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Articles 271 - 300 of 344

Full-Text Articles in State and Local Government Law

The Sheriff's Return, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1916

The Sheriff's Return, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

When William the Conqueror found himself military master of Britain, he was confronted by a governmental problem quite different from that which has usually accompanied foreign conquest. He did not subdue a nation already organized, substituting his power for that of its former ruler in the conventional way of conquerors. Britain was a geographical unit but politically and socially it was a congeries of loosely related communities. The natural law of survival of the fittest normally operates upon peoples as upon individuals, and develops centralized power as a means of self-preservation. But Britain had a substitute for this. The sheltering …


The Michigan Judicature Act Of 1915, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1916

The Michigan Judicature Act Of 1915, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

IN 1848 a wave of reform in judicial procedure began to sweep over the United States. In that year the legislature of New York enacted the Code of Civil Procedure, a statute of far-reaching importance, for it became the source of and the model for similar legislation in almost two-thirds of the States in the Union.


Special Assessments Upon Cemeteries, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1916

Special Assessments Upon Cemeteries, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Though the power to tax cemeteries would seem to be entirely clear, very commonly land devoted to such purpose is declared by constitution or statute to be exempt. See COOLY, TAXATION, (3rd ed.) 354. So also in the case of special assessments such land, in the absence of a clear exemption, is liable thereto. Bloomington Cemetery Assoc. v. People, 139 IIl. 16, 28 N. E. 1076; Mullins v. Cemetery Assoc., 239 Mo. 681, 144 S. W. 109; Buffalo City Cemetery v. Buffalo, 46 N. Y. 503; Lima v. Lima Cemetery Assoc., 42 Oh. St. 128, 51 Am. Rep. 809. It …


The Proposed Michigan Judicature Act, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1915

The Proposed Michigan Judicature Act, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The Michigan Legislature, at its last session, passed an act (No. 286, Public Acts of 1913) providing for the appointment of a Commission to revise and consolidate the laws of the State relating to procedure. The Governor appointed Alva M. Cummins, J. Clyde Watt, and Mark W. Stevens as members of this commission, and the result of their labors has just appeared in the form of a proposed bill regulating the entire subject of procedure in all the courts of the State. The bill is a long one, embracing 565 printed pages, but it is much less voluminous than the …


The Form Of Summons Under The Recent Michigan Judicature Act, W. Gordon Stoner Jan 1915

The Form Of Summons Under The Recent Michigan Judicature Act, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

It would be rather remarkable if in revising such a large portion of the statutes as was undertaken by the Commission on Revision and Consolidation of Statutes of the State of Michigan, appointed in 1913, which reported to the legislature the recently enacted Judicature Act (Public Acts of Michigan, 1915, § 314), some ambiguity or uncertainty were not to appear in the revision. The Judicature Act is no exception to the general rule, as the lawyer who attempts to begin suit by summons under it will discover at the very outset.


The Inefficiency Of The American Jury, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1915

The Inefficiency Of The American Jury, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

What is proposed in the present article is to show that in attempting to preserve the independence of the jury in its exclusive juris- diction over questions of fact, the people and the courts in most American jurisdictions have departed from the common law practice and have introduced a principle calculated to undermine the very institution which they wish to strengthen. That is to say, through the rules prohibiting judges from commenting on the weight of the evidence, juries tend to become irresponsible, verdicts tend to become matters of chance, and the intricacy of procedure, with its cost, delay and …


Jurisdictional Facts, John R. Rood Jan 1915

Jurisdictional Facts, John R. Rood

Articles

The advance sheets of the Northwestern Reporter for January 29th, 1915, contain two cases in which a supreme court declared proceedings that had been carried through to judgment void, (not merely voidable) because of the lack of a fact which the supreme court regarded as jurisdictional, (Sandusky Grain Co. v. Sanilac Circuit Judge (Mich. 1915), 150 N. W. 329 and Bombolis v. Minn. & St. L. R. Co. (Minn. 1914), 150 N. W. 385), and another case in which the court was equally divided as to whether the essential facts appeared (Fisher et al v. Gardnier et al. (Mich. 1915), …


Defects In Our Legal System, Henry M. Bates Jan 1914

Defects In Our Legal System, Henry M. Bates

Articles

That the practice of law and the administration of justice are under a fire of popular distrust and criticism of extraordinary intensity requires no proof. A fact of which there is evidence in numerous contemporary books, in almost every magazine, in the daily papers, in the remarks, or the questions, or it may be in the sneers, of one's friends, requires no further demonstration. The only questions of importance to be answered are to what extent this criticism and this distrust are well founded, what are the remedies for such defects as exist, and how and by whom should they …


The Registration Of Land Titles, John R. Rood Jan 1914

The Registration Of Land Titles, John R. Rood

Articles

It is proposed in this paper to consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of the older system of no registration, the later system of registering the instruments of conveyance, and the latest system of making the title depend entirely on a recorded adjudication that it is thus and so, which absolutely displaces all former titles, adjudicated or otherwise. It is also proposed to consider some of the reasons why the older systems persist.


Interstate Commerce And State Control Over Foreign Corporations, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1914

Interstate Commerce And State Control Over Foreign Corporations, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Since Bank of Augusta v. Earle, 13 Pet. 519, there seems to have been no real occasion to doubt the power of a state totally to exclude foreign corporations seeking to engage in intrastate business only. The power to exclude being absolute, there has been no question as to the right of the state to allow the entrance of the foreign corporation for such business upon terms, and the terms may be of any sort, reasonable or unreasonable, except that the corporation seeking to enter cannot as a condition precedent to such entry be required to surrender a right or …


Can Affidavits Of Jurors To Show Misconduct Be Admitted For The Purpose Of Setting Aside A 'Quotient Verdict'?, Grover C. Grismore Jan 1914

Can Affidavits Of Jurors To Show Misconduct Be Admitted For The Purpose Of Setting Aside A 'Quotient Verdict'?, Grover C. Grismore

Articles

A recent Oklahoma case raises one phase of a question which has been perplexing the courts ever since jury trials were invented, and in regard to which there is a great contrariety of opinion. After a verdict had been rendered for the plaintiff in a personal injury suit, the defendant made a motion for a new trial on the ground of misconduct of the jury, and in support of his motion offered the affidavits of several of the jurors to the effect that the verdict was determined upon as the result of an agreement whereby each one of the jurors …


Legislating The Incumbent Out Of Office, W. Gordon Stoner Jan 1914

Legislating The Incumbent Out Of Office, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

Under the English common law the officer's right or interest in the office which he held was regarded as a property right, an incorporeal hereditament.1 Largely because of the inherent difference between the nature and incidents of the public office at common law and those of the public office in this country, this conception never gained general acceptance here.2 In a few cases,3 and particularly in the decisions of the courts of North Carolina,4 offices have been asserted to be the property of the rightful incumbent. In these decisions the officer's right has been regarded as less absolute, perhaps, than …


Constitutionality Of Teachers' Pensions Legislation, Horace Lafayette Wilgus Jan 1913

Constitutionality Of Teachers' Pensions Legislation, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

To arrive at a safe conclusion as to the validity of legislation. providing for teachers' pensions requires some consideration of all pension legislation. A pension is defined by BOUVIER as "A stated and certain allowance granted by the government to an individual, or those who represent him, for valuable services performed by him for the country;"1 "a periodical allowance of money granted by the government for services rendered;"2 "a stated payment to a person in consideration of the past services of himself or of some kinsman or ancestor;"3 "an annuity from the government for services rendered in the past;"4 "a …


The Rule Of Certainty In Damage And The Value Of A Chance, Joseph H. Drake Jan 1913

The Rule Of Certainty In Damage And The Value Of A Chance, Joseph H. Drake

Articles

AIthough our text-books say that the rule of certainty is "more fundamental than any rule of compensation because compensation is allowed or disallowed subject to it," (cf. SEDGWICK, EL. or DAMAGES, p. 12) nevertheless the tendency of the courts seems to be to save the equitable principle of compensation at the expense of certainty. A striking illustration of this is found in a recent case in the Court of Appeal, Chaplin v. Hicks, C. A. [1911] 2 K. B. 786. The defendant, a theatrical manager, agreed to give positions as actresses to persons chosen by the votes of the readers …


The Lien Theory Of The Mortgage--Two Crucial Problems, Edgar N. Durfee Jan 1913

The Lien Theory Of The Mortgage--Two Crucial Problems, Edgar N. Durfee

Articles

In a recent article in this review1 the writer discussed in a general way the nature of a mortgage of real property in the states which adopt the lien or equitable theory of the mortgage. The conclusion therein arrived at was that, while the mortgage does not convey the legal title to the land until foreclosure, it does convey to the mortgagee, at the time of its execution, a present interest in the land, the general ownership of which remains in the mortgagor-an interest which is limited and special, more analogous to an easement than to general ownership; which is …


Compulsory Service In Office, W. Gordon Stoner Jan 1913

Compulsory Service In Office, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

It was "the policy of prudent antiquity," as Lord COKE has said, "that officers did ever give a grace to the place, and not the place only grace (to) the officer."1 A modern expression of a similar thought is found in the maxim, "the office should seek the man and not the man, the office." Have we Americans reversed the process? Have we lost sight of these ideals? Certain it is that some popular notions which are not consistent with the spirit of these maxims have grown up in this country. Offices have come to be regarded too much as …


Effect Of Covenants In Leases Upon Tenant's Right To Remove Trade Fixtures, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1913

Effect Of Covenants In Leases Upon Tenant's Right To Remove Trade Fixtures, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

At least since the decision in Poole's Case, 1 Salk. 368 (1703), it has been considered as settled that a tenant has the right to remove trade fixtures placed, upon the demised premises for the purpose of furthering his trade. There is a well-marked tendency in some jurisdictions to greatly extend this right of removal so as to include anything added by the tenant to the leased property "in furtherance of the purpose for which the premises were leased." Hayward v. School District, 139 Mich. 541, 102 N. W. 999; Bircher v. Parker, 40 Mo. 118; Heddrick v. Smith, 103 …


The Character Of User In Prescription, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1913

The Character Of User In Prescription, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

As the possession of the claimant in a case of adverse possession must be shown to have been adverse in order to ripen into title, so also must the user in prescription be shown to have been adverse during the entire prescriptive period. As to the burden of proving the adverse character of the possession in the first case there seems to be doubt whether there is a presumption of adverseness by showing open possession and acts of ownership, or whether there is a burden upon the claimant to go further. See 2 AM. & ENG. ENCY. L. & P. …


Possession Under Mistake As Adverse Possession, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1912

Possession Under Mistake As Adverse Possession, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

In Wissinger v. Reed et al., 125 Pac. lO3O (Aug. 24, 1912) the Supreme Court of Washington held that actual possession of land for the statutory period would confer title upon the occupant, although the possession was under a mistaken belief of ownership. While the doctrine that title to real property may be acquired by adverse possession has been firmly established in English and American law for a great many years, no little difficulty and confusion have arisen in determining what possession is adverse, especially where the actual possession upon which the claim of title is based has been under …


Recovery Of Salary By A De Facto Officer, W. Gordon Stoner Jan 1912

Recovery Of Salary By A De Facto Officer, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

The de facto doctrine in the law of officers has been a continual source of difficulty to the courts for more than a century. Many questions connected with the application of this doctrine to this branch of the law have been settled beyond controversy. Even the phase of this question which the writer proposes to discuss cannot be classed as new or novel. Recent years, however, have seen the development of certain tendencies on the part of some of the American courts in the application of this doctrine, which will furnish the subject for the major part of our consideration.


The Rights Of Passengers In An Unregistered Automobile, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1911

The Rights Of Passengers In An Unregistered Automobile, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The State of Massachusetts by statute requires automobiles to be registered, and prohibits the operation of unregistered machines upon any public highway. While this law was in force, a party of persons went riding in an automobile whose registration had expired four days before. While they were in the act of crossing a railroad track, the automobile was struck by a locomotive, and several of the party were injured and one killed. Five actions were brought against the railroad company. There was evidence that the whistle of the locomotive had not been blown nor the bell rung as the locomotive …


Construction Of 'Survival Act' And 'Death Act' In Michigan, Thomas A. Bogle Jan 1911

Construction Of 'Survival Act' And 'Death Act' In Michigan, Thomas A. Bogle

Articles

It is known as the "Death Act." It was enacted in i848, amended in 1873, and follows closely Lord Campbell's Act. In the, construction of these acts, troublesome questions have arisen, difficulties have been encountered, different theories urged, different views entertained, different conclusions reached, and different opinions rendered, respecting the number of actions that can be maintained under them, the circumstances that invoke one rather than the other, the measure of damages applicable, respectively, and certain questions of practice as to the joinder of counts and the amendment of pleadings. The statement would hardly he justified that all these questions …


Quasi-Contractual Obligations Of Municipal Corporations, Jerome C. Knowlton Jan 1911

Quasi-Contractual Obligations Of Municipal Corporations, Jerome C. Knowlton

Articles

We have constructive fraud, constructive trusts, constructive notice, and why not constructive contract, a contractual obligation existing in contemplation of law, in the absence of any agreement express or implied from facts? With this apology we shall use the term quasi contract as covering an obligation created by law and enforceable by an action ex contractu. We are not for the present interested in the circumstances which may give rise to this obligation as between individuals; nor as between an individual and a private corporation, or quasi public corporation, so-called, as a railroad or other public utility. In these cases …


Preserving A Special Appearance, Edson R. Sunderland Jan 1911

Preserving A Special Appearance, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

No personal judgment against a defendant is valid unless the court which renders it has first obtained jurisdiction over the person of such defendant. This is elementary and fundamental, and goes to the essence of the judgment. And such jurisdiction must be secured through the actual service of process upon the defendant against whom the judgment is sought or through his voluntary appearance in the action.


New Doctrine Concerning Contracts In Restraint Of Trade, Jerome C. Knowlton Jan 1910

New Doctrine Concerning Contracts In Restraint Of Trade, Jerome C. Knowlton

Articles

Is a covenant in restraint of a particular trade and unlimited as to space against public policy and therefore void and unenforceable? Long ago an English judge, in speaking of the making of contracts, protested against arguing too strongly upon public policy. "It is a very unruly horse, and, when once you get astride it, you never know where it will carry you."1 Right he was and is, and the judge who would keep his saddle must be a good rider, for the horse shies badly on the way at every new condition in trade and commerce, occasioned by recent …


Purchase Of Shares Of Corporation By A Director From A Shareholder, Horace Lafayette Wilgus Jan 1910

Purchase Of Shares Of Corporation By A Director From A Shareholder, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

It is generally laid down in the encyclopedias and text books, and affirmed in many court opinions that "the doctrine that officers and directors [of corporations] are trustees of the stockholders, applies only in respect to their acts relating to the property or business of the corporation. It does not extend to their private dealings with stockholders or others, though in such dealings they take advantage of knowledge gained through their official position."1 Much of this doctrine is based upon the language of Chief Justice SHAW in Smith v. Hurd2 decided in 1847. He said: "There is no legal privity, …


Right Of Joint Adventurers Holding All The Stock Of A Corporation To A Dissolution And Accounting In Equity, Horace Lafayette Wilgus Jan 1910

Right Of Joint Adventurers Holding All The Stock Of A Corporation To A Dissolution And Accounting In Equity, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

The case of Jackson v. Hooper, in the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals, decided February 28, 1910, by Judge DILL, (42 N. Y. Law Journal, March 8, 1910), overruling Vice Chancellor HOWELL, of the Court of Chancery (74 AtL. 130) presents interesting and unusual points in corporation and partnership law, and the jurisdiction of courts of equity over corporate affairs.


Validity Of Legislation Limiting Hours Of Labor For Women, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1910

Validity Of Legislation Limiting Hours Of Labor For Women, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Public opinion and the development of social and economic thought are well read in the decisions, of the courts. An excellent illustration: of this is found in the recent case of Ritchie & Co. et al. v. Wayman, 244. Ill. 509, 91 N. E. 695, decided April 21, 1910.


Constitutionality Of Legislation Designating Time And Manner Of Payment Of Wages, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1910

Constitutionality Of Legislation Designating Time And Manner Of Payment Of Wages, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Not infrequently the legislatures of various states have deemed it advisable to provide by law for the time and manner of payment of wages of men engaged in certain designated employments; and these laws have been the cause of considerable litigation. Their validity has been challenged mainly on the ground of deprivation of property without due process of law and denial of the equal protection of the law, the contention being that the refusal of the privilege of contracting for the manner and time of payment is a deprivation of liberty and property, and the classification of men in certain …


The Degree Of Care Required In The Operation Of A Scenic Railway, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1910

The Degree Of Care Required In The Operation Of A Scenic Railway, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

The case of O'Callaghan v. Dellwood Park Co., - Ill. -, 89 N. E. 1005. decided by the supreme court of Illinois, October 26, 1909, is of interest because of the holding of owners and operators of scenic railways to the same high degree of care required of railroads and common carriers of passengers in general. The action was in case for the recovery of damages for injuries suffered by the plaintiff by reason of having been thrown out of a car on defendant's scenic railway. The plaintiff had paid the usual charge for the ride and was, at the …