State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Georgia Municipal Tort Liability: Ante Litem Notice, R. Perry Sentell, Jr.

Georgia Law Review

THE "law" of municipal tort liability in Georgia consists largely of a mass of judicially declared principles.' Confusing in magnitude, overlapping in scope, and conflicting in result, these principles give boundary to a no-man's-legal-land where even the "experts" are hesitant to trod. The weary traveler forced to grope his way through this desertic wilderness thus squints with refreshed anticipation as he spies on the horizon what appears to be the lush oasis of a definitive statute. As he draws nearer, the plush greenery parts, revealing the following crystal-clear legislative pronouncement:

No person, firm or corporation, having a claim for money …

Avery V. Midland County: Reapportionment And Local Government Revisited, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

Earlier in the pages of this Review the judicial application of the "one-man-one-vote" standard to local government is discussed in detail. As noted, the United States Supreme Court did not completely evolve this standard for state legislatures until June, 1964. Since that time, the state courts and the lower federal courts have been inundated with litigation raising the question of the basic applicability of the standard to local governments in this country, as well as a host of accompanying inquiries. This litigation and the courts' reactions to it were extensively traced. At the close of its term, however, the Court …

An Alternative To The Georgia Claims Advisory Board: State Tort Liability, R. P. R.

Georgia Law Review

"[O]ne of the mysteries of legal evolution"' has been the persistence of many states to retain immunity from tort liability. Only a few states, moti- vated by criticism coupled with a growing awareness of public responsibility, have enacted legislation to assume responsibility in this realm. Unfortunately, however, a majority of the states have refused to follow this enlightened trend, and the result has been that the general welfare of the citizens of these states has not been adequately protected.

This majority includes the State of Georgia. The Georgia courts have consistently maintained that the state cannot be sued without its …

Avery V. Midland County: Reapportionment And Local Government Revisited, R. Perry Sentell, Jr

Georgia Law Review

EARLIER in the pages of this Review the judicial application of the "one-man-one-vote" standard to local government is discussed in detail.' As noted, the United States Supreme Court did not completely evolve this standard for state legislatures until June, 1964. Since that time, the state courts and the lower federal courts have been inundated with litigation raising the question of the basic applicability of the standard to local governments in this country, as well as a host of accompanying inquiries. This litigation and the courts' reactions to it were extensively traced. Also analyzed were the three instances in which the …

Georgia's New Statutory Liability For Manufacturers: An Inadequate Legislative Response, E. Hunter Taylor, Jr.

Georgia Law Review

DURING its 1968 session the Georgia Legislature passed a bill intending to create a right of action in tort, independent of negligence, in favor of consumers, users or other foreseeably affected parties against manufacturers of defective products. While Georgia has been in need of judicial or legislative action in this realm, it is the author's thesis that the recently enacted statute is unsatisfactory and should be redrafted. The purpose of this article is as follows: To describe and trace historically the problems which have been encountered in providing legal protection to the individual for injury caused by defective goods; to …

The Appellate Judiciary Of Georgia And Contempt Out Of Court, D. Greir Stephenson, Jr.

Georgia Law Review

TO state the obvious, contempt of court is a broad topic, and this article is not the place for an exhaustive treatment of the various types of contempt-civil and criminal, direct and indirect. Instead, the focus is on one variety of indirect or constructive contempt: that arising from criticism of a judge, spoken or written outside the courtroom. To limit the subject in such a way precludes discussion of other inter- estng aspects of contempt law, but perhaps the advantages gained from sharp perspective and clear concentration more than offset the disadvantages incurred from a narrowed concern.The law of constructive …

Substantive Due Process And Felony Treatment Of Pot Smokers: The Current Conflict, F.H. Von U.

Georgia Law Review

The Supreme Court, in recent years, has consistently reaffirmed a trend toward a fuller recognition of individual liberties. When these cherished incidents of American citizenship have conflicted with the real or imagined needs of society, the Court has applied a vital and expanding concept of due process to determine the proper balance of interests. It is now recognized that the State must demonstrate a truly rational basis for punishing individual conduct, aid where proscriptive rather than regulatory measures are enacted, legislation must carefully avoid jeopardizing harmless conduct, however offensive to public taste. Restrictive legislation must be grounded in fact, and …

Open Space Legislation: Suggestions For A Model Act, A. D. B.

Georgia Law Review

In recent years municipal and state governments have become aware of the conservational and recreational value of natural land expanses located near urban centers. These virgin areas are generally referred to as "open space lands." Governmental interest in open space land may be attributed to a variety of factors: the radical growth of urban areas, the gradual intensification of air and water pollution, and the phenomenon of the population explosion. Furthermore, open space land disappears at a rate of about one million acres a year.' The problem, however, is more severe than this statistic would indicate due to the irregular …

The Georgia Eavesdropping Statute: A Critical Examination In Light Of Berger V. New York, R. W. S., Jr.

Georgia Law Review

Mr. Justice Brandeis, dissenting in Olmstead v. United States,2 observed that: Ways may some day be developed by which the Government, without removing papers from secret drawers, can reproduce them in court, and by which it will be enabled to expose to a jury the most intimate occurrences of the home. With the advent of miniaturized circuits and the corresponding subtlety of eavesdropping devices Brandeis' prediction has become a substantial reality. Tubular and parabolic microphones, for example, can intercept conversations held hundreds of yards away and, reportedly, a microwave beam has been developed which can penetrate virtually any obstacle. Wireless …

Corporate Finance Under The Georgia Business Corporation Code Of 1968, Pasco M. Bowman, Ii

Georgia Law Review

T HIS Article will review the financial provisions of the new Georgia Business Corporation Code (B.C.C.), which will become effective April 1, 1969. On that date, the Code will automatically apply to virtually all existing domestic business corporations, other than banks, trust companies, railroads and the several other types of corporations which obtain their charters from the Secretary of State. Existing domestic insurance companies will be subject to the B.C.C. to the same extent as they are now subject to the present general corporation law.0 The B.C.C. is only one part of a comprehensive revision and restatement of Georgia's corporation …

Chronic Alcoholic Court Offenders: An Alternative To The Drunk Tank, Jack H. Watson, Jr

Georgia Law Review

T HE social problem of alcoholism may be divided into two categories: (1) that of the "visible" alcoholic or "chronic alcoholic court offender" whose illness is manifested hundreds of thousands of times per year either on city streets, or in countless city and county stockades acoss the country; and (2) that of the "invisible" alcoholic whose illness is just as serious, but whose social and economic position permits him to suffer through years of alcoholism without being arrested or taken before a magistrate for being drunk in public. It is estimated that over 6,500,000 persons in the United States are …

A Seat On The Sidelines: The Georgia Appellate Judiciary And The Public Forum, D. Grier Stephenson, Jr

Georgia Law Review

THE use of streets and parks for expression of one's ideas has been a part of American political history since the early years of the Republic. The town meeting in New England and the courthouse rally in the South have brought citizens together to hear their neighbors and long-winded politicians speak on the issues, hopes, and fears of the day. The campaign barbecue, the sidewalk sermon, and the Fourth of July oration have reflected in a special way some aspect of the American culture. But the accessibility and the availability of this ready-made public forum provide more than a political …

Georgia's Remedies For Creditors Secured By Personal Property - Descent Into The Maelstrom, D. M. G.

Georgia Law Review

Exploration of procedures for enforcing security interests in personalty under Georgia law is a study in confusion. in the past there were five basic remedies available to secured creditors in Georgia-common law repossession, statutory trover execution and levy at law, equitable remedies, and action on the debt. In 1964 the Uniform Commercial Code became effective in Georgia. Article 9, Part 5, of the Uniform Commercial Code provides for enforcement of security interests in personalty through a comprehensive system of remedies including repossession, public and private sale, action on the debt, and equitable remedies. In some instances the Code duplicates the …

The Law Of Municipal Annexation In Georgia: Evolution Of A Concept?, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

The time has come to think seriously and in detail about municipal annexation. The effort here, then, represents a return to basics. The justification for it rests on the point that Georgia does indeed possess a rich history in annexation law. What of this history? How has it dictated the law's development? What are the methods of annexation presently available to municipalities in Georgia? Upon what authority are these methods bottomed, and what are the possible limitation upon their effectiveness? Is the point at which the law has now arrived the culmination of evolving a deliberate concept or simply the …

Reapportionment And Local Government, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

On June 15, 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the context of its decisions in Reynolds v. Sims and companion cases, put the finishing touches upon its evolving principle that state legislatures must be apportioned on an equal population basis; i.e., the "one-man-one-vote" standard. This principle drew its commandment, held the Court, from the equal protection provision of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. On May 22, 1967, the Supreme Court of the United States rendered decisions in three cases which had confronted it for the first time with questions on the relationship of the …

The Law Of Municipal Annexation In Georgia: Evolution Of A Concept?, R. Perry Sentell, Jr.

Georgia Law Review

The time has come to think seriously and in detail about municipal annexation. Probably no other subject in local government law is receiving attention equal to that currently being directed to the expansion of municipal boundary lines. This is not to suggest that other considerations are unimportant; but necessarily much of the thinking on -this subject must be legal in nature.  As with many other matters, the law is expected to solve where not even devils would think to trod.

The continuation of the great American exodus from rural to urban areas, and the consequent swing of the political spotlight, …

Gober's Georgia Form Book And Procedure, A Collection Of Legal Forms With Annotations From The Reports Of The Supreme Court And The Court Of Appeals Of Georgia On Questions Relating To Forms And Procedure; Prepared For The Use Of The Judiciary, The Bar, The Officers Of Court, And Business Me, George Fletcher Gober

Historical Treatises

Excerpt from the preface:

The work of preparing this volume has developed out of all proportion to what I anticipated in the outset. The great trouble under our system is that there are so many things that are not fixed and determined. Our system of pleading provides that a party must plainly, fully and distinctly set forth his cause of action, and this leaves the form to be passed upon under the discretion of about one hundred trial judges in the City and Superior Courts, and this discretion, in many instances, is controlled by individual and particular ideas. For this …

A Manual On Land Registration, Arthur Gray Powell

Historical Treatises

Excerpt from the preface:

I decided that my labors would prove most useful if I attempted to write a practical, rather than a learned treatise on the subject. While the subject is one that might bear much fruit under learned treatment, still what the present moment most demands is a practical handbook which will inform the profession and the officers who are to administer the law what to do and how to do it, when a landowner comes seeking to register his land.

There has been no effort at style, except that I have striven to state matters in a …

The Law Of Personal Injuries And Incidentally Damage To Property By Railway-Trains, Based On The Statutes And Decisions Of The Supreme Court Of The State Of Georgia, John L. Hopkins

Historical Treatises

From the front matter:

Testimonials From the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia

Atlanta, May 22, 1902.

We have given the book prepared by Hon. John L. Hopkins, entitled "The Law of Personal Injuries," etc., a sufficient examination to enable us to say, without hesitation, that it is a work of great merit and utility. It will surely save the hard-worked judge and busy lawyer much time and labor by making the decisions of this court, bearing on the subjects treated, readily accessible in available form. The distinguished author's wel1 - executed plan of grouping …

The Georgia Form Book, Or, A Collection Of Legal Forms Under Georgia Law : Designed To Aid Attorneys-At-Law, Judges, Ordinaries, Clerks, Coroners, Sheriffs, Justices Of The Peace, Constables, Road Commissioners, Etc, Etc., As Well As Business Men In General, Silman & Thompson

Historical Treatises

Excerpt from the preface:

Testimonials.

Atlanta, Ga., September 26th, 1881.

Under special employment for the purpose, by Messrs. Silman & Thompson, I have carefully examined the collection of legal forms which they have prepared. As a result of the examination, I can and do recommend these Forms, each and all, as safe and sufficient. They are calculated to serve the wants, not only of attorneys at law, Ordinaries, County Commissioners, Clerks, Sheriffs, Coroners, Justices of the Peace, and others engaged in administering the law or executing its process, but, also, in some degree, of business men in general, such as …

A Treatise On The Law Of Executors, Administrators, And Guardians, William M. Reese

Historical Treatises

From the preface:

On account of the many changes made in the Laws of Georgia relating to Executors, Administrators and Guardians, and on account of the codification of the same, I have, upon the request of many valued friends, prepared this work. It might be styled a third edition of the Manual for Ordinaries, Executors, Administrators and Guardians, in the State of Georgia; yet, as this work is of more than a local application, I have changed the title of it, following the example of Redfield, Smith, North, and others. In the citation of Sections of Code, I have followed …

Legal Forms For Common Use In Georgia : Embracing Over Four Hundred Approved Precedents, For Affidavits, Agreements, Bills Of Sale, Deeds, Notes, Etc., Etc., Also, Forms In Judicial Proceedings, Arbitrations, Attachments, Orders, Process, Pleading, Probate Of Deeds, Rules, Wills, Etc., Etc., With Others To Guide Attorneys, Magistrates, Justices Of The Inferior Court, Constables, Sheriffs, Ordinaries, Clerks, Etc., Etc., In The Many Duties Required Of Them By Law : To Which Is Added An Appendix Containing The Statutory Provisions As To County Officers, Magistrates, And Elections, The Rules Of Court, And The Constitution Of Georgia, John B. Hines, Richard K. Hines

Historical Treatises

Excerpt from the preface:

The object of the present volume is to furnish the legal profession, magistrates, county officers, and private citizens of this State, with a plain, accurate, and complete Form Book, which shall be cheap in price, and convenient in size, and so arranged that any one, however ignorant of such formulas, can use it when the occasion presents itself. Added to the forms, in the body of the work, are such directions and suggestions as it was supposed would be useful. In the Appendix are the statutory enactments of our State in regard to county .officers, magistrates, …

A Compilation Of Legal Forms In Use In The State Of Georgia, The Rules Of Practice, And State Papers, Howell Cobb

Historical Treatises

From the front matter:

I have examined your Compilation of Legal Forms, with as much attention as one perusal would allow. The forms and precedents are well selected, and such as are of most frequent use in business transactions, and a portion of them such as, I believe, cannot be found in any other compilation. Such portions of the work as must depend, for their correctness, upon the care of - the publisher, I have not thought it necessary to examine, as they are., already before .the public, but in detached and separate books, and embraced in your work for …

The Georgia Justice: Being A Convenient Directory For The Justices Of The Peace, And Various Other Civil Officers Known To The Laws Of The State Of Georgia, Rhodom A. Greene, John W. Lumpkin

Historical Treatises

From the front matter:

Be it remembered, That on the twenty-fifth day of May, in the fifty-ninth year of the independence ©f the United States of America, A. D. 1835, Rhodom A. Greene and John W. Lumpkin, of said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit:—

“The GEORGIA JUSTICE : being a convenient Directory for the Justices of the Peace, and various other civil officers known to the Laws of the State of Georgia. Containing a Digest of the Statutes relating to the …

The Office And Duty Of A Justice Of The Peace: And A Guide To Clerks, Constables, Coroners, Executors, Administrators, Guardians, Sheriffs, Tax Collectors, And Receivers, And Other Civil Officers, Augustin S. Clayton

Historical Treatises

From the front matter:

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-eighth day of September,in the forty•fourth year of the independence of the United States of America, A. ll.1819, Mathew Carey and Son, of the said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim a, proprietors, in the words following, to wit:

The office and duty of a Justice of the Peace, and a guide to Clerks, Constables, Coroners, Executors, Administrators, Guardians, Sheriffs, Tax-collectors, and Receivers, and other civil officers, ac­cording to the laws of the State of Georgia; with an Appendix, containing …