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Family Support From Fugitive Fathers: A Proposed Amendment To Michigan's Long Arm Statute, Robert L. Nelson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

It is the purpose of this article to propose and discuss an amendment to Michigan's long arm statute which will allow the entry of extraterritorial alimony, separate maintenance, or child support decrees when Michigan is the state of the marital domicile and the defendant-spouse cannot be located for personal service of process. A plaintiff employing the proposed provision in a divorce action will be able to seek alimony, separate maintenance, or support payments as if the defendant were before the court, and the court will have the authority to grant her the necessary relief. If and when the wife later …

Michigan "Freedom Of Information Act", David T. Alexander

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A policy of public disclosure is as appropriate at the state level as it is at the federal level. There are comparable state agencies for almost all Federal departments concerned with commerce and the public health, safety and welfare. Through licensing and supervisory powers over businesses and individuals, state agencies exercise extensive quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers of immediate concern to the public. The resulting rules, records, regulations, orders and opinions serve as both the factual findings and the substantive law of the particular area administered by each agency. Recognizing this need for public disclosure at the state level, the Michigan …

Consumer Protection In Michigan: Current Methods And Some Proposals For Reform, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

During the past decade, a great deal of effort has been expended at all levels of government in the United States to enhance the prosperity of the poor and underprivileged elements of society. Much legislation has been passed-especially at the federal level--but it has been incomplete in that its main thrust has been simply to increase the income levels of poor people without a corresponding effort to ensure that they receive their money's worth as consumers. As a result, the long-standing evil of fraud in the market place has not been significantly reduced, but has contributed to the serious economic …

The Language Of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization: A Study In Sound And Fury, Steven H. Levinson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Involuntary civil commitment is the business of hospitalizing and treating, without their consent, persons whom a court, with the aid of professional diagnosticians, determines to be psychologically disturbed or mentally ill. The purpose of the present study will be to demonstrate that the medical diagnoses of mental illness which justify involuntary civil commitment are achieved on the basis of at least unreliable and at worst invalid sets of diagnostic categories and assessments. For the purpose of determining the reliability of these diagnostic findings, the author selected a representative sample of the involuntary mental hospitalization proceedings of the Wayne County Probate …

Michigan Air Pollution Control: A Case Study, William A. Irwin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The State of Michigan began its fight against air pollution with the passage of two Acts in 1965: the Air Pollution Act and the Tax Exemption for Air Pollution Control Act. In adopting these acts the legislature hoped to solve the state's special needs for immediate air pollution control, created by the heavy concentration of automobile manufacturers and their suppliers in the state. The fight was to be waged through the efforts of a newly-created Air Pollution Control Commission and its staff. To present an evaluation of the success of these efforts, this comment concentrates upon two case studies of …

Real Property (1969 Annual Survey Of Michigan Law), John E. Mogk, Brian M. Barkey

Law Faculty Research Publications

Over 65 cases were decided by Michigan courts during the Survey period dealing with some aspect of property law. Most of these cases raise property questions which are only incidental to nonproperty issues and, as a result, will not be discussed in this article. Similarly, those cases which have no precedential value, restate old law, or confirm an established trend are not considered worthy of discussion. Accordingly, in our judgment, only 16 property cases decided during the Survey period merit protracted attention.

Controlling The Controllers In Parent-Subsidiary Relations, James C. Bruno

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article will examine the rights and responsibilities of a party in control of a corporation. The discussion of these rights and responsibilities focuses principally on the law of Michigan. However, passages on policy, discussion of the development of relevant Michigan law, and recommendations for changes in the law are pertinent to the general problem-area of parent-subsidiary relations encountered in all jurisdictions.

Restrictions On Student Voting: An Unconstitutional Anachronism?, W. Perry Bullard, James A. Rice

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Using Michigan as a vehicle for analysis because it has a student voting process representative of many states, this note seeks to accomplish four purposes: (1) an examination of the case law often underlying the presumption against student registrability; (2) an analysis of recent constitutional developments in the due process and equal protection areas as they relate to the particular problems posed by the student voter; (3) a survey of the competing local and student interests in the student vote issue; and (4) a conclusion regarding the likelihood that thwarted student voters can follow the paths of other disfranchised groups …

Michigan Environmental Protection Act, Roger L. Conner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Each of the questions discussed in this note revolve around the same basic issue: the propriety of vesting broad power in the courts to prevent environmental destruction, and to develop an environmental common law. The need for the broad standard of the Act derives from the complexity of the problem. The clear authority of the courts to decide cases which have been, or should have been dealt with by an administrative agency is important both for the relationship it establishes between citizens and agencies, and to insure that the policies of the Act will be implemented. In responding to these …

The Proposed Michigan Business Corporation Act, Stanley Siegel

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The author of this article was selected by the Commission as Reporter, to draft and revise the statute. It is the purpose of this article to describe the drafting process, to outline the general structure and to examine some unique aspects of the proposed Michigan Business Corporation Act. In this discussion, the author expresses his own views only, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Law Revision Commission or its members.

Michigan Compulsory Arbitration Act For Essential Services, William J. Rainey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

When Public Act 312 became effective on October 1, 1969, Michigan joined Rhode Island and Pennsylvania in permitting compulsory arbitration of unresolved labor disputes involving municipal police and firemen. Wyoming similarly provides for compulsory arbitration in fire department disputes. Passage of the Act was prompted by a desire to avoid the dire consequences of strikes or work stoppages by firefighters and policemen, and to provide a method by which the bargaining power of public service unions could be maintained in the absence of the strike privilege. Since Michigan had barred strikes by public employees in 1947, the unions felt that …

Sturm & Whitaker: Implementing A New Constitution: The Michigan Experience, Walter D. De Vries

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Implementing a New Constitution: The Michigan Experience by Albert L. Sturm and Margaret Whitaker

Integrated Pretrial Attack On A Pleading: A Critical Evaluation Of Michigan's New Summary Judgement Rule, Carl S. Hawkins, Brett R. Dick

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Modern procedural reforms reflect diminished confidence in the demurrer or "no cause" motion as a device to dispose of non-meritorious claims before trial. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting the pattern of reform for many states, abolished the demurrer. Although a preliminary attack upon the legal sufficiency of the complaint is still permitted by a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule 12 (b) (6), the challenged pleading may be amended as a matter of course, to minimize the risk that a good claim might be lost because it was poorly pleaded. The risk that sham amendments might then be …

The University Of Michigan: Its Legal Profile, William B. Cudlip

Michigan Legal Studies Series

Inspiration for the preparation of this volume came from reading two sections of Volume I of the four-volumes published in 1942 entitled, The University of Michigan-An Encyclopedic Survey. One section by E. Blythe Stason, Dean Emeritus of the University's Law School, is captioned "The Constitutional Status of the University of Michigan." The other section captioned "The Organization, Powers and Personnel of the Board of Regents" was prepared by the Dean and the late Wilfred B. Shaw, long connected with the University in important administrative capacities and intimately acquainted with its history.

The material here presented duplicates in part that …

Reflections From A Different Perspective, B. J. George Jr.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A signal fact of the 1960's is the widespread attention being paid to modernization of America's criminal law and procedure. After nearly a century of patchwork adjustments of state codes or fragmentary modification of the common law, the federal government and a great many states are moving toward new substantive codes and new codes or rules of criminal procedure. As one who has been working as a reporter in Michigan's endeavor to revise its criminal law and procedure, I have been asked to comment in a general way on Mr. Robinson's effort at reforming Wisconsin law.

Persuader: Mobilization Of Support, Mary Ann Beattie

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Law reform can be achieved through precedent-setting case law and through legislation. Each is a time-consuming activity with its own stumbling blocks. To establish law through the case method, one must have a fact situation directly on point with the inequity which one is trying to remedy. In many situations the client must be willing to follow through a long process of trial and appeal, instead of settling for a more immediate but incomplete resolution of his problem. The costs of litigation may become an insurmountable problem. Another difficulty with the test case as a vehicle for law reform is …

Constitutional Law--Police Power--Michigan Statute Requiring Motorcyclists To Wear Protective Helmets Held Unconstitutional, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The effects of the helmet decisions on the law in general may be substantial. On the one hand, if a helmet statute is held constitutional, inroads could be made upon personal liberty; the legislature might rely on similar strained and unproved relationships to the general welfare in order to justify regulations impinging upon other areas of individual conduct. On the other hand, to hold such a statute unconstitutional may require the judiciary to interfere unreasonably with the legislature's conception of public welfare. In light of these considerations, courts dealing with challenges to such regulations in the future should pay closer …

Workmen's Compensation--Encouraging Employment Of The Handicapped In Michigan: A Proposal For Revision Of The Michigan Second Injury Fund, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Employment of the handicapped is clearly a proper concern of the state. Unemployed, such a person is a burden on his family and on the state; welfare and relief payments to such a person needlessly increase costs to both the state and local governments supporting such programs. Employed, the handicapped person is a self-supporting, stable member of the community; he becomes a taxpayer rather than a tax consumer. There are also important moral and social considerations which may be simply summarized stating that no person who is able to work should be needlessly denied employment. In short, any continued waste …

The Administration Of Justice In The Wake Of The Detroit Civil Disorder Of July 1967, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Early Sunday morning, July 23, 1967, the Detroit Police Department raided a "blind pig" at the corner of Twelfth Street and Clairmont Street. An unexpectedly large number of patrons were present at the after-hours drinking establishment, and it took the police over an hour to remove them all from the scene. The weather was warm and humid-despite the time, many people were still on the streets. A crowd of about two hundred gathered while the police were occupied with the individuals arrested in the raid. The last of the arrestees were removed shortly after 5:00 a.m. At that moment an …

Unconstitutional Uncertainty: A Study Of The Use Of Detainers, Donald E. Shelton

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The question is why a prosecutor would go through the motions of asking a warden to notify him of the availability of a prisoner that he never intends to take into custody. The first answer is that it is common practice for many prosecutors to automatically file a detainer upon learning that an accused is imprisoned elsewhere. This decision is made without any regard to their eventual decision to prosecute. But the more basic answer, and the reason why this practice of automatic filing of detainers has developed, lies in the effects a detainer has upon the prisoner.

The Trend In Water Law Development, Jerome Maslowski

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The basis of public and private rights in the waters of the State of Michigan is grounded principally in the common law. There has been a scarcity of statutory law on the subject and it is only within the last ten years that any statutes have been enacted which seek to delineate public and private rights.

A Reasoned Approach To The Reform Of Sex Offense Legislation, Ronald B. Schram

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Currently there is a widespread movement toward the revision of state criminal codes. The goals of such an undertaking are varied: (1) to reduce the size of the criminal law by eliminating inconsistent, overlapping, or obsolete provisions; (2) to phrase the prohibitions in clear and concise language; (3) to introduce more modern approaches to the definition and treatment of criminal offenses; and (4) to harmonize the penalty imposed for a particular act with the severity of the act and the penalty for other acts. This paper will concentrate on sex offenses in an attempt to understand the legislative process of …

Michigan Landlord-Tenant Law: Course Of Statutory Reform

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Introduction to the Articles, Draftsman: Formulation of Policy, Persuader: Mobilization of Support, and Tenant's Attorney: Evaluation of Impact

Draftsman: Formulation Of Policy, Carl Schier

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Most low income families rent their living accommodations; for them the lease arrangement is a precarious one at best. It is generally a periodic tenancy from week to week or month to month with the agreement rarely reduced to writing. If the allocation of rights and duties between the parties is spelled out by them at all, it is quite one-sided and normally delineates only what the tenant may and may not do. When there is no written agreement or when the writing is silent as to the obligations of the parties, the common law of landlord and tenant controls, …

Tenant's Attorney: Evaluation Of Impact, Ronald D. Glotta

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The natural question raised by the passage of "Tenant Rights" legislation is whether the new law helps or hinders the practicing attorney representing tenants. In analyzing the package of Tenant Rights Bills enacted in Michigan in 1968 this article will focus on three questions: 1) whether such legislation raises false hopes in being heralded as a major declaration of rights and an effort to solve the problem of housing shortage; 2) whether such legislation actually further oppresses tenants, especially in their exercise of the one effective instrument in their power: collective action; and 3) whether such legislation significantly changes the …

Joint Tenancies And Tenancies By The Entirety In Michigan—Federal Gift Tax Considerations, Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

The establishment of joint tenancy' ownership of property, or the termination of such a tenancy, may have federal gift tax consequences to the co-owners of the property. Consequently, the gift tax is a factor to be weighed before embarking on either of these ventures. The gift tax consequences are determined by the nature of the property rights enjoyed by the joint tenants under the controlling state property law, and accordingly it is desirable, where Michigan property law is applicable, to consider the Michigan law and the significance of that law to the operation of the gift tax. However, before discussing …

Public Control Of Land Subdivision In Michigan: Description And Critique, Roger A. Cunningham

Michigan Law Review

Michigan seems to be unique in having three separate subdivision control statutes. The Plat Act of 1929, like the Subdivision Control Act of 1967 which will soon replace it, is largely mandatory, prescribing standards and procedures required in all cases of land subdivision (as defined in the statute), whether the municipality in which the land is located has a planning commission or not. The Municipal Planning Act, on the other hand, is simply an enabling act, permissive both with respect to establishment of a planning commission and with respect to the exercise by that commission, once established, of the power …

The Joint And Survivor Account In Michigan-Progress Through Confusion, Richard V. Wellman

Michigan Law Review

Legal writers have been intrigued for years by the challenge of classifying and identifying the resulting incidents of the joint and survivor bank deposit when an attempt is made to use it as a mode of effectuating a donor depositor's intention to confer benefits on a donee co-depositor. Much in their discussions is useful to one who is concerned with the concept that has evolved in Michigan, where a 1909 statute states that some co-depositors are presumed to be joint tenants. Michigan judges and practitioners must determine, however, whether comment about national trends is applicable here, for in many respects …

Criminal Law - Insane Persons - Competency To Stand Trial, John H. Hess M.D., Henry B. Pearsall S.Ed., Donald A. Slichter S.Ed., Herbert E. Thomas M.D.

Michigan Law Review

Mental unsoundness in a person accused of a crime raises two distinct legal questions. One is the question of the individual's responsibility for his behavior and the other is the question of the individual's competency to enter into the legal procedures of trial or punishment. In recent years considerable attention has been given to matters of responsibility, but relatively little attention has been paid to the problem of incompetency and especially to the consequences of incompetency proceedings. In order to analyze and evaluate the operations of the Michigan law in the area of incompetency to stand trial, two psychiatrists joined …

Steinheimer: Michigan Negotiable Instruments And The Uniform Commercial Code, Douglass G. Boshkoff

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Michigan Negotiable Instruments and the Uniform Commercial Code. By Roy L. Steinheimer.