Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 6 P32 pps

the manufacturer would have notice of the defect when the dealer requests reimbursement from the manufacturer for the repair. After a consumer invokes the lemon law, the parties arbitrate the matter in an attempt to resolve it. Some statutes provide for a state-run arbitration process. Others provide for arbitra- tion provided by private groups such as the Better Business Bureau or even a manufacturer- sponsored panel. Arbitration is an informal trial with a panel or individual deciding the matter. Each side tells its story. Mechanics might testify on behalf of either side. Lawyers are not required but may increase a consumer’s likeli- hood of prevailing or settling prior to the arbitration hearing. According to one report, fewer than 10 percent of the cases handled by a manufacturer- sponsored panel are decided in the consumer’s favor. Consumers tend to fare slightly better in cases handled by the Better Business Bureau and fare best of all under state-run arbitration procedures. An early 1990s survey of three states with state-run arbitration found that consumers were awarded a full refund or replacement car in at least half of the cases. Many states make the arbitrator’s decision binding on the manufactur- er but not on the consumer. During arbitration automakers frequently argue that the consumer abused the car or failed to service the vehicle properly or that the defect does not substantially affect the car’s safety or value. For this reason consumers should save all documentation about a vehicle and should keep meticulous records of all service problems. One owner of a top-of-the-line luxury car succeeded in arbitration for a whining noise in the air conditioner because an advertising brochure promised that the car would be a soothing and calming haven. States vary on whether the manufacturer or the consumer chooses the remedy. A lemon owner is entitled to a refund of the vehicle’s purchase price, including SALES TAX, license, and fees, or a new, comparable car—minus a deduction for the value of the owner’s use of the lemon. Some states also provide that the manufacturer reimburse the owner’s attorney’s fees and costs for bringing the lawsuit. Used-car purchasers must also be wary of lemons. Once a lemon has been repurchased by the manufacturer, either voluntarily or pursuant to an arbitrator’sorjudge’s decision, scant protections prevent its resale elsewhere. States vary greatly on how much information must be disclosed to subsequent purchasers. Some states require the title of a lemon to carry a notation reflecting the lemon status. The notation varies from “nonconforming vehicle” to “defect sub- stantially impairs use, value, or safety.” Ahandful of states require that buyback stickers be placed on the vehicle. However, enforcement of such requirements is often a low priority for state governments, and enforcement of lemon laws effectively ends at a state’s border. In response to complaints about resold lemons, in 1996 the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) began investigat- ing the possibility of imposing a national standard for the resale of lemons. However, the FTC did not take action after completing its inquiry. FURTHER READINGS Clark, Barkley, and Christopher Smith. 1984. Cumm. Supp. 2005 The Law of Product Warranties. Eagan, MN: West. Fisk, Alan. 2002. “Lemon Lawsuits: Litigation over Bad Cars, Including Class Actions, Is on the Rise across the U.S.” The National Law Journal 24 (January 14) A1. Gillis, Jack. 2009. The Car Book. New York: Gillis Publishing Group. Kaye, Richard L. 1990. Lemon-Aid: Exercising Your Rights under the Automobile Lemon Laws. New York: New Directions. Nader, Ralph, Lowell Dodge, and Ralf Hotchkiss. 2001. What to Do with Your Bad Car: An Action Manual for Lemon Owners. New York: Viking. Reitz, Curtis R., and Paul A. Wolkin. 1987. Consumer Product Warranties under Federal and State Laws. 2d ed. Philadelphia: American Law Institute–American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education. Winder, Donald J. and John Warren May. 2002. “Recent Developments in Automobile Law.” Tort & Insurance Law Journal 37 (winter). CROSS REFERENCE Automobiles. LEND-LEASE ACT Enacted by Congress in 1941 the LEND-LEASE ACT empowered the president to sell, transfer, lend, or lease war supplies—such as equipment, food, and weapons—to American allies during WORLD WAR II . In exchange for the valuable assistance provided under the Lend-Lease Act (55 Stat. 31 [1941]), the Allies were to comply with the terms set by the president for repayment. The Office of Lend-Lease Administration was creat- ed pursuant to the act to oversee the imple- mentation of the program, but this function was later transferred to the STATE DEPARTMENT. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 298 LEND-LEASE ACT Although the Lend-Lease Act was enacted to provide aid to China and the British Empire, eligibility under its provisions was expanded to include all Allies who were essential to the maintenance of the security of the United States. Subsequent reciprocal agreements with countries where American troops were sta- tioned provided that the troops would receive comparable aid while stationed there. President HARRY TRUMAN ended the lend-lease program in 1945. LENIN, VLADIMIR ILYICH Vladimir Ilyich Lenin founded the Russian Communist party and led the 1917 Russian Revolution, which placed the Bolshevik party in charge of the government. The establishment of the Soviet Union can be traced to Lenin’s study of revolution and the ruthless imposition of a one-party state based on Lenin’s interpretation of Marxism. The Russian Revolution also profoundly affected U.S. society and politics. Lenin was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk, a town on the Volga River. The son of a government official, Lenin was a bright student. He entered Kazan University at Kazan in 1887. That same year his brother Alexander Ulyanov was hanged for taking part in an unsuccessful plot to kill Czar Alexander III, of Russia. Lenin was deeply influenced by his brother’s actions. Within three months, he was expelled from school for protesting the lack of freedom in the university. He moved to St. Petersburg and entered St. Petersburg University, from which he graduated with a law degree in 1891. During his academic period, Lenin studied the works of KARL MARX and his political philosophy, Marxism. In 1893 Lenin joined the Social Democratic group, which believed in Marxist principles. A gifted writer and speaker, Lenin soon traveled to Western Europe to meet with other Marxists. He was arrested by the czar’s police in 1896 for revolutionary activities and sent into Siberian exile in 1897. During his exile Lenin wrote one of his most important works, The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899). Lenin was allowed to leave Russia in 1900. He traveled to Germany, where he began writing for a revolutionary newspaper called Zarya (Dawn), which was smuggled into Russia. He took the pen name Lenin at this time, hoping to confuse the police. In 1902 he wrote what is considered a masterpiece of revolutionary orga- nization, What Is to Be Done? In this work Lenin advocated the use of a highly disciplined party of professional revolutionaries to lead the masses in an uprising against czarist Russia. This revolu- tionary party would serve as the “vanguard of the proletariat.” It would also assume supreme control during this revolutionary period. Disputes within Russian revolutionary cir- cles over Lenin’s ideas led to a split in 1903 between Lenin’s Bolshevik party and the Menshevik party, which favored moderation. Bolsheviks followed Lenin’s instructions to commit acts of TERRORISM within Russia. They also worked hard to organize TRADE UNION members and Russian sailors and soldiers. During most of WORLD WAR I Lenin stayed in Switzerland. When revolution broke out in Russia in March 1917, Lenin returned with the Under the Lend-Lease Act, U.S. equipment, food, and weapons were sent to allies during World War II, including these crates of TNT being stacked by British soldiers. CORBIS. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION LENIN, VLADIMIR ILYICH 299 aid of Germany, which hoped he would gain power and agree to a peace treaty. Accused of being a German AGENT by the provisional government, Lenin fled to Finland. He returned to Russia secretly in October 1917 and led the October Revolution, which toppled the provisional government and placed the Bolshe- viks in charge. Once in power Lenin moved quickly to eliminate all po litical opposition. He organized the Red Army (named after the color of the flag of the world Communist movement). The Red Army fought a CIVIL WAR with the Whites, who opposed one-party an d on e-man rule by Lenin. The civil war ended in 1922 , with the defeat of the White Army. During this period the U.S. g overnment supported the Whites, fearing that the Russian Revolution was a prelude to further Communist revolutions in Europe. This fear seemed confirmed in 1919 when Lenin formed the Communist Interna- tional to export revolution to the rest of the world. In 1919 and 1920, U.S. anxiety about the Russian Revolution and the dictatorship of Lenin produced a national hysteria that has come to be known as the first RED SCARE. President WOODROW WILSON’s attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer created an antiradicalism unit and appointed J. EDGAR HOOVER to run it. In late 1919 and early 1920, Palmer raided suspected revolutionaries and subversives. Most of these suspects were not U.S. citizens. The largest “Palmer raid” occurred on January 2, 1920, when 6,000 peop le were arrested. Palmer’s agents abused the constitutional rights of these people, searching homes without warrants, holding individuals without giving specific charges, and refusing access to legal counsel. Many aliens were deported because of their radical political views. Lenin’s revolutionary zeal was tempered by the need to defeat the Whites and to establish a national government in the wake of the loss of lives and resources in World War I. Faced with economic ruin, Lenin instituted in March 1921 his New Economic Policy. This policy aban- doned many socialist measures and permitted the growth of small businesses. Lenin also tried to get the United States and Europe to invest in the Soviet Union, but was refused because the Soviets had repudiated all foreign debts. The United States did, however, through its Com- mission for Relief, provide large amounts of food that may have helped save hundreds of thousands of lives. Lenin’s last years were marked by failing health and a concern about the direction of the Communist party and the Soviet Union. He worried about the increasing strength of the political bureaucracy and about Joseph Stalin’s plottings to succeed him. In May 1922 he suffered a stroke, then returned to work against his doctor’s advice. He suffered additional strokes in November 1922 and March 1923, the last one destroying his ability to speak clearly. Lenin died January 24, 1924, physically unable to appoint his successor. His body was preserved using special chemicals and placed in a tomb on Red Square in Moscow. FURTHER READINGS Lenin, Vladimir. 2004. The State and Revolution. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger. Available online at http://www. marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/state rev/index. htm; website home page: http://www.marxists.org (accessed August 7, 2009). Vladimir Lenin. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 300 LENIN, VLADIMIR ILYICH ———. 2002. Revolution at the Gates: A Selection of Writings from February to October 1917 by V.I. Lenin. London, England: Verso. Service, Robert. 2002. Lenin: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press. CROSS REFERENCE Communism. LEOPOLD AND LOEB TRIAL In 1924, the city of Chicago, Illinois, was shocked by the brutal and senseless murder of adolescent Bobby Franks. The crime resulted in a sensational murder trial wherein eminent attorney CLARENCE DARROW achieved a brilliant victory despite an overwhelming amount of incriminating evidence. Nathan Leopold (b. November 19, 1904, in Chicago, Illinois; d. August 29, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico), age 19, and Richard Loeb (b. June 11, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois; d. January 28, 1936, in Joliet, Illinois), age 18, college students from wealthy families, were regarded as unusually intelligent. Their extraordinary reasoning powers compelled them to construct and execute the perfect crime. They decided that kidnapping and murder would challenge their mental capacities to the fullest. The two young men plotted their crime in 1923. They chose the names Louis Mason and Morton Ballard as aliases and successfully stol e a typewriter from the University of Michigan to type a ransom note that would be difficult, if not impossible, to trace. By 1924 they had perfected their plan and accumulated their other necessities, including a chisel and acid. Leopold and Loeb chose their victim by chance. The ransom note, already typed, had not been addressed to anyone in particular, because the abduction of their victim would be a spontaneous happening. On May 21, 1924, Leopold and Loeb drove around in a rented car near the Harvard School, a private preparatory school in the Kenwood area of Chicago’s south side. The first possible victim was a youth named Levinson, who was an acquaintance of the two kidnappers. They drove around the block but lost sight of him. The next stude nt they saw was 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Bobby Franks knew Leopold and Loeb from the neighborhood, and when the two college students offered Bobby a ride home, the boy accepted. Once he was in the car he was bludgeoned to death with a chisel. On the way to dispose of the body, the two killers stopped for something to eat. They then proceeded to a deserted area of Chicago, where they dumped Bobby’s body. They buried his clothes and poured acid on his face to hinder positive identification. The Franks family was frantic with worry over their missing son. Leopold and Loeb began a ritual of telephone calls promising Bobby’s safe return upon receipt of $10,000. A ransom note delivered the nex t day confirmed this demand. As Mr. Franks was leaving to deliver the ransom money as directed by the kidnappers, he was notified that his son’s body had been found. An extensive police investigation ensued, but Leopold and Loeb had cleverly disposed of all evidence. The two men followed the events of the frustrating investigation and joined in local discussions concerning the case. There was one flaw in the perfect crime, and that was human frailty. A pair of glasses had Richard Loeb (left) and Nathan Leopold committed a murder that shocked Chicago in the 1920s. They later confessed, but prominent lawyer Clarence Darrow won life sentences rather than the death penalty for both of them. AP IMAGES GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION LEOPOLD AND LOEB TRIAL 301 been discovered near the site of the murdered boy’s body, and the prescription was traced to Nathan Leopold. Unperturbed, Leopold stated that he had been with his friend Richard Loeb on the day of the murder, and they had spent the day driving around Chicago in the car owned by the Leopold family. The glasses were lost during a day of birdwatching, which Leopold often pursued in conjunction with an ornithology class he was teaching. Because they were seldom used, he had not noticed that the glasses were missing. Leopold’s story was feasible, and his upstanding family and educa- tional background added to his credibility; he was released. More evidence began to emerge against Leopold and Loeb as the investigation contin- ued. A paper typed by Leopold for a class was discovered, and when it was compared to the typewritten ransom note, the type was suspi- ciously similar. Further investigation revealed that the Leopold family car, which Leopold and Loeb supposedly used the day of the murder, had not left the garage; this information was corroborated by the family chauffeur. Loeb panicked and confessed, forcing Leo- pold to do the same. They admitted that they had killed the boy for the excitement of committing a crime. The case against Leopold and Loeb was airtight. The confessions were authentic, and further evidence was elicited from the two men. The families of the killers appealed to promi- nent lawyer Clarence Darrow to defend the accused murderers. Darrow opposed the idea at first, but felt that Leopold and Loeb would be convicted more on an emotional level than on legal expertise. Darrow knew they were guilty but agreed to attempt to secure a sentence other than the applicable death penalty. The case came to court on July 21, 1924. Darrow requested that the case be decided solely by a judge, without a jury. Judge John R. Caverly consented. Leopold and Loeb pleaded guilty. They had been examined by psychiatrists and declared legally sane. Darrow decided that since he could not argue that they were insane, he would try to prove that the two men were mentally diseased, which would not excuse their guilt but could be a mitigating factor in their sentencing. Darrow appealed to the mercy of the court in deciding the punishment for Leopold and Loeb. The judge deliberated for ten days before rendering his decision. Leopold and Loeb were spared the death sentence and received sen- tences of life imprisonment. FURTHER READINGS Geis, Gilbert Geis, and Leigh B. Bienen. 2000. Crimes of the Century: From Leopold and Loeb to O. J. Simpson. Boston: Northeastern Univ. Press. Newman, Stephen A. 2000. “Leopold and Loeb.” New York Law Journal 223 (February 16). Payment, Simone. 2004. The Trial of Leopold and Loeb: A Primary Source Account. New York: Rosen. Sellers, Alvin V. 2003. The Loeb-Leopold Case: With Excerpts from the Evidence of the Alienists and Including the Arguments to the Court by Counsel for the People and the Defense. Clark, NJ: Lawbook Exchange. Available online at http://www.archive.org/details/loebleopolD.C. asew00loeb; website home page: http://www.archive.org (accessed August 7, 2009). LESBIAN RIGHTS See GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS. LESS DRASTIC MEANS TEST See LEAST RESTRICTIVE MEANS TEST. LESSEE One who rents real property or personal property from another. A lessee of land is a tenant. CROSS REFERENCE Landlord and Tenant. LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE A lesser crime whose elements are encompassed by a greater crime. A lesser included offense shares some, but not all, of the elements of a greater criminal offense. Therefore, the greater offense cannot be committed without also committing the lesser offense. For example, manslaughter is a lesser included offense of murder, ASSAULT is a lesser included offense of RAPE, and unlawful entry is a lesser included offense of burglary. The rules of CRIMINAL PROCEDURE permit two or more offenses to be charged together, regardless of whether they are misdemeanors or felonies, provided that the crimes are of a similar character and based on the same act or common plan. This permits prosecutors to GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 302 LESBIAN RIGHTS charge the greater offense and the lesser included offense together. Although the offenses can be charged together, the accused cannot be found guilty of both of fenses because they are both parts of the same crime (the lesser offense is part of the greater offense). When a defendant is charged with a greater offenseandoneormorelesserincluded offenses, the trial court is generally required to give the jury instructions as to each of the lesser included offenses as well as the greater offense. However, a defendant may waive his or her right to have the jury so instructed. If the jury finds guilt BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT as to a lesser i ncluded offense, but finds REASONABLE DOUBT as to the defendant’sguilt with regard to the greater offense, the court shouldinstructthejurythatitmayconvicton the lesser charge. It is not uncommon for a prosecutor and defendant to negotiate an agreement by which the defendant pleads guilty to the lesser included offense either before the trial begins or before the jury returns a verdict. Such a plea negotia- tion is generally acceptable to the prosecuting attorney because the evidence establishing guilt for the lesser included offense is usually strong. The defendant is generally willing to make such an agreement because the lesser included offense carries a less severe sentence. The notion of lesser included offenses developed from the common-law doctrine of merger. In the past, felony and misdemeanor trials in volved different procedur al rights. The merger doctrine determined an individual’s procedural rights at trial if the individual was charged w ith both a felony and a lesser included misdemeanor. In that circumstance the misde- meanor was considered to have merged with the felony, and felony procedural rights applied. The merger doctrine has be en repudiated in modern U.S. law because an accused’s proce- dural rights are essentially the same whether the accused is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. FURTHER READINGS Bergman, Barbara E., Teri Duncan, Nancy Hollander, and Melissa Stephenson. 2009. Wharton’s Criminal Proce- dure. 14th ed. Vol. 4. Eagan, MN: West. Holten, N. Gary, and Lawson L. Lamar. 1991. The Criminal Courts: Structures, Personnel, and Processes. New York: McGraw-Hill. Torcia, Charles E. 1995. Wharton’s Criminal Law. New York: Clark Boardman Callaghan. CROSS REFERENCES Criminal Law; Plea Bargaining. LESSOR One who rents real property or personal property to another. A lessor of land is a landlord. CROSS REFERENCE Landlord and Tenant. LET To lease certain property. CROSS REFERENCE Public Contract. LETTER OF CREDIT A written instrument from a bank or merchant in one location that requests that anyone or a specifically named party advance money or items on credit to the party holding or named in the document. When a LETTER OF CREDIT is used, repayment of the debti s guaranteed by the bank or merchant issuing it. For example, if a ban k is aware that a prominent citizen is trustworthy and can safely be relied upon to settle the debts which he or she incurs, then a letter of credit will be offered to that person on the basis of his or her good reputation so the person can travel without carrying large sums of money. Letters of credit w ere used frequently before credit cards and travelers’ checks were in common usage. LETTER OF THE LAW The strict and exact force of the language used in a statute, as distinguished from the spirit, general purpose, and policy of the statute. LETTER RULING In tax law a written interpretatio n of certain provisions of federal statutes by the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Tax laws are often the subject of dispute between U.S. taxpayers and the INTERNAL REVE- NUE SERVICE (IRS). Authority for interpreting the laws, which are found in the INTERNAL REVENUE CODE , rests with regional IRS agents, who have GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION LETTER RULING 303 A sample irrevocable letter of credit. ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING. We, ____________________________________________________________, hereby establish in favor of the State of West Virginia for the use of the Tax Commissioner of the State of West Virginia our Irrevocable Letter of Credit available by draft of the State Tax Commissioner drawn at this Bank at our banking house in ____________________________________________, for sums not exceeding _________________________________, for the account of _______________________________________,to provide indemnification to the Tax Commissioner adequate to secure compliance with the provisions of Chapter 11 of the West Virginia Code. 1. Hereunder ________________________________ are available to you, or your successor as Tax Commissioner, by drafts of the Tax Commissioner drawn on us if presented on or before ______________________________________. Drafts must be marked “Drawn Under Letter of Credit No. ________________________________, dated ______________________________________.” 2. Any draft hereunder shall be accompanied by a written certification by the Tax Commissioner that__________________________ _________________________________________ has failed to comply with the provisions of Chapter 11 of the West Virginia Code, that the Tax Commissioner has given _______________________________ , 15 days written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the default by ______________________________________________ in payment of any assessment which has become final and not subject to further appeal, and that ___________________________________ , has not cured such default within such fifteen day period. 3. All drafts drawn under and in compliance with the terms of this Letter of Credit will be duly honored upon delivery of documents as specified if presented on or before the current or a future date of expiration. 4. This Letter of Credit shall be automatically extended for additional periods of one year from the present or each future expiration date unless we notify you by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the above address at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date of this Letter of Credit that we intend not to extend it for another year (less one day) or to replace it with another similar Letter of Credit, and that following such notice you may immediately draw against this Letter of Credit, notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 2. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Date: _______________________________ _ (Current Commissioner) Tax Commissioner Capitol Building, W-300 Charleston, West Virginia 25305 RE: IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO.____________________________ Very truly yours, ___________________________________________________ (Financial Institution) By: ________________________________________________ WV/BRT-LOC Rev. 2/97 Dear Commissioner _________________________: (Financial institution) (City) (Amount) (Taxpayer) (Funds) (Date) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) 304 LETTER OF CREDIT GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION the power to review tax returns through an audit. If a taxpayer disagrees with an interpre- tation of the law, she or he may ask the national IRS office to issue a ruling on the point of contention. This statement is called a private LETTER RULING. Because of the time and expense involved in preparing a request for a letter ruling, such a request is seldom made. The taxpayer must submit a complete record of the transaction in dispute, including a justification for the trans- action, all pertin ent documents, the section of the tax code in question, and any relevant IRS regulations, rulings, and court precedents. Letter rulings are issued by the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of the IRS. They are numbered—for example, Private Letter Ruling 8616003. Each discusses the applicable facts before the IRS as well as the IRS ruling, but does not name the individual or organization that requested the ruling. After the ruling is issued to the regional office and the taxpayer, it is published by the IRS. Several thousand letter rulings are issued annu ally. The legal value of a letter ruling is extremely limited. The ruling applies only to the taxpayer who requested it and only for the year in which it is issued; federal tax law states that a letter ruling may not be used or cited by another taxpayer (I.R.C. § 6110(j)(3)). If the ruling favors the taxpayer, the regional IRS AGENT is bound by it. If the ruling is adverse, the taxpayer can submit the issue to a tax court. Since the 1930s courts have refused to give precedential weight to letter rulings. In the 1989 case of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity v. Commis- sioner of Internal Revenue, 887 F.2d 1302 (6th Cir.), a national fraternity appealing an order of the U.S. Tax Court based part of its argument on several letter rulings. In affirming the Tax Court’s decision, the appellate court des cribed the weight courts are to give letter rulings: “Although private letter rulings are helpful in determining the contours of tax statutes and may be considered when evaluating the consis- tency of application of statutes, such letter rulings have no precedential effect.” Despite the limited application of letter rulings, they are widely read by tax attorneys. Specialists use them to keep abreast of IRS interpretation, and the documents are available from electronic databases. FURTHER READINGS Banoff, Sheldon I., and Richard M. Lipton, eds. 1992. “Letter Ruling Held Relevant Authority in Malpractice Case.” Journal of Taxation 82 (April). “How to Obtain a Private Letter Ruling on a Tax Issue from the IRS?” 2009. WorldWideWeb Tax Web site. Available online at http://www.wwwebtax.com/audits/private_ letter_ruling.htm; website home page: http://www. wwwebtax.com (accessed September 6, 2009). Jellum, Linda D. 2008. Mastering Statutory Interpretation. Raleigh, NC: Carolina Academic. Kanter, Burton W., and Sheldon I. Banoff, eds. 1992. “Associate Chief Counsel Speaks Out on Letter Rulings.” Journal of Taxation 76 (January). Kaplin, William A., and Barbara A. Lee. 2009. A Legal Guide for Student Affairs Professionals. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. CROSS REFERENCES Income Tax; Taxation. LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION A formal document issued by a court of probate appointing a manager of the assets and liabilities of the estate of the deceased in certain situations. Courts are often asked to rule on the management of a deceased person’s estate. Generally, this is a routine matter for probate courts, which are created specifically for this purpose. Individuals generally determine the distribution of their estate in a will, which usually specifies an executor to carry out its directions. But where the decedent has left no will or the executor named in a will is unable or unwilling to serve, the courts must appoint an administrator. This appointment is made by issuing a short document called letters of administration, which is a decree that serves as evidence of the administrator’s authority. When an individual dies intestate (without a valid will or with no will at all), issues must be resolved involving the disposal of the decedent’s property, the settlement of debts and claims against the estate, the payment of estate taxes, and in particular the distribution of the estate to heirs who are legally entitled to receive it. These matters are resolved by following the laws of DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION, which are found in the statutes of all states. Essentially, these laws divide the decedent’s property according to well-established rules of inheritance based on blood relations, ADOPTION,orMARRIAGE.Inthe case of a person who has died intestate, the probate court appoints an administrator to distribute the property according to the relevant descent and distribution statutes. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION 305 A sample decree granting letters of administration. Granting Letters of Administration SURROGATE'S COURT - COUNTY CITATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by the Grace of God Free and Independent, TO A petition having been duly filed by _____________________________________________________________ , who is domiciled at _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ . YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate's Court, ________________________________________________ County, at _____________________________________, New York, on _________________________________________ , 20________ at_____________o'clock in the ________________________________noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ lately domiciled at _______________________________________________________________________________________________ in the County of _____________________________________________ , New York, granting Letters of Administration upon the estate of the decedent to _________________________________________________________or to such other person as may be entitled thereto. (State any further relief requested) HON. Dated, Attested and Sealed, Surrogate _______________________________________ , 20________ ___________________________________________________ (Seal) Chief Clerk Name of Attorney for Petitioner ________________________________ Tel. No. _____________________________________________ Address of Attorney _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Note: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney-at-law appear for you. [continued] GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 306 LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION Granting Letters of Administration SURROGATE'S COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ________________________________________________ X ADMINISTRATION PROCEEDING Estate of NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION (SCPA 1005) a/k/a ________________________________________________ X File No. _____________________________________________ Notice is Hereby Given That: (1) an application for Letters of Administration upon the estate of the above-named decedent, has been made by _________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ , petitioner, whose post office address is: ______________________________________________________________________________________ (2) each and every name of the intestate decedent known to the undersigned is as indicated in the above caption. (3) petitioner prays that a decree be made directing the issuance of Letters of Administration to _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (4) the name and post office address of each and every distributee of the above-named decedent, as set forth in the petition and known to the undersigned, are as follows: (a) Distributees who have been duly cited, have waived citation or have appeared in this proceeding: Name of Distributee Domicile and Post Office Address _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ (b) Other Distributees; Name of Distributee Domicile and Post Office Address _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ (CONTINUE ON REVERSE SIDE IF MORE SPACE NEEDED) (5) That the undersigned does not know of any other distributees of the said decedent. (6) That Letters of Administration will issue on or after __________________________________________ , 20_________ Dated: ___________________________________ , 20_____ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Tel No. ____________________________________________ Deceased Attorney for Petitioner Signature of Petitioner or Attorney Print Name Address (Office) Address [continued] A sample decree granting letters of administration (continued). GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION 307 . you. [continued] GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 3 06 LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION Granting Letters of Administration SURROGATE'S COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ________________________________________________. institution) (City) (Amount) (Taxpayer) (Funds) (Date) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) (Taxpayer) 304 LETTER OF CREDIT GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION the power to review tax returns through an audit. If a taxpayer disagrees with an interpre- tation of the law, she or he. Petitioner Signature of Petitioner or Attorney Print Name Address (Office) Address [continued] A sample decree granting letters of administration (continued). GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION LETTERS