Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Oct. 9, 1958, edition 1 / Page 9
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This is the Law m By ROBERT E. LEE (For the N. C. Bar Association) Inheritance By Murder This is the first of a fall series of articles that will appear each week throughout the next three months. They have been written for the non-lawyer as a public * service of the North Carolina Bar Association. Joe Jones executes a will leav ing all of his real and personal . property to Sally Smith. Subse quently he is found murdered. Five years later it is discovered that Sally committed the murder. She is convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison for a number of years. Are the relatives of Joe now entitled to the property that Sally ■inherited from Joe? Yes. Sally holds the property I she inherited under the will of Joe upon a “constructive trust” for the persons who would have been entitled to the property if the will had been revoked. This is an application of the general principle of equity that a person shall not be permitted to profit from his own wrong. The murderer may be compell ed to surrender the property which she has acquired to the persons who stand next in the line of succession and who would have acquired the property if the murderer had predeceased her victim. A widow dies without a will. Her closest next of kin are two brothers and a son. The son is convicted of the murder of his mother and sen ► fenced to prison for twenty years. Who becomes entitled to the wid ow’s property? The tw<j brothers of the widow. Where a person is murdered by his heir or next of kin, and there is no will, the murderer holds the property thus acquired by him upon a “constructive trust” for the person or persons who would have been heirs or next of kin if he had predeceased the victim. A “constructive trust” is a le gal device the courts use to pre vent unjust enrichment. A husband and wife owned real property in North Carolina as ten ants by the entirety. The hus band was convicted of murdering his 1 wife and sent to prison. Who became the owner of the real property? The Supreme Court of North Carolina said that the property was to be held by the husband as Calvert RESERVE Q 95 n 050 lJ*/5 QT. Bg IHMRfIBS I Calvert j unm J, hWIHM * I American Whiskey «UUT MALLEUS CO, lr. C. • 86 PROOF «* BUIIKUTW. SPIRITS . BLUOED WHISKY I 0 ' -x':’ SSBBBT msm Wm f a** •... ,>-.v*v%v.-.v.........v.v.%.-.v.v.-..*. v-’N •-• PATROL WlNGS—Raleigh-Durham airport. Col. James R. Smith (right) inspects the highway patrol's first airplane, a military designated L-5 type, formerly used as an observation craft. With Smith is State Trooper D. W. Williams of Raleigh, one of 25 qualified pilots in patrol ranks. a “constructive trustee” fdr the heirs of his wife, subject to a j beneficial life interest in the whole of the property for the murderer. The husband was perpetually enjoined from conveying the ab solute ownership of the land. The reason that the court permitted the murderer to have a beneficial interest for life in the whole of the property is that under the law governing a tenancy by the en tirety in North Carolina the hus band is entitled to the whole of the income and use during their joint lives. Constitution Week Continued From Page 1, Section 2 teresting to «ote, was largely corv fined to fairly substantial land owners or taxpayers. We now come to the Revolu tion. The causes were political and economic. The inequities of j the various means of government, | taxation imposed on the people I and other factors caused the re sistance to star and grow. As is usual in such cases, the radical element was the first to be heard advocating overthrow of' the I/ritish rule in America. The I officials were generally pro- ' British, the small fanners and the' laborers were riot particularly in- j terested as they had no voice in' the limited local government. But! the merchants and others hit by! taxation joined with the radicals | and organized committees which in 1774 sent delegates to Philadel phia. This meeting came to be known as the First Continental Congress. It had no fjower but it accomplished one important thing—it passed a resolution call ing for delegates from the vari ous states to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1775. By the time the Second Conti nental Congress met the colonies were aflame with revolt. The skirmishes at Lexington and Con cord were already history and Bunker Hill was in the offing. The British government had forc ed the issue and in so doing had lit the spark of resistance in the people. The Second Continental 1 Congress met at the opportune | time to take control of the situa- 1 tion and to organize the resist-1 ance. Had there been no such ] body at that particular time' it is very probable that the revolution would have been crushed before NOTICE! Beginning October 4th we will close on Saturday afternoons at 1 o’clock. Our doors will be open Monday thru Friday from 7:30 A. M.. to 5:00 P. M., and Saturday 7:30 A. M.. to 1:00 P. M. We feel that our type of business can better serve the public by remaining open on Wednesday afternoons with full service to our patrons. Your cooperation and continued pa tronage will be greatly apreciated. M. G. Brown Co., Inc. lfcffT, t'i" ■ ' \ Lumber, Millwork, Hardware, Building Supplies W. Queen Street PHONE 2135 Edenton, N. C. THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY OCTOBER 9. 1958. it got started. However, despite | the fact that it had no legal au -1 thority, it stepped into the breach, i organized an army, appointed | Washington as commander, bor rowed money, entered into diplo matic negotiations, issued paper currency, directed the prosecution of the war, and did these things well enough to win the independ ence of the U. S. It then urged the various col onies to frame and adopt perma nent state Constitutions. On July 4, 1776, it issued the renowned Declaration of Independence which proclaimed the existence of the U. S. of America as a free and independent political com munity. On July 12, 1776, it began the' consideration of a Constitution! for the U. S. The first draft re mained in the hands of the Con-j gress until November 1.5, 1777, j when it was referred to the states j for ratification. The final ratifi-j cation took place in March, 1778 • | land this first Constitution became | known as the Articles of Confed- j I erfation. In the meantime all of the j States except Conn, and R. I. had! adopted State Constitutions. The ' most striking difference between these new constitutions and the I Colonial system was the shift of J power from the governor to the legislature. The legislatures took! | over almost everything. There 1 ■; was an officer known as governor! ■| but his powers were so limited as jto make him almost powerlessl 1 j Some of the legislatures were 1 composed of only one bouy but the majority had two houses sim -1! ilar to our Senate ancj) House of Representatives. Some changes were made in the right to vote, j \N. C., for example, did away with ! 'property owning requirements! while Mass, made her property! B 18 YEARS EIGHTEEN SUCCESSFUL YEARS is our proof of hon est dealing with the public. ‘ | Please trust us with your work. J. WINTON SAWYER CEMETERY MEMORIALS 405 South Road St. Elizabeth Ciir Dial 5995 owning requirement twice what it formerly had been. The U. S. did riot fair well un- I der the Articles Confederation. They were defective in that they did not give the central govern ment sufficient authority to carry the new nation through the se vere economic crisis and the gen eral economic disorders which fol lowed the war. The powers dele gated to the central government were few indeed. It had no pow er to tax and the only money available was that given by the states. It likewise had to depend upon the various states for an army. No executive or judicial machinery was provided for. Business slumped in this new • world, money became valueless, j property rights were jeopardized I and violence broke out. Some | thing had to be done and no one j knew the answer. Efforts to i amend the Articles of Confedera | tion failed because all of the 13 j states had to ratify an amendment | before it became effective and ! this sort of concerted action was ! impossible. J Chance played a large part in I the beginnings of the steps which led to the adoption of our pres ent Constitution. A quarrel broke out between Md. and Va., over commerce on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. A commis- I sion met to settle this difficulty. 1 In the course of the meetings of ! this Commission there naturally Was a great deal of talk about the general state of the union and the committee was of the opinion that much good might be accom plished by a general conference of the states on the subject of com ; merce. They returned to their j various states and advocated such ! a meeting. Only 5 states respond ed and sent 12 delegates to An ! napolis for this meeting. Noth ing could be done but it is in teresting to note that among these delegates were James Madison, j Alexander Hamilton and Edmund Randolph. They, before adjourn-1 ing, called on Congress to sum- i mon a convention of delegates j from all the states to meet in ! May, 1778, at Philadelphia for the I purpose of framing amendiAnts to the Articles of Confederation which might make that instru ment effective. The work of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 is best under- ; stood when you take into con- , sideration the fact of the politi-; cal experience behind it. There) was a century and a half of po-1 litical trial and error before the Revolution, six years of war time , government and six years under the Articles of Confederation. All of this experience contrib-j uted to the making up of our Constitution. The delegates did : not have to rely on a«cierit his-: tory— they had practical wisdom j from the recent history of their! own people. The principles tried in their own states were already j proven or disapproven. The Constitution speaks for it- j self and I will not go into the in- j strument itself other than to say | that it envisioned a government' of law executed by three govern-! mental branches—legislative and j judicial and executive. That it 1 was written with the thought in mind that the sources of law were 1 right reason and just principles. ! The history of the Constitution is not complete, however, without the story of its adoption. Twelve; states sent delegates only R. I. refusing to be a party. Seventy three delegates were appointed. 55 attended, 4# were present at the close of the convention and 30 signed the Constitution. YRBbhing-, ton was elected Chairman. A number of plans were presented, ' the plan known as the Va. plan became the basis of the new Con stitution. the delegates having do cided that it would be better to adopt a new constitution rather) than attempt to patch tip the old i Articles of Confederation. The proposed Constitution was sent to Congress with the sug gestion that it be sent to the vari ous state legislature and that when nine states had ratified it. it would go into effect. This sjm Chevrolet Task Force 59 ■pMk arrives! might I New models! New moneysaving power! Never before have trucks brought such ironclad assurance of reli- L & ability and economy to your hauling job. Chevrolet's ’59 line rolls ' in with new ways to ride high costs right out of your operation! You'll to weight Class. There’s a big \ariety els. New Positraetion rear axle in V of Stcpsidc and Flectside pickups. the same Series as an extra-trac- Plus spacious Step-Vans. 4-wheel tion. extra-cost option! Greater drive models, medium-duty jobs durability has been built into all specially designed for trailer ap- Chevrolet cabs, plication, and a whole lineup of W ith new advances, new Task heavy-duty haulers, including Force advantages beneath that tougher-than-ever tandems! bold '59 design, Chevy trucks are A new high-performance surer than ever of staying and Thriftmaster 6 featured in all saving on your job. Look ’em Series 30 and 40 models—delivers over first chance you get. Your up to 10% greater gas economy. Chevrolet dealer has a model There are bigger brakes in all that's bound to fill your bill! See the best yet of the best sellers... Chevrolet Task-Force 59 Trucks! . See your local authorized Chevrolet dealer George Chevrolet Company, Inc. 1100 N. Broad St. Edenton, N. C. Dial 2138 “Manufacturer’s License No. 110" scheme of ratification was adopt-] I ed. There was great opposition i | to the Constitution but the ninth) ratification by New Hampshire j I occurred on June 21, 1788. N. C. I and R. I. held out until after the ) Constitution was in effect. These) ! two states felt that there was too much central power authorized by. this Constitution and held out un- j til assured of the limitation of | central authority by the Bill of I Rights. It is interesting to note that, apparently none of the framers | of the Constitution thought their! work would be permanent. They felt that it had qualities which would carry the new nation) through the years of organization! and adjustment peculiar to a new I nation. However, they wrought j better than they thought, and the, instrument they created is now: considered to be probably the) soundest governmental authority , in existence today. I News About Clubs , In Chowan County j By MAIDRED MORRIS Home Demonstration Agent 1 The home demonstration club \ women in Chowan County are I now concluding their year’s work | bv getting in reports on the work ' they have done. The various of ficers are completing their reports I so that the new officers can take) i over their offices in October. Several of the clubs have se lected new officers for the next two years and I am;sure they will do some fine work with their clubs. The outgoing officers have done some excellent work during their term of office. Oak Grove Community had a! ! community picnic last Wednesday night with around sixty-five in the community present. Mr. El-‘ bert I’eele fried the fresh, fishout side at the community building.. Os course, he had the help of allj the other men. Oak Grove has! i such a gathering as this often dor- j ing the fishing season. The club: | women fixed the cole slaw, tea and cornhread. After the fish! arid cornhread were cooked, ev , eryone enjoyed the delicious fish j supper. There is much evidence of the spirit of cooperation in the I Oak Grove Community and there | will continue to be as long as they | | work together in their communi-] i ty. After the supper, the group ; discussed the community progress] j contest which is going on in their community. | Hyland Club, under the leader- j ■ ship of Mrs. Lester Copeland is ! growing by “leaps and bounds,” | j They can boast of five new mem- ! I bers this year. This month Mrs. ! j Hubert Jordan joined the club, j j The other new members are Mrs. I Melvin Copeland, Mrs. Earl Jor-J | dan. Mrs. Glenn Langley and Mrs., I John Raymond Dail. These mem bers have already become active if you're value-minded p when it comes to tires . • • | U4S6ET KELLYS! « KELLY prestige jlglp. j f KELLY \ lyg es y f° r tign GRIPS AND GOES j4*S|||k ICE • SNOW • MUD > - KELLY EXPLORER winter tire 4%*' Scott ■ Ackiss Recapping Co. 105 West Eden St. Edenton, N. C. PHONES: EDENTON 2688. ELIZABETH CITY 7813 1 PAGE THREE I—SECTION TW* i and are faking part in all the club j activities. Next month, each club 1 member will carry a piece of ’ 1 shrubbery to the club meeting to j exchange with someone. This ! will count on their community progress as well as making their own homes more attractive. ! I hope that all of the club wo ; men are planning to enter some of j their handiwork and canned i goods in the County Fair. Please 1 exhibit your best quality pro ! ducts. TRY A HERALD CLASSIFIED
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 9, 1958, edition 1
9
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