TREASURER'S REPORT. Michigan State Bar Association Account with Wm. K. Clute, Treasurer. 1905 DR. CR. Aug. 10. July 6. By bal. from former treas., A. C. Denison..... $23.35 22.35 .. 24.21 Nov. 20. By cash from Landman-dues collected.. 15.40 8.60 ....... 1906 Jan. 10. By cash from Landman-dues collected...... 270.00 200.00 65.00 10.75 ....... To bill of Watch & Strawhecker-stenog'y work 51.30 125.55 June 1. June 23. To bal. Salary-1905-6 W. J. Landman, sec'y... 100.00 To bill of Wm. J Landman-Sec'y expenses... 17.00 18.50 June 23. To Wm. J. Landman-secretary expenses.. Balance.... June 27. By cash balance on hand 12.00 37.50 $872.83 $1027.45 154.62 $1027.45 81027.45 154.62 WM. K. CLUTE, Treasurer. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION AND LAW REFORM. To the State Bar Association. Gentlemen: Your Committee on Legislation and Law Reform respectfully submit the following report: I. In accordance with your action at the last convention of the Association, we have submitted to the Supreme Court a proposed amendment to Circuit Court Rule 24, providing that counsel on each side of causes in Circuit Courts may have for argument, at least one hour instead of one-half hour, as the rule now is. The action of the Association relative to the same, was communicated along with the proposed amendment to the rule. The matter is still under consideration by the court. II. The suggestions contained in the able and instructive address of Judge Collins at Bay City last year, has received our careful attention and we recommend that the Association instruct the next Committee on Legislation to prepare and present to the Legislature, and urge its passage, a bill providing for the appointment of a commission whose duty it shall be to present to the Legislature from time to time proposed revisions of the statutes pertaining to specific subjects. Such specific revisions (after the model of our negotiable instruments law) extended to such subjects as real estate, marriage and divorce, taxation, corporations, street railways, and other important subjects the provisions in relation to which are now scattered through our session laws and periodical compilations in a disconnected and frequently conflicting fashion. Such revisions not undertaking a general character which would conflict with our present constitution, but upon particular subjects as the same from time to time might be prepared and fully considered. The American Bar Association through its committee on uniform legislation, has had this subject under consideration for some years and have done much valuable work along this line. Such a course, we believe, would be safe, conservative, and productive of lasting benefits to the Commonwealth of Michigan. III. We likewise respectfully call your attention to Act Number 309 of the Session Laws of 1905, page 483, being an Act to amend section 10 of chapter 25 of the Compiled Laws of 1897, said section relating to change of venue. This act as it now stands, we deferentially submit, is not conductive to good results for the following reasons: 1st. It requires the change of venue upon the mere ex parte affidavit of the party. 2nd. It takes away the discretion of the court, which should be exercised in matters of this kind. 3rd. The conclusiveness of the affidavit required and the securing of an order upon it, in any event, leads to abuses of the privileges conferred by the Act. There was, as we believe, no necessity for the enactment of this law in Michigan. It is stated that this Act was copied from Indiana, and that it has been a subject of scandalous and notorious abuse for many years. Its short operation in Michigan, shows that a similar condition is likely to obtain here. We recommend that the next Committee on Legislation be instructed to prepare and urge the passage of a bill for its repeal at the next legislative session. IV. Act Number 89, page 120, Public Acts of 1905, being an Act to prescribe the measure of damages in actions for negligent injuries to persons where deaths result and where the actions are prosecuted under the survivor act has met with much adverse criticism, both by the bar and public, and is said to work a wrong to those relatives of the deceased who had before its passage been entitled to recover a certain amount of damages for death caused by negligent injury. We recommend that the next President of this Association appoint a special committee of five members, who, with the incoming President, shall constitute a committee of six, to whom shall be referred the subject matter of said act and also the recommendations in the address of Judge Nelson Sharp upon the subject of "Directing a Verdict," found on pages 55-7 proceedings of 1905, with instructions that if, after careful examination, in their judgment, said subjects call for legislative action, they prepare and present to the next Legislature such bills as will improve the existing law relating thereto. We believe this course will be more expedient than to add to the work of the regular committee on legislation, as too much legislation urged by one committee is not advantagous. V. Supreme Court Reports. The last published volume of the Michigan Supreme Court Reports is Number 137, and the last cases reported therein were decided in October 1904-nearly a year and eight months ago. In contrast with this some of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court decided as late as March 1906, have been for some time on hand in a permanent volume Number 200 of the United States Reports. With the modern facilities for printing and publishing such reports we see no reasonable excuse why the decisions of our Supreme Court need be permitted to become ancient history before they are published in a volume of permanent reports, when others equally exacting in preparation and publication are on hand inside of ninety days from, the time enough opinions are filed by the court to make up a volume. We recommend that the next committee on legislation give this subject thorough investigation with full power to act and ascertain where the cause exists for this unnecessary delay, and that they recommend to the next Legislature or elsewhere such measures as are necessary and requisite to enforce the publication of the Michigan reports on time and up to date. VI. Your committee tenders its thanks to Judge Willis B. Perkins and Mr. Phil. Travis of Grand Rapids, for valuable suggestions touching some of the subjects covered by this report. All of which is respectfully submitted. WM. K. CLUTE, Chairman, LOYAL E. KNAPPEN, PHILIP T. VAN ZILE, GEO. W. BATES, THOS. J. CAVANAUGH, Committee. |