Jurisdiction Commons^™

Comments, Various Editors

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

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 …

Habeas Corpus - Jurisdiction - Exhaustion Of State Remedies As Prerequisite To Federal Relief, John D. Kelly S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, a prisoner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted of armed robbery in 1947, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court after several efforts to secure the writ in a state court had been unsuccessful. Jurisdiction was based on exhaustion of available state remedies. The petition alleged that the Commonwealth had violated petitioner's rights under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by denying him the right to be represented by counsel at his trial. The Commonwealth moved to dismiss on the ground that the petition on its face showed that state remedies …

Constitutional Law - Privilege Against Self-Incrimination - Danger Of Prosecution In Other Jurisdictions, George R. Haydon, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a witness called by the New Hampshire attorney general in an investigation of subversive activities, was granted statutory immunity in New Hampshire from criminal prosecution which might arise from his testimony and was ordered to testify. Since any disclosures would create serious danger of prosecution by the United States and Massachusetts, whose agencies were also investigating his activities, defendant refused to testify despite the grant of immunity, invoking the privilege against self-incrimination guaranteed by the state constitution. He was found guilty of contempt, subject to his exceptions regarding the constitutionality of the immunity statute. On hearing before the state …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Denial Of Admission To The Bar Based On Unwarranted Inferences Of Bad Moral Character, Jerome B. Libin

Michigan Law Review

Power over admission to the bar has long been vested in the judiciary of each state. While the legislature may prescribe certain standards, the state court alone is responsible for the determination of those qualified for the practice of law within its jurisdiction. The application of these standards often demands the exercise of meticulous judgment by the court in reaching its conclusion as to an applicant's fitness. Where, on the evidence or lack of evidence presented, the court finds that it cannot in good conscience grant its approval, the candidate is denied admission. To the extent that such a denial …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of State Court Over Nonresident Tortfeasor, J. Martin Cornell

Michigan Law Review

The defendant, a resident of Wisconsin, was engaged in the business of selling appliances and sent one of his employees to deliver a gas cooking stove to the plaintiff in Illinois. Claiming that the employee had negligently injured him in unloading the stove, the plaintiff brought action in Illinois, seeking damages of $7,500. A summons was personally served on the defendant in Wisconsin, and the defendant appeared specially, moving to quash the summons on the ground that the Illinois statute, providing for extraterritorial service on any person who commits a tortious act within the state, contravened the constitutions of the …

Congressional Control Of U. S. Supreme Court Jurisdiction, George H. Faust

Cleveland State Law Review

Senate Bill No. 2646 proposed in the Congress is unprecedented in scope. If it is enacted the Supreme Court will be reduced to a virtual nullity. Displeasure with recent decisions of the Court has engendered an attack upon its status which strikes at its vitals. This article is an analysis of the bill and the types of cases over which the Supreme Court would no longer have appellate jurisdiction.

Federal Power To Regulate Immigration And Judicial Review Of Administrative Orders, Filindo B. Masino

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Courts-Martial - Power Of Congress To Provide For Military Jurisdiction Over Civilian Dependents, Gerald M. Smith

Michigan Law Review

Defendants, civilian wives of servicemen living overseas, were tried and convicted of murder by military court-martial under article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Their trials took place in the countries where they were living with their husbands. Defendants brought petitions for a writ of habeas corpus challenging the constitutionality of article 2(11) of the Uniform Code authorizing their trials by court-martial. Initially the United States Supreme Court rejected this contention. On rehearing, held, reversed, two justices dissenting. The guarantee of the right to jury trial contained in article 3, section 2, and the guarantees of the …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of A State Court Over A Foreign Corporation, Robert L. Knauss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Peninsular Gas Company, a Michigan corporation, brought an action in Missouri against the plaintiff for breach of contract. A judgment was returned for plaintiff, and plaintiff immediately filed suit for malicious prosecution and served process on the president of the corporation who was in Missouri for the prior trial. On a motion to quash, held, sustained. Under the due process clause of the United States Constitution, the court had no right to assume jurisdiction. Defendant corporation was not doing business in Missouri, for bringing a prior lawsuit was a single isolated act and was not a part of its …

Federal Procedure - Jurisdiction - Minimal Diversity Permitted By The Federal Interpleader Act Satisfies Constitutional Requirements, Robert J. Hoerner

Michigan Law Review

A disinterested Texas bank brought a federal interpleader action under 28 U.S.C. (1952) §1335 against a Texas widow and four joint claimants, three of whom were Texas citizens and the other a Tennessee citizen. On appeal from a summary judgment for the joint claimants, the widow argued that the court lacked jurisdiction. Held, affirmed. Congress intended that section 1335 should cover these "minimal" facts. The "complete diversity'' requirement of Strawbridge v. Curtiss is only a rule of statutory construction and not a constitutional requirement. Haynes v. Felder, (5th Cir. 1957) 239 F. (2d) 868.

Constitutional Law - Courts-Martial - Power Of Congress To Provide For Military Jurisdiction Over Civilians, Whitmore Gray S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

During the past term the Supreme Court decided three cases involving the constitutionality of court-martial jurisdiction over certain groups of civilians. In United States ex rel. Toth v. Quarles the Court held that Congress could not constitutionally provide for military trial of a discharged serviceman for offenses committed during his term of service. In two subsequent cases the Court rejected the contention that the Toth decision announced a principle applicable to any exercise of jurisdiction over civilians by the military courts in upholding the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for military jurisdiction over civilian dependents accompanying American …

Labor Law - Labor - Management Relations Act - Further Comments On Federalism, Robert B. Olsen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Until a decade ago, the nation's lawyers paid little attention to the status of federal-state relations in the regulation of labor disputes. Today there hardly appears a volume of a legal journal that does not contain the product of new efforts to bring order out of the chaos that prevails in this area. A number of writers have apparently given up the task of reconciling statutory provisions with case law and case law with sound federal policy, and have resorted to the simpler, yet challenging, method of proposing amendments to existing federal statutes. Worthy as these efforts may be in …

Labor Law - Collective Bargaining - Enforceability Of Collective Agreements Under Section 301(A), Douglas Peck S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, an unincorporated labor organization, filed suit in federal district court to enforce a collective bargaining agreement with defendant. The complaint alleged that defendant was obligated by the agreement to pay employees represented by the plaintiff their full salary for the month of April 1951 regardless of the fact that they had been absent on certain working days. The suit was brought under section 301 (a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947.On appeal from a court of appeals decision directing dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, held, affirmed, two justices dissenting. An action by a labor organization to enforce …

Suits Against Unincorporated Associations Under The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, John Kaplan

Michigan Law Review

Concepts, Benjamin Cardozo has said, "are useful, indeed indispensable, if kept within their place. We will press them quite a distance. . . . A time comes, however, when the concepts carry us too far, or farther than we are ready to go with them, and behold, some other concept, with capacity to serve our needs is waiting at the gate. 'It is a peculiar virtue of our system of law that the process of inclusion and exclusion, so often employed in developing a rule, is not allowed to end with its enunciation, and that an expression in an opinion …

Criminal Procedure - Venue - Federal Offenses Committed Outside The Jurisdiction Of Any State Or District, Richard R. Dailey

Michigan Law Review

The defendant, an army staff sergeant, was under custody at Fort Meade, Maryland, awaiting disposition of charges of sodomy lodged against him under the Articles of War. After a delay of four months, the charges were dropped and he was shipped by the Army to Fort Jay, New York, where he was separated from the service. Immediately upon his release, he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under a commissioner's warrant charging him with treason committed in Japan during a prior enlistment in the army. At the trial in the District Court for the Southern District of New …

Constitutional Law - Commerce Clause - Federal Jurisdiction In Trade-Mark Infringement Proceedings Under The Lanham Act, Richard R. Dailey

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's trade-mark, "Minute Maid," had been registered under the Lanham Act in 1952 and had been used in interstate commerce in connection with the sale of frozen fruit juice concentrates since that time. Defendant's trade-mark consisted in part of the words "Minute Made." Defendant used its mark wholly within the State of Florida in the processing and sale of frozen meat products. Both plaintiff and defendant were Florida corporations. In a suit for trade-mark infringement, jurisdiction of the federal district court depended. on the provisions of the Lanham Act. The complaint alleged damage to plaintiff's good will established in interstate …

Justice Jackson And The Judicial Function, Paul A. Weidner

Michigan Law Review

Much of the pattern of division in the present Supreme Court is traceable to basic differences of opinion regarding the proper role of a judge in the process of constitutional adjudication. Some students of the Court, yielding to the current fashion of reducing even intricate problems to capsule terms, have tried to explain the controversy by classifying the justices as either "liberals" or "conservatives." A second school poses the disagreement largely in terms of judicial "activism" as opposed to judicial "restraint." It is this view that has the greater relevance for the present discussion. C.H. Pritchett, one of the leading …

Labor Law - State Jurisdiction Over Acts Which Are Unfair Labor Practices Under Federal Labor Legislation, Eugene Alkema S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Extensive federal labor legislation under the commerce clause has created a perplexing jurisdictional problem in the state courts, which are confronted increasingly with the critical issue of possible conflict with a federal preemptive area of operation. The extent to which the federal government has superseded state jurisdiction over labor matters has remained unsettled under the current case law and the legislative history of the federal acts, and the need for clarification is apparent at a time when labor cases are reaching the courts in increasing numbers. It is natural for unions to raise the issue of lack of jurisdiction in …

Constitutional Law--Separation Of Powers--Control By Judiciary Of Compensation Of Court Attaches, W. R. B. Ii.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Scope Of Inquiry In Habeas Corpus Petitions From Military Prisoner, Eugene Alkema

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners, military personnel, were convicted by courts martial of rape and murder. After exhausting military appellate remedies, they petitioned federal civil courts for writs of habeas corpus on the ground that they had been convicted in proceedings denying them basic constitutional rights. The petitions were denied. On appeal, held, affirmed, two justices dissenting. When the record shows that military courts have fairly considered all of the allegations of the petitioners and have found no denial of constitutional rights, civil courts in habeas corpus proceedings will not hear evidence on the merits of the allegations. Burns v. Wilson, 346 …

Constitutional Law-Review Of State Court Determination-Supreme Court's Vacation Of State Court Judgment Without Giving Grounds For Reversal, Marcus A. Rowden S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States granted plaintiff's petition for certiorari to review a decision of the Supreme Court of California summarily denying plaintiff's application for habeas corpus. Previously the cause had been continued to enable petitioner to secure a determination of the California Supreme Court as to whether its judgment was intended to rest on an adequate independent state ground. It was later held that a letter from the clerk of that court was not a sufficient determination of that question, and petitioner was still unable to obtain that determination. Held, judgment of the Supreme Court of …

Constitutional Law-Judcial Powers-State Taxpayer Denied Standing As Party In Interest In Bible Reading Case, Frank M. Bowen, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs sought a judgment to declare unconstitutional a New Jersey statute which required the reading of five verses of the Old Testament at the opening of each day in the public schools. Plaintiffs contended that the practice under the statute was an "establishment of religion" prohibited by the First Amendment and applicable to the several states through the "due process" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment Both plaintiffs were taxpayers of New Jersey, and one was also the parent of a child who had attended a public school, but had left school before the appeal was taken. The Supreme Court of …

The Original And Exclusive Jurisdiction Of The United States Supreme Court, Wencelas J. Wagner

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Civil Procedure-Venue-Forum Non Conveniens-Application Of Doctrine By State Court In Case Arising Under Federal Employers' Liability Act, Nancy J. Ringland S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Two suits based on the Federal Employers' Liability Act were brought in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. In both cases, plaintiff was not a Missouri resident, the defendant carrier was a foreign corporation, and the cause of action arose outside the state of Missouri. A motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens was denied as beyond the jurisdiction of the court, and mandamus proceedings were begun in the Supreme Court of Missouri to compel the trial court to exercise its discretion in disposing of the motions. The writs were quashed by the …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

RECENT CASES

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--INTERSTATE COMMERCE--VALIDITY OF CARRIER REGULATION REQUIRING RACIAL SEGREGATION

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--POLITICAL QUESTIONS--GEORGIA COUNTY UNIT VOTE SYSTEM

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DIVORCE--ALIMONY IN DEFAULT DECREES--POWER OF COURT TOWARD ALIMONY IN ABSENCE OF PRAYER THEREFOR IN COMPLAINT

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EVIDENCE--PROOF OF CORPUS DELICTI--CORROBORATION OF DEFENDANT'S CONFESSION BY HIS OWN SPONTANEOUS STATEMENTS

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FEDERAL COURTS--VENUE--USE OF STATE NONRESIDENT MOTORIST STATUTE TO IMPLY WAIVER

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GIFT TAXES--TRANSFER MADE UNDER DIVORCE DECREE INCORPORATING PREDIVORCE PROPERTY SETTLEMENT--EFFECT OF PROVISION IN SETTLEMENT THAT IT WOULD BE BINDING REGARDLESS OF TERMS OF DIVORCE DECREE

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INSURANCE--NOTICE TO AGENT REPRESENTING TWO INSURERS--ESTOPPEL PREVENTING COMPANY SECONDARILY LIABLE FROM CLAIMING AGAINST COMPANY …

Recent Constitutional Developments On Personal Jurisdiction Of Courts, Virginia B. Cowan

Vanderbilt Law Review

In strict logic, the concept of the power of courts to deal in personam with controversies is said to be a constant and the extension of jurisdiction merely an appropriation of pre-existing power. More realistically, it is obvious that, as institutions and citizens become increasingly mobile and migratory, the courts are obliged to keep their jurisdictional machinery abreast of the times in order that legal processes may continue to be the effective arbiter of disputes in our society. Regardless of what terms are used to describe the source of the power, it is traditionally conceived to be limited by the …

Some Problems In Federal Question Jurisdiction, George B. Fraser, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Congress has given the federal district courts original and removal jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States, but the power of these courts to hear such cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court holds that the district courts have jurisdiction of a case if a federal question is raised in the complaint, but jurisdiction cannot be based on a federal question in the answer. This means that the district courts are closed to many cases that involve a substantial federal issue, while many cases …

Constitutional Law-Federal Courts-Diversity Jurisdiction- District Of Columbia Citizens, John D. Mcleod S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Act of Congress of April 20, 1940, provided that district courts should exercise original jurisdiction over actions "between citizens of different States, or citizens of the District of Columbia, the Territory of Hawaii, or Alaska, and any State or Territory . . . . " The committee report and the title indicate the purpose to extend to citizens of the District of Columbia and the territories the right to sue in federal district courts on grounds solely of diversity of citizenship. Although the committee reports indicated no constitutional difficulties, the majority of the lower federal courts which considered the …

Federal Procedure-Scope Of Power Of Federal Supreme Court To Review State Court Decisions [Terminiello V. City Of Chicago, U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.