—SECTION TWO
PAGE SIX
ills IS
r the Law
a. .
mm
By ROBERT E. LEE
(For th* N. C. Bar Association)
Sources Os Law
• What are the sources of the
laws enforced in courts?
Law may be defined as a body
of rules which the courts of a
particular state will recognize and
enforce. It is an agency of social
control that has received the
sanction of the sovereign state.
The courts are the sole au
thorized interpreters, of the law.
They are the ones to determine
what rules are to be recognized
and enforced.
The primary sources of law are
said to be: Constitutions, stat
utes, and common law (judicial
precedents). These are the three
places where one may find the
rules which the courts of a par
ticular state will recognize and
enforce.
The United States and each of
the states have written constitu
tions framed by representatives of
the people. These constitutions
state the powers and duties of
the various officers of govern
ment and define the fundamental
rights of citizens, as, for example,
the right of freedom of-speech or
to a jury trial. They are of para
mount importance for they de
fine with more or less precision
the character and framework of
ogvernment.
The Constitution of the United
States is said to be a delegation
or grant of powers, whereas the
constitution of a state is said to
be a limitation of powers. In
other words, the United States
does not have power to do any
thing unless such power express
ly or impliedly has been given in
the Constitution of the United
States: while a state can do any
thing not forbidden by its own
constitution or surrendered to the
_
Affects EVERY North Carolina Car Owner
1 _-.•;* » *
On and after January 1, 1958, every automobile owner must be prepared to meet the Requirements of
the new North Carolina FINANCIAL Responsibility Law.
Enacted to protect the public from the careless and financially 1. Automobile Liability coverage may be certified as in effect
irresponsible driver, this law is designed to restrict the opera- with minimum limits of $5,000.00 each person, $10,000.00 each Ac
tion of automobiles to those drivers who are financially able to cident for Bodily Injuries, and $5,000.00 because of injury to'or
pay for bodily injuries, death or property damage which their destruction of property of others in any one accident, or
automobiles may cause. 2. By furnishing a financial security deposit, up to a maximum
In brief, the new law provides that the Slate Department of Mo- °* 1S > 000 ;« 0 , as required, to cover possible damages arising out
tor Vehicles shall revoke the registration of any vehicle unless
proof of financial responsibility is maintained. This proof of fi- 3. By furnishing a certificate of financial security bond, or
nancial responsibility may be furnished in any one of the follow- -
ing ways: - 4. By qualifying under the North Carolina law as self insurer.
The simplest way to meet the requirements of this law is to have adequate and acceptable Automobile Liability Insur
ance. This will permit you to secure your License Plates and keep your driving privileges without having to deposit
cash or other security.
R. C. HOUJ^ JiSBWy t R.
How To Plan Federal
Income Tax Deductions
This in one of a series of four articles on federal income
taxes The articles are based on information prodded by the
American Institute of Certified. Public Accountants ■ and the
North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. ‘
By waiting until after the first of the year to decide whether to
itemize your or take the standard 10-per cent deduc
tion, you run the risk of losing your greatest tax-saving oppor
tunity.
When you are forced to take the ■
standard deduction because your
deductible expenses are less than
10-per cent of your adjusted gross
income, you literally "waste” your
expense deductions, for tax pur
poses. Don’t let this happen to you
every year. Plan your expense out
lays so that you go over the
optional 10-per cent deduction occa
sionally. This can be done by
pyramiding two years of actual ex
penses into one.
For example, assume that you ex
pect to have an adjusted gross in
come of $7,000 for this year and
actual deductible expenses of about
s6oo—-or SIOO less, than what you
would be entitled to deduct if you
took the standard 10-per cent deduc
tion. Not included in your actual
expense estimate, however, is $250
in state taxes and SIOO in home
loan interest charges that will have
to be paid in 1958 but which can be
paid in advance.
Beat the Standard Deduction
If you act quickly and pay these
expenses before December 31, you
can bring your total allowable de
ductions for 1957 up to $950. By
itemizing deductions this year and
taking the standard deduction next
year—when your actual expenses
should be somewhat less because of
what you have prepaid—your total
deductions for both years will be
approximately $1,650. Had you
taken the standard 10-per cent
deduction in both years, the total
would be only about $1,400.
A salaried worker who has diffi-1
culty finding enough deductions toj
make itemization worthwhile might!
consider carrying the pyramid plan j
one step further. He could set up
a system of “lending" and "borrow-1
ing" year-end items that would \
! make it possible for him to throw
; three years of deductible expenses
| into one. t
Timing Deductions
You can begin your own three
year pyramid by postponing pay
ment on as much 1957 deductible
expense as possible and planning to
take the standard deduction on this
year's return. The expenses you;
have postponed—or "loaned"—will
increase your 1958 deductions, and
in the final months of 1958 you can
"borrow” from 1959 by speeding-up
the payment of deductible items.
As a result of your pyramiding,
you maximize your expenses for
1958 (when you should be able to
federal government.
A statute is an enactment of a
legislative body in accordance
with the terms of the constitu
tion. Those rules which are
adopted by Congress and approv
, THE CHOWAN HERALD. EDENTON. NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY. NOVEMBER M, lit.
beat the standard deduction by
itemizing), and Yninimize your de
ductible items for 1957 and 195$
(when you will take the standard
deduction and waste your actual
expenses). The general rule to fol
low when you are trjring to make
the most of your actual expenses
is: keep outlays as low as possible
in the years in which you take the
standard deduction and pyramid
them as much as possible in the
years in which you itemize ex
penses. t
Pyramid Medical Expenses
Most taxpayers need look no fur
ther than their family medical bills
to find a deductible expense that
can be pyramided to gain a wel
comed tax advantage. The section
of the tax law governing the de
ductibility of medical expenses
states that unless you or your wife
will be 65 years old by January 1,
1958, you nvay deduct only those
medical exper.sbs for 1957 in excess
of 3 per cent of your gross income.
If you find that you are near or
over the 3 per cent minimum and
you are going to itemize deductions
this year you should pay as many
of your medical bills as possible
before December 31. And since
medical expenses can be deducted
only in'the year paid (but cannot
be prepaid), you might even con
sider speeding-up and paying for
the dental work, eye examinations
and general physical check-ups your
family will otherwise be having in
the early part of 1955.
Taxpayers who had low medical
J expenses for 1957 should reverse ,
; this procedure, postponing the pay
! ment of their year end medical bills
| until after the first’of the year. In
| this way, they may be able to
! exceed the minimum requirement in
1 195 S and to gain a benefit from a
payment that would otherwise be
lost on their 1957 return.
Plan Premium Payments
The premiums you pay on your
1 health, accident and hospital insur
'jance policies can be deducted as a I
! ! medical expense—so plan your pay-
I intents accordingly. To give you
I I greater flexibility in the shifting of
I medical deductions from one year
I I to the next, you might arrange to
1 have these premiums fall due in
January. «
Next Article: More Tax-Saring
> Deductions and lloic to Time Them.
ed by the President are called
"federal statutes”; they must not
i violate provisions of the federal
constitution. The laws adopted
by the state legislatures are call
ed “state statutes.” The statutes
of a state must not be contrary to
either the federal or the state
constitutions. A statute contrary
to either of these is said to be
“unconstitutional,” t*hat is of no
effect whatever.
The state statutes of North
Carolina may be found in a large
and expensive set of volumes
known as the “General Statutes
of North Carolina.”
An ordinance is a local statu
tory law of some city or town.
The common law consists of ju
dicial precedents. When there is
no statute applicable to a particu
lar controversy, the common law
affords a rule and a guide. It
iovers the whole range of law not
covered by constitutions and stat
utes. ' -
The great bulk of our legal
principles are based upon the
common law or judicial preced
ents. It is always surprising to
layman to discover that very few
of our legal rules are controlled
by statutes.
Lawyers in North Carolina
search for the common law appli
cable to a particular case first in
one of the 245 printed volumes of
the North Carolina .Supreme
Court Reports; and if no decision
can be found therein, then they
search the reports of cases from
other American jurisdictions and
England.
Whenever there is a conflict be
tween a statute and a principle of
the common law, the statute pre
vails. The constitution is para
mount to both statutes and the
BACHMAN PROPERTY
217 West Eden St. Edenton, N. C.
FOR SALE
All Offers Will Be Entertained
APPLY TO
A- W. Bachman, Sr.
11l JENNETTE AVE. - HENDERSON, N. C.
LISTEN EACH SUNDAY AT 8:45 A. M.
to
The Melody Five
Edenton’s Own Spiritual Group
OVER RADIO STATION WCDJ
common law.
If a lawyer has found a stat
ute controlling a particular rase,
he frequently will consult the de
-1 cisions of the court to find the
1 court’s interpretation of the stat
ute.
: /,"-■■■ ass - ssss r’fffs tte
I ESPECIALLY FOR
| PET OWNERS
Toughen your dog’s paws for
. the hunting season by giving him
. progressively longer walks on
pavement before using him in the
, field, the American Veterinary
Medical Association suggests.
More than two billion pounds
of food are prepared for use by
1 pets in the United States, accord
, ing to figures at the American
. Veterinary Medical Association.
>
r An opaque layer of tissue at the
l back of the eyeball in animals re
flects light to improve night vis
i ion. This is why animals’ eyes
. appear to “glow” in the dark, vet
i erindry authorities say.
f
? Restrain pets from approaching
i bats which may appear to be rest
' ing on or to have fallen in their
i area. Bats are presumed to be
1 reservoirs of rabies by veterinary
authorities.
f Primary glaucoma, a pressure
• in the eyeball which leads to
- blindness, occurs almost three
; times as often in female dogs as
' ' | , ' 4
in males, veterinary authorities
say.
-irum-LT
e years uld
Glaraiore
KENTUCKY jL.J STRAIGHT
• BOURBOnHs6 proof
Gleiunore
H KENTUCKY BTNAKSHT SOUKSON I
1 3lic (ts I
•LENMONE DIST!Ll.e«ie« COMPANY ■
GLENMORE DISTILLERIES COMPANY, LOUISVILLE. KENTUCKY
It is not how much we have, l
but how much we enjoy, that
_i _n_mjvuurru~>i~«~~i~ *****
makes happiness. j
—Charles Haddon Spurgeon