitted the fact of his prior conviction. He asserted, however, that although the habitual criminal statute in terms contains no provision granting alleged second offenders notice …

The Constitutions Of West Germany And The United States: A Comparative Study, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to present a descriptive overall picture of the fundamental features of the system established by the Basic Law and at the same time point up significant comparisons and contrasts by reference to the Constitution. Eleven years have now elapsed since the Basic Law went into effect, and significant decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht ) noted at the appropriate points, serve to illuminate the working of the system established by it.

Greenberg: Race Relations And American Law, Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of RACE RELATIONS AND AMERICAN LAW. By Jack Greenberg.

Constitutional Law - Substantive Due Process - Statute Prohibiting Use Of Contraceptives, Erik J. Stapper S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Connecticut statute prohibits the use of contraceptives to prevent conception. Plaintiff-doctor sought a declaratory judgment to have the statute declared unconstitutional as an unreasonable restraint on his right to practice his profession inasmuch as his advice would render him an accessory to a violation of the statute. Three companion cases were also brought, one by a patient to whom another pregnancy would present serious danger, and two by married couples who could not give birth to normal children. The patients claimed that the statute deprived them of the doctor's best medical advice which would relieve them of a dangerous …

Civil Rights - Due Process - Action For Civil Conspiracy Based On Section 1983, James B. Blanchard

Michigan Law Review

In an action for damages based on sections 1983 and 1985 of the Civil Rights Act, plaintiff alleged that a county health officer and his deputy, pursuant to a conspiracy, forcibly took plaintiff to a mental hospital and confined him there for a period of two months in willful violation of a state court order requiring plaintiff to be brought before the court for a sanity hearing. Plaintiff also alleged a false return of citation to the court by the officers and an intentional suppression of facts by the officers and the examining physician regarding plaintiff's illegal detention. Plaintiff contended …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--PRE-EMPTION--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934 DOES NOT INVALIDATE STATE WIRETAPPING STATUTE

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--SCHOOLS--UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTE REQUIRING BIBLE READING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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CRIMINAL LAW--BRIBERY--OFFER TO GIVE MONEY TO CONGRESSMAN'S POLITICAL PARTY

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CRIMINAL LAW--CONFESSIONS--REQUIREMENT OF CORROBORATION OF EXTRAJUDICIAL CONFESSION

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EVIDENCE--EXPERT TESTIMONY--INADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT TESTIMONY THAT A NARCOTIC ADDICT IS UNWORTHY OF BELIEF

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FEDERAL RULES CIVIL PROCEDURE--DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS--RIGHT OF COUNTERCLAIMING DEFENDANT TO TRIAL BY JURY

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PROFESSION OF LAW--UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE--CORPORATION MAY ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING PRACTICE OF LAW IF SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE INCIDENTAL TO ITS PRINCIPAL BUSINESS

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STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION--INVALID ASSESSMENTS-JUDICIAL REVIEW AFTER FAILURE TO …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Summary Dismissal Of A State Employee Who Invokes Fifth Amendment Before A Congressional Committee, John L. Peschel

Michigan Law Review

While employed as a social worker by the County of Los Angeles, Globe was subpoenaed to appear before a subcommittee of the House Un-American Activities Committee. California law imposed a duty on public employees to appear before certain tribunals and answer questions within specified categories, including an inquiry by a committee of the United States Congress as to past or present membership in the Communist Party. Failure to comply with the statute constituted insubordination, which would result in dismissal "in the manner provided by law." Because Globe had not yet acquired tenure, he was not entitled under civil service rules …

Health Inspections Of Private Homes - Frank V. Maryland, John Michener

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Retroactive Application Of Uniform Principal And Income Act, Thomas E. Kauper S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The trustee of a trust created prior to the 1957 enactment of the Uniform Principal and Income Act petitioned for instructions as to whether a stock dividend received by it subsequent to the passage of the act should be allocated to principal or income. The Uniform Act provides a rule for the treatment of stock dividends contrary to the judicial rule previously adopted in Wisconsin, and is expressly made applicable to trusts existing on its date of enactment. The county court, finding the act could not be constitutionally applied to trusts created prior to its enactment, ordered the allocation of …

The Supreme Court - October 1958 Term, Bernard Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court, reads a famous passage by Bryce, "feels the touch of public opinion. Opinion is stronger in America than anywhere else in the world, and judges are only men. To yield a little may be prudent, for the tree that cannot bend to the blast may be broken."

The history of the highest Court bears constant witness to the truth of Bryce's statement. Supreme Court action which has moved too far in one direction has always ultimately provoked an equivalent reaction in the opposite direction. Even an institution as august as the high tribunal cannot escape the law …

Constitutional Law- Equal Protection - Right To Counsel In Appeal By Indigent Person, Gertrude S. Rosenthal S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Following his conviction for assault with intent to commit rape, defendant gave notice of appeal. Declaring he was indigent but with meritorious grounds for prosecuting an appeal, he petitioned the appellate court for the appointment of counsel to present his case by brief and oral argument. No information concerning the defendant's age, education or experience was given by the petition, nor were specific grounds for review alleged. Appeal is a matter of right in criminal cases in the jurisdiction. Held, petition denied, two judges dissenting. No action will be taken until a transcript of the record is filed. The …

Double Jeopardy And Dual Sovereignty, James M. Feeley

Washington Law Review

This Comment has been prompted by two recent United States Supreme Court decisions, Bartkus v. Illinois, and Abbate v. United States. In the former decision Bartkus, the defendant, was tried in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 18, 1953, for the robbery of a federally insured savings and loan association of Cicero, Illinois, in violation of a federal statute. There was a jury trial and Bartkus was acquitted. Then on January 8, 1954, Bartkus was indicted by an Illinois grand jury charging a violation of a state robbery statute. This time Bartkus was convicted, …

Constitutional Law - Search And Seizure - Admissibility In A Federal Court Of Evidence Illegally Obtained By State Officers, Robert J. Paley

Michigan Law Review

In response to a call from a citizen whose suspicions had been aroused by the actions of the defendant and a companion, Maryland police unlawfully arrested the companion and searched the premises occupied by him and the defendant. & a result of this search, money was found which had been stolen in the District of Columbia. Although the search was illegal under Maryland law and in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this money was used as evidence to convict the defendant of housebreaking and larceny in the District of Columbia federal court. On appeal, held, conviction reversed and remanded …

Constitutional Law - Criminal Procedure - Successive State Prosecutions For Same Activity, Robert L. Bombaugh

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner suspected of having robbed five persons on a single occasion. was indicted and tried for the robbery of three of them. His sole defense was alibi and he was acquitted when only one of the five victims identified him as the robber. Petitioner was then tried under an indictment for the robbery of a fourth victim. Petitioner interposed the same defense but was convicted at this second trial. The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed, three justices dissenting. Neither the successive trials nor the failure of the court to …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Dismissal Of State Employees For Refusal To Answer Questions Concerning Membership In Communist Organizations, Roger W. Findley

Michigan Law Review

In companion cases state employees of Pennsylvania and New York were dismissed on grounds of "incompetency" and "doubtful trust and reliability" for refusing to answer questions by superiors concerning membership in communist organizations. Petitioner Beilan also invoked the Fifth Amendment at a hearing by a congressional investigating committee between the time he refused to answer his superior and the time he was dismissed. Appellant Lerner had invoked the Fifth Amendment when he refused to answer the questions asked by city officials. The highest courts of the states upheld the dismissals, making it clear that they were based on refusal to …

Civil Procedure - Jurisdiction - Service Of Process On Foreign Television Corporation, Arnold Henson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a West Virginia corporation, operated a television station in Huntington, West Virginia. Its telecasts regularly reached into Boyd County, Kentucky, where part of its customary viewing audience was located. During a twelve-month period in 1954-1955 the corporation derived $71,310.30 in advertising revenue from Kentucky firms, although the contracts for this advertising were made outside Kentucky. In the course of a newscast defendant published an alleged libel against plaintiff, and suit was brought in Boyd County Court. Substituted service of process was made on the Secretary of State in accordance with the Kentucky "doing business" statute, and defendant then removed …

Constitutional Law - State Action - Imposing Criminal Penalties To Enforce Private Discrimination, Melvyn I. Mozinski S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendants, Negroes, entered a section of a private restaurant designated to be for "White" patrons only. Although they were denied service, they refused to comply with the proprietor's request to leave. Defendants were subsequently arrested by a police officer after declining his offer not to arrest if they would depart, and were tried for violation of the state's criminal trespass statutes. They were found guilty of a misdemeanor. On appeal, held, sustained. Defendants have no constitutionally protected right not to be discriminated against by an operator of a private enterprise. State v. Clyburn, 247 N.C. 455, 101 S.E. …

Scientific Investigation And Defendants' Rights, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Advances in science, medicine and industry have made much of the world a more pleasant place in which to live. In general more men are living a physically more satisfying life in more comfortable surroundings than preceding generations. But with this has come a parallel increase in criminality to the point that the term "crime wave" is heard with increasing frequency. Many crimes are facilitated in their commission by adaption or application of new scientific discoveries by criminal elements. A natural consequence is that already overburdened police departments turn as quickly as is financially possible to new scientific techniques in …

Constitutional Law - Citizenship - Power Of Congress To Effect Involuntary Expatriation, Robert J. Hoerner S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In four recent cases the United States Supreme Court has dealt with the power of Congress to effect the denationalization of native-born citizens without their consent. Three cases, Perez v. Brownell, Trop v. Dulles, and Mendoza-Martinez v. Mackey dealt with the constitutionality of sections 401(e), 401(g) and 401(j), respectively, of the Nationality Act of 1940. The fourth case, Nishikawa v. Dulles dealt only with the burden of proof when duress is alleged under section 401(c), but contained one opinion of constitutional significance. The purpose of this comment is to analyze and evaluate these decisions.

Municipal Corporations - Police Power - Sundy Closing Ordinances, David A. Nelson

Michigan Law Review

The City of Chattanooga passed an ordinance making in unlawful "for any person, firm, corporation, or association operating a general merchandise store, department store, hardware, jewelry, furniture, grocery store, super market, meat market, or other similar establishments in the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to open such place of business on Sunday; or to sell or offer for sale, give away, or deliver any merchandise, groceries, hardware, jewelry, furniture, meat, produce, or other similar commodities or articles, on Sunday." Plaintiffs brought this action for a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was unconstitutional and for other relief. In the lower court the …