Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 9 P25 pps

afire, doused in water, and whipped. As late as the 1820s, more than one hundred abolitionist groups operated in the slave states, but by the 1840s, virtually none was left. Slavers in the southern states also began to cultivate more ambitious rationales for African slavery. Slavery supporters cited essays written by the ancient Greek philosopher ARISTOTLE that declared that slavery was the natural order of things. Aristotle had claimed that slaves were slaves because they had allowed themselves to become enslaved. This was just and right, his theory continued, because if those with strong bodies (Africans, to U.S. slavers) performed the labor, those with upright bodies (European colonists and their descendants) woul d have the time and energy for technological and economic ad- vancement. U.S. slavery enthusiasts expanded on the theories of Aristotle and other philoso- phers to explain that it was the Africans’ lot in life to be slaves because it was inherent in their nature to be servile and hardworking. Other southern slavers forwent any philosophy of slavery and simply enjoyed the luxuries realized through the enslavement of Africans. Throughout the Civil War, President Lin- coln and the U.S. Congress were busy passing federal legislation on the subject of slavery. On Reparations T he U.S. government enacted the THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT to abolish slavery, but it has never formally apolo- gized to African Americans for their enslavement nor offered financial repara- tions to compensate them for their peonage. Since the end of the U.S. CIVIL WAR , there have been occasional calls by African Americans for reparations, but political and legal efforts have always failed. However, in the 1990s, a new movement for slavery reparations began to coalesce, led by a group of scholars and lawyers. This group has been encouraged by the payment of repara- tions to Jewish Holocaust victims by German corporations that employed slave labor and by the U.S. government’s payment of $60,000 to every Japanese American person held in detention camps during WORLD WAR II. Nevertheless, the slavery reparations issue arouses strong emotions in those opposed to the idea. In addition, legal doctrines make the prospect of court victories unlikely. The idea of reparations is rooted in the field order issued by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman as he con- quered several Southern states during the last months of the Civil War. Sherman’s order authorized the distribution of 40 acres of Southern land to each freed slave and the loan of a government mule to work the land. The promise of “40 acres and a mule” proved illusory, however, as Congress failed to ratify such a program. In short order, Southern whites reclaimed their land, and Southern blacks became sharecroppers, renting out land in return for a meager financial return. A reparations lawsuit against the U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT was dismissed in 1915, but in the 1920s Marcus Garvey made reparations part of his Black Na- tionalist program. In the 1950s and 1960s, Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, preached black separatism and called on the government to give blacks land as reparations for slavery. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, reparations were ignored, with leaders focusing on political and civil equality. However,bythelate1960s,anew,more radical form of black nationalism started to emphasize the need for economic justice. In 1969 James Forman issued a “Black Manifesto” that demanded $500 million as reparations “due us as people who have been exploited and degraded, brutalized, killed, and persecuted.” Again, reparations were ignored and the issue appeared dead. It was resurrected, how- ever, in 1989, when Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced a resolu- tion that sought to establish a commission that would study reparations for African Americans. The resolution went nowhere, but Conyers has continued to introduce it every year, to no avail. The modern debate over reparations began in earnest with the publication of Randall M. Robinson’s bestseller, The Debt: What America Owes Blacks. Robin- son argued that the value of slave labor over the course of 246 years of American slavery easily reached into the trillions of dollars. He noted that slaves picked and processed cotton, which fueled com- merce and industry throughout the United States. Robinson called on the government to establish independent community trust funds that would dis- tribute money into the community to fund black-owned businesses and to fund education and training programs. He disavowed the direct payment of repara- tions to individuals. Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree and other lawyers and scholars joined Robinson to form the Reparations Coordinating Committee. The committee has explored suing the U.S. government, and in 2002 it filed suit against several U.S. corpora- tions that allegedly profited from slavery during the nineteenth century. A 2001 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 228 SLAVERY August 6, 1861, Congress passed the Confisca- tion Act, which allowed the United States to lay claim to any property used in insurrection against it. Under this act, slaves who served in the Confederate army were to be set free upon capture by Union forces. In June 1862 Lincoln signed a bill passed by Congress that abolished slavery in all territories owned by the federal government. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, which declared that all slaves in the United States were free persons and that they were to remain free persons. In April 1865 the Confederate army surrendered to the Union forces. This event touched off a flurry of constitutional amend- ments. The THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT, which abolished slavery, was ratified by Congress on December 6, 1865. The FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, ratified July 9, 1868, was designed to, in part, establish former slaves as full citizens and ensure that no African American would be deprived of any of the privileges and immunities that come with citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment also deleted the offensive three- fifths ratio from the measurement of California law has aided the group’s efforts, for it requires all insurance companies doing business in California to report on any policies issued to slaveholders prior to 1865. A number of prominent companies revealed in their 2002 filings that they had issued slave insurance and thereby profited from slavery. However, in 2005, a federal district court dismissed the lawsuit. The debate over reparations has divided along racial lines. A 2002 opinion poll found that 80 percent of African Americans endorsed a formal apology for slavery from the U.S. government, and 67 percent were in favor of monetary repara- tions. This contrasted sharply with white respondents; 30 percent of whites sup- ported an apology, whereas only 4 percent thought that monetary compensation was appropriate. Opposition to reparations falls into three main arguments. First, opponents note that all former slaves are dead and that living descendants do not deserve payments for their ancestors’ losses. This is quite different from the U.S. government’spaymentstoliving Japanese Americans for their detention during World War II. A second objection is more practical: Who would get the money and how much w ould each per son receive? Critics point out that some African Americans were not slaves before the Civil Warandthatotherblacksimmigratedto the United States s ince the abolition of slavery. It would be exceedingly difficult to sort out the descendants of slaves. A third objection centers on making current white Americansliableforthesinsofthepast. Critics note that millions of people e ntered the United States from Europe, Asia, and South American between 1865 and the present. These individuals, as w ell as the descendants of non-slaveholding Ameri- cans, should not be forced to pay th eir tax dollars to compensate for a reprehensible system they had nothing to do with. In addition, s ome African American scholars have voiced concerns about the symbolic consequences of seeking reparations. They contend that this cause reinforces the role of blacks as victims and looks to the past rather than the future. Proponents of reparations respond by arguing that financial compensation will not go to individuals, thus eliminating the practical difficulties of identifying clai- mants. They also contend that slavery, along with the 100 years of repression and discrimination following the Civil War, have directly injured African Americans living today. They point out that the U.S. government is an ongoing organization that is responsible for its actions, whether or not individuals were present at the time of the actions in question. Finally, they believe that while the money is important, the demand for restitution will encourage the healing of old wounds. Many commentators believe that reparations will not be achieved through the legal system, due to various substan- tive and procedural doctrines. In Cato v. United States (70 F.3d 1103 [9th Cir: 1995]), a federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit that sought reparations and an apology from the U.S. government. The court found that it had no jurisdiction to consider the case. First, private citizens cannot sue the federal government under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Second, the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the suit because they could not show they were personally injured by slavery. The court made clear that generalized class-based grievances cannot be heard in a court of law. The court concluded that the plaintiffs should press their claims with Congress. Supporters of reparations dismissed the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of a resolution in 2009 that apologizes to African Americans for slavery and segre- gation. Ogletree stated that the resolution should not be a substitute for repara- tions, saying “That battle will be pro- longed.” FURTHER READINGS Horowitz, David. 2001. Uncivil Wars: The Controversy Over Reparations for Slavery. New York: Encounter. Robinson, Randall W. 2000. The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks. New York: Dutton. ———. 2000. The Reckoning: What Blacks Owe Each Other. New York: Dutton. Winbush, Raymond. 2003. Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations. New York: Amistad. CROSS REFERENCES Civil Rights Movement; Emancipation Proc- lamation; Reconstruction. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SLAVERY 229 populations in Section 2 of Article I, and declared that debts relating to the loss or emancipation of slaves were illegal and void. The FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT, ratified February 3, 1870, gave male African Americans and male former slaves the right to vote. African slavery in the United States contin- ued to haunt the country long after its abolition. In the North, SEGREGATION of African Americans from the European populations was a reality, if not sanctioned by law. Beginning in the 1880s, many southern states enacted BLACK CODES,orJIM CROW LAWS , which restricted the freedom of movement and expression of African Americans and enforced their segregation from the rest of society. Contemporary Issues Surrounding Slavery Notions of slavery in the United States have expanded to include any situation in which one person controls the life, liberty, and fortune of another person. All forms of slavery are now widely recognized as inherently immoral and thoroughly evil. Slavery still occurs in various forms, but when it does, accused offenders are aggressively prosecuted. Federal statutes punish by fine or imprisonment the enticement of persons into slavery (18 U.S.C.A. § 1583), and the holding to or selling of persons into INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE (§ 1584). In addition, whosoever builds a ship for slave carriage, serves on a ship carrying slaves, or owns a slave-carrying ship will be fined or imprisoned under 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1582, 1586, and 1587, respectively. The statute 18 U.S.C.A. § 1581 prohibits peonage, which is involu ntary servitude for the payment of a debt. Labor camps are perhaps the most common violators of the law against peonage. The operators of some labor camps keep victims for work in fields through impoverished conditions, threats, acts of vio- lence, and alcohol consumption. Offenders often provide rudimentary shelter to migrant workers and demand work in return, which can constitute involuntary servitude. An individual can also be convicted of sale into involuntary servitude for delivering victims under FALSE PRETENSES to such labor camps. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, much of the debate surrounding slavery related to move- ments urging the U.S. government to pay reparations to descendants of slaves. Supporters of this movement suggest that cash payments made to these descendants is justified to com- pensate the victims of slavery for years of hard- ship, harm, and indignities. Local governments in such cities as Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland have urged Congress to consider this form of payment. Opponents of reparations note that the costs of reparations, if given to the extent that some supporters urge, would cost the federal government trillions of dollars. Moreover, many critics question how these cash payments would be made and how recipients would be identified for receiving them. FURTHER READINGS Azmy, Baher. 2002. “Unshackling the Thirteenth Amend- ment: Modern Slavery and a Reconstructed Civil Rights Agenda. Fordham Law Review 71 (December). Harris, Leslie M. 2003. In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626–1863. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. Morgan, Edmund S. 2003. American Slavery—American Freedom. New York: Norton. Posner, Eric A., and Adrian Vermeule. 2003. “Reparations for Slavery and Other Historical Injustices.” Columbia Law Review 103 (April). Sealey, Geraldine. 2000. “Atoning for Slavery.” ABCNews. com. Available online at <abcnews.go.com/sections/us/ DailyNews/slavery000615. html> (accessed October 4, 2003). United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. 2001. Slavery throughout the World: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Second Session, September 28, 2000. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. CROSS REFERENCES Celia, a Slave; Civil Rights; Civil Rights Acts; Constitution of the United States; Douglass, Frederick; Fugitive Slave Act of 1850; Indentur e; Ku Klux Klan; Ku Klux Klan Act; Prigg v. Pennsylvania; Republican Party; States’ Rights; Taney, Roger Brooke. See also primary documents in “Slavery” section of Appendix. SLIP DECISION A copy of a judgment by the U.S. Supreme Court or other tribunal that is printed and distributed almost immediately subsequent to the time that it is handed down by the court. SLIP LAW A copy of a bill that is passed by a state legislature and endorsed by the governor, or passed by Congress and signed by the president, and is printed and distributed almost immediately. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 230 SLIP DECISION SMALL BUSINESS A type of enterprise that is independently owned and operated, has few employees, does a small amount of business, and is not predominant in its area of operation. A sole proprietor-owned small business features the smallest number of regula- tions compared to other types of businesses, but the owner is personally liable for the legal and financial issues that might come about, as opposed to corporations, where personal assets have some protections in place. CROSS REFERENCE Sole Proprietorship. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federal agency that seeks to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business. The SBA ensures that small business concerns receive a fair portion of federal government purchases, contracts, and subcontracts, as well as of the sales of government property. The agency is best known for its loans to small business concerns, state and local development companies, and the victims of floods or other catastrophes. The SBA was created by the Small Business Act of 1953 (67 Stat. 232 [15 U.S.C.A. § 631 et seq.]) and derives its present authority from this act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C.A. § 661). Financial Assistance The SBA provides guaranteed loans to small businesses to help them finance plant construc- tion, conversion or expansion, and acquire equipment, facilities, machinery, supplies, or materials. It also provides them with working capital. Since 1976, farms have been considered to be small business concern s. The SBA also provides loan guarantees to finance residential or commercial construction. The administration may finance small firms that manufacture, sell, install, service, or dev- elop specific energy measures. In an effort to reach more businesses, the SBA provides loans and grants to private, nonprofit organizations that, in turn, make small loans and provide technical assistance to small businesses. Through its SURETY Bond Guarantee Pro- gram, the SBA helps to make the contract bond- ing process accessible to small and emerging contractors who find bonding unavailable. A bond is posted as a guarantee that the contracted work will be performed. If the work is not performed, the money pledged in the bond will be used to cover the contractor’sdefault.The SBA program guarantees to reimburse the issuer of the bond up to 90 percent of losses incurred under bid, payment, or performance bonds issued to small contractors on contracts valued up to $1.25 million. Disaster Assistance The SBA lends money to help the victims of floods, riots, or other catastrophes who need to repair or replace disaster-damaged property. Direct loans with subsidized interest rates are made to assist individuals, homeowners, busi- nesses, and small agricultural cooperatives without credit elsewhere that have sustained substantial economic injury resulting from natural disasters. Investment Assistance The administration licenses, regulates, and provides financial assistance to small busine ss investment companies and section 301(d) licensees (formerly minority enterprise small business investment companies). The sole function of these investment companies is to provide venture capital in the form of EQUITY financing, long-term loan funds, and manage- ment services to small business concerns. Government Contracting The SBA works closely with the purchasin g agencies of the federal government and with the leading U.S. contractors in developing policies and procedures that will increase the number of contracts awarded to small businesses. The administration has a number of services that help small firms obtain and fulfill govern- ment contracts. It sets aside suitable govern- ment purchases for competitive award to small business concerns and provides an appeal procedure for a low-bidding small firm whose ability to perform a contract is questioned by the contracting officer. The SBA maintains close ties with prime contractors and refers qualified small firms to them. In addition, it works with federal agencies in setting goals for procuring prime contracts and subcontracts for small businesses, especially those owned by women and members of disadvantaged groups. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 231 Business Initiatives The SBA is recognized for its sustained effort to provide education, counseling, and information to small business owners and prospective own- ers. It has increasingly relied on forging partnerships with nongovernmental groups to deliver business education and training pro- grams at low cost. For example, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) provides one-on-one counseling free of charge. The Business Information Center (BIC) program is an innovative approach to providing a one-stop location for information, education, and training. Components of BIC include the latest computer hardware and software, an extensive small business reference library, and a collection of current management videos. The SBA also produces many pamphlets and other publications on a variety of business and management topics . It has also established SBA Online, a toll-free electronic bulletin board for small businesses. Minority Enterprise Development Sections 7(j) and 8(a) of the Small Business Act provide for the Minority Enterprise Develop- ment Program, designed to promote business ownership by socially and economically disad- vantaged persons. Participation is available to small businesses that are at least 51 percent unconditionally owned, controlled, and managed by one or more individuals determined by the SBA to be socially and economically disadvan- taged. Program participants receive a wide variety of services, including management and technical assistance, loans, and federal contracts. Advocacy The Office of Advocacy serves as a leading advocate within PUBLIC POLICY councils for the more than 25 million small businesses in the United States. The office, which is headed by the chief counsel for advocacy, lobbies Congress, the EXECUTIVE BRANCH, and state agencies concerning the interests and needs of small business. The office also is a leading source of information about the state of small business and the issues that affect small business success and growth. Women’s Business Ownership The Office of Women’s Business Ownership (OWBO) provides assistance to the increasing number of female business owners and acts as their advocate in the public and private sector. It is the only office in the federal government specifically targeted to female business owners, assisting them through technical, financial, and management information and business training, skills counseling, and research. The OWBO has established 54 training centers in 28 states and the District of Colum - bia, which provide community-based training for women at every stage of their entrepreneur- ial careers. In addition, the office created the Women’s Network for Entrepreneurial Train- ing, a one-year mentoring program linking experienced entrepreneurs with women whose businesses are poised for growth. This program is designed to help women avoid the common mistakes of new business owners. Small Business Development Centers Small Business Development Centers provide counseling and training to existing and pro- spective small business owners. The 950 centers operate in every state, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. Each center is a partner with state government in economic development activities to support and assist small businesses. Threats to the SBA Between 1953 and 2009, SBA programs assisted almost 25 million small businesses. The SBA continues to increase participati on by minority- owned businesses by means of its minority small business program and publication of informational materials in Spanish. During the 1990s and early 2000s, several attempts to eliminate the SBA failed. Although the agency survived the 1990 s by receiving a substantial increase to its budget in 2000, the administration of President GEORGE W. BUSH made several efforts to cut the SBA’sloan program. The economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 also affected the SBA. In 2008 the secondary market for SBA loans froze, meaning that many lenders became hesitant to issue SBA-backed loans to small businesses. The SBA has estimated that roughly half the banks that offer SBA loans resell them, so when the market dried up, small business owners had fewer options. As the administration of President BARACK OBAMA began to implement economic recovery plans, the SBA became part of the strategy. In June 2009 the SBA announced that it would make several GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 232 SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION thousand deferred-payment loans to small businesses having trouble during the crisis. The SBA has its headquarters in Washing- ton, D.C. It maintains ten regional offices and has field offices in most major U.S. cities. FURTHER READINGS Bean, Jonathan J. 2001. Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration. Lexington: Univ. Press of Kentucky. O’Hara, Patrick D. 2002. SBA Loans: A Step-by-Step Guide. 4th ed. New York: Wiley. Small Business Administration. Available online at http:// www.sba.gov/ (accessed June 10, 2009). U.S. Government Manual Website. Available online at http:// www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/ (accessed June 10, 2009) CROSS REFERENCES License; Small Business. SMALL CLAIMS COURT The small claims court is a special court, some- times called conciliation court, that provides expeditious, informal, and inexpensive adjudica- tion of small claims. Every state has established a small claims or conciliation court to resolve legal disputes involving an amount of money that is less than a set dollar amount. At one time, $1,000 was the limit. However, many courts have raised the limit to $3,000, and a few will hear disputes involving amounts of up to $7,500 or more. Small claims courts and the rules that govern them emphasize informality and timely resolu- tion of disputes. Most parties represent them- selves in small claims court, in part because the facts of the dispute are simple and partly because it makes little economic sense to pay attorneys’ fees. In addition, many states prohibit attorneys from appearing at the court hearing; they may, however, organize the evidence and coach the client on what to say in court. The first small claims court was created in Cleveland in 1913. Within a few years every state had such a court of limited jurisdiction. Small claims courts are attractive for consumers who want to collect a small debt or recover damages for a faulty product or for shoddy service. However, small claims courts are used heavily by businesses and PUBLIC UTILITIES that want to collect payments from customers for unpaid bills. In a single court session, a department store, utility company, or hospital may obtain judgments against a long list of debtors, making the process very economical. To bring an action in small claims court, a person must complete a form that is available from the local COURT ADMINISTRATOR. The person must provide the correct names and addresses of all defendants, make a simple statement of the dispute, and state a claim for the amount of money involved. As PLAINTIFF in the action, the person must pay a small filing fee, usually less than $100, to the court administrator. If the plaintiff is successful in the lawsuit, he can recover the filing fee from the DEFENDANT, together with any money awarded. A copy of the plaintiff’s statement must be properly served upon the defendant or the action will be dismissed. In some states a deputy sheriff or a PROCESS SERVER must personally serve a small claims court summons and complaint for a small fee. In many states, however, service can be accomplished by mailing a copy of the complaint to the defendant. In these jurisdic- tions it is essential to have an accurate name and address for the defendant. When the defendant is a corporation, a plaintiff can check with the office of the state’s SECRETARY OF STATE or corporate registration department to obtain the correct addre ss because a corporation must register the name and address where it can be served with legal process. No restriction ordinarily exists on the type of individual or business that can be sued in small claims court, but a defendant must live, work, or have an office within the area served by the court. Once the defendant is served with the statement, she will be on notice that a hearing has been scheduled on the matter. A defendant may file a COUNTERCLAIM growing out of the same dispute against the plaintiff. For example, a plaintiff sues a landscape contractor for planting diseased and dying trees. The plaintiff asks for money to pay to have the trees rem oved and for a refund of money already paid to the contractor. The contractor could file a counter- claim, disputing the plaintiff’s allegations and demanding payment still owed by the plaintiff. Hearings may be conducted by a judge or by a judicial officer who is not a judge but is usually an attorney. Some sessions of small claims court may be held in the evening so that people need not miss work to attend court. Generally there is no jury, and the judge or judicial officer will make a decision at the end of the presentation of the evidence. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SMALL CLAIMS COURT 233 The informality of small claims court extends to courtroom procedure. The rules of CIVIL PROCEDURE and evidence, which in other courts must be rigorously followed, are generally relaxed in small claims court. Nevertheless, HEARSAY testimony (where one witness attempts to tell what another person said) is not admitted. Most small claims courts also will not allow affidavits or notarized statements into evidence because the other side cannot cross-examine the witness. Therefore, a party must bring witnesses to testify to events that they have observed. A sample application to file a small claims (commercial) complaint. ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING. Application to File a Small Claim APPLICATION TO FILE SMALL CLAIM/COMMERCIAL CLAIM ________________________________________ CITY COURT: COUNTY OF _________________________________________ FILING FEE - Money Order, Certified Bank Checks or Cash only (No Personal or Business Checks accepted) Type of Claim: Filing Fee: (Check one) Small Claim $15.00 - Claim of $1,000 or less __________ (Individual suing individual or company) $12.00 - Claim exceeding $1,000 __________ Commercial Claim $25.00 + $5.98 postage __________ (Company suing company or individual - see reverse for limitation on number of filings and required Certificate of Authority)(A separate $5.32 postage fee is required for each defendant named) Consumer Transaction $25.00 + $5.98 postage __________ (Company suing individual - see reverse for definition of Consumer Transaction, limitation on number of filings, Certificate of Authority and Demand Letter Certification)(A separate $5.32 postage fee is required for each defendant named) Counterclaim $5.00 + $ .44 postage __________ Date: __________________________________________________ Name of Claimant (list all necessary parties): __________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address (if commercial claim, give Principal Office Address) Telephone no.: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ (Work) (Home) against Name of Defendant (list all necessary parties): _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address (Home or Bus./Place of Employment must be in County) (Telephone no.) Amount of Claim $ _____________________________ (Do not include filing fee) Name of Claim to include all pertient information including descriptions, dates, addresses, etc. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Date Signature of Person Filing Claim GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 234 SMALL CLAIMS COURT Once the court makes a decision, the losing party has a period of time to file an appeal. The appealing party must pay a filing fee to initiate the new review, which in most states results in a new trial befor e a court of GENERAL JURISDICTION. The new trial will be conducted with more formality. If the losing party does not appeal the case, judgment will be entered for the winning party. Once judgment is entered, the losing party can voluntarily pay the amount awarded. If the losing party refuses to pay, the party holding the judgment can take steps to make the judgment collectible. A court can enter an order authoriz- ing the sheriff to serve a writ of execution on the losing party. This writ permits the sheriff to seize and sell assets to pay the judgment. Though small claims court is an attractive option for many persons, it is not designed to handle complicated LITIGATION or areas of the law that deal with human relationships. Thus, small claims courts do not hear DIVORCE, CHILD SUPPORT , or other FAMILY LAW cases. FURTHER READINGS Lebovits, Gerald. 1998. “Equal Justice, Cornerstone of Freedom, May Be Found in Small Claims Court.” New York Law Journal (May 1). Warner, Ralph. 2010. Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court. 13th ed. Berkeley, Calif.: Nolo. SMART MONEY Vindictive, punitive, or exemplary damag es given by way of punishment and example, in cases of gross misconduct of a defendant. SMITH ACT The Smith Act (54 Stat. 670) of 1940 pro- scribed, among other things, the advocacy of the forcible or violent overthrow of the govern- ment. The act became the analogue of the New York Criminal Anarchy Act sustained in GITLOW V. NEW YORK (268 U.S. 652, 45 S. Ct. 625, 69 L. Ed. 1138 [1925]). New York had passed that law in 1902, shortly after the assassination of President WILLIAM MCKINLEY. Between the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of 1939, the House of Representatives drafted the Smith Act because of a fear that there might be a repetition of the anarchist agitation that had occurred in 1900 or the antipathy toward alien radicalism that had surfacedin1919. Congress was also concerned about Nazi or Communist subver- sion after war broke out in Europe. Under a 1956 amendment to the Smith Act, if two or more persons conspire to commit any offense described in the statute, each is subject to a maximum fine of $20,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years, or both, and is ineligible for employment by the United States or its agencies for five years after conviction. The Smith Act, as enacted in 1940, contained a CONSPIRACY provision, but effective September 1, 1948, the Smith Act was repealed and substan- tially reenacted as part of the 1948 recodification, minus the conspiracy provision. On June 25, 1948, the federal general conspiracy statute (18 U.S.C.A. § 2385) was passed, effec tive September 1 , 1948, which contained the same provisions as the deleted conspiracy section of the original Smith Act except that the showing of overt acts was required and the maximum penalty became five years’ imprisonment instead of ten. The general conspiracy statute be came operative, with respect to conspiracies to violate the Smith Act, substantially in the sa me manner and t o the same extent as previously. The conspiracy provisions of the Smith Act and its provisions defining the substantive offenses have been upheld. An intent to cause the overthrow of the government by force and violence is an essential element of the offenses. The advocacy of peaceful change in U.S. social, economic, or political institutions, irrespective of how fundamental or expansive or drastic such proposals might be, is not forbidden. A conspiracy can exist even though the activities of the defendants do not culminate in an attempt to overthrow the government by force and violence. A conspiracy to advocate overthrow of the government by force or violence, as distinguished from the advocacy itself, can be constitutionally restrained even though it consists of mere preparation because the existence of the conspiracy creates the peril. An agreement to advocate forcible overthrow of the government is not an unlawful conspiracy under the Smith Act if the agreement does not call for advocacy of action; the act covers only advocacy of action for the overthrow of the government by force and violence rather than advocacy or teaching of theoretical concepts. Those to whom the advocacy is directed must be urged to do something, immediately or in the future, rather than merely to believe in a doctrine. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SMITH ACT 235 A Smith Act conspiracy requires an agreement to teachpeopletoengageintangibleactiontoward the violent overthrow of the existing government as soon as possible. An individual DEFENDANT cannot be convicted of willful adherence to a Smith Act conspiracy unless something said by the defendant or communicated to another person manifests the person’s understanding that, beyond supporting the idea and objective of violent overthrow of the existing government, particular action to that end is to be advocated. Advocacy of immediate action is not necessary; advocacy of action at a crucial time in the future when the time for action would seem ripe and success would seem achievable is sufficient. There must be a plan to use language reasonably calculated to incite the audience to employ violence against the govern- ment. The use of lawful speech, an agreement to share abstract revolutionary doctrine, and an agreement to use force against the government in the future do not constitute a conspiracy to use illegal language. Cooperative action on the part of a number of persons comprising a political party having as its goal the overthrow of the government by force and violence violates the conspiracy provision. The membership clause of the Smith Act has also been the subject of controversy. Although the Smith Act does not proscribe mere membership in an organization that advocates the forcible overthrow of the government as a theoretical matter, it does cover active members who, with a CULPABLE knowledge and intent, engage in significant action to achieve this objective or commit themselves to undertake such action. Present advocacy of future action for violent overthrow violates the Smith Act, but an expression of sympathy with the purported illegal conduct is not within the ambit of the statute. Guilt cannot be imputed to a person solely on the basis of his associations. Though Congress has never formally repealed the Smith Act, the SUPREME COURT has not upheld a prosecution under the act since 1961. In Scales v. United States (367 U.S. 203, 81 S. Ct. 1469, 6 L. Ed. 2d 782 [ 1961]), the Court upheld the prosecution of a member of the Communist Party. FURTHER READINGS Belknap, Michal R. 2005. The Supreme Court under Earl Warren, 1953–1969. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. Cohan, John Alan. 2003. “Seditious Conspiracy, the Smith Act, and Prosecution for Religious Speech Advocating the Violent Overthrow of Government.” St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary 17 (winter-spring). CROSS REFERENCES Anarchism; Communism; Dennis v. United States; Red Scare. v SMITH, MARY LOUISE Mary Louise Smith was a REPUBLICAN PARTY activist who became the first woman to serve as head of the party’s national committee. Though she was a political moderate, Smith’sadvocacyof ABORTION rights and the EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA) during the 1970s ran counter to the ideology of the party’s conservative majority. Her outspoken manner disturbed the Republican Party leadership, which sought to bar her from the 1996 Republican National Convention. Smith was born on October 16, 1914, in Eddyville, Iowa. She attended Iowa State University, graduating with a degree in social work in 1935. She married Elmer M. Smith, a physician, and moved with him to Eagle Grove, Iowa. Smith raised three children and soon ▼▼ ▼▼ Mary louise Smith 1914–1997 1900 1950 1975 2000 1925 ❖ ❖ 1914 Born, Eddyville, Iowa 1935 Graduated from University of Iowa 1935–36 Worked for Iowa Emergency Relief Administration 1974–77 Served as first woman chair of Republican National Committee ◆ ◆ 1976 Became the first woman to organize and launch a national presidential nominating convention of a major U.S. party 1977 Inducted into Iowa Women's Hall of Fame 1986 Founded the Iowa Peace Institute ◆ 1986–92 Served on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa ◆ 1995 Iowa State University established the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics 1997 Died, Des Moines, Iowa 1914–18 World War I 1939–45 World War II 1961–73 Vietnam War ◆ ◆ 1964 Became alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention; elected to the Republican National Committee ◆ 1980 Appointed to U.S. Civil Rights Commission GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 236 SMITH, MARY LOUISE became active in loca l politics, winning a seat on the Eagle Grove school board. Smith’s life changed when she began to work in the local Republican Party organization. Soon she was working at the county and state levels, becoming the leader of the Iowa Federa- tion of Republican Women. In 1964 Smith became the altern ate delegate to the Republican National Conv ention and vice-chair of the Iowa presidential campaign of the party’s nominee, Senator BARRY M. GOLDWATER of Arizona. In that same year, Smith was elected to the Republican National Committee, the party’s most powerful leadership organization. Smith remained a member of the Republi- can National Committee during the 1960s and early 1970s. After President RICHARD M. NIXON resigned from the presidency in 1974 because of his involvement in the WATERGATE scandals, President GERALD R. FORD sought to restore the credibility of the Republican Party and separate it from the scandals of the Nixon administra- tion. One step he took to accomplish these objectives was to appoint Smith as chair of the Republican National Committee in 1974. As the first woman to head a major U.S. political party, Smith drew national attention for her commit- ment to abortion rights and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1976 Smith was the first woman to organize and call to order a national presidential nominating convention of a major political party. President Ford won the Republican nomination, turning back an attempt by con- servatives to nominate RONALD REAGAN, then governor of California. JIMMY CARTER defeated Ford in the November election, though, and in 1977 Smith resigned as chair of the party. She remained on the national co mmittee until 1984. President Reagan appointed Smith to the U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION in 1980 but soon regretted his action. Smith publicly criticized Reagan for his policies on CIVIL RIGHTS and the lack of women in his administration. Because of her criticisms, Smith was not re-ap pointed to the commission in 1983. Smith returned to Iowa and continued to seek a more moderate course for Republican politics, which was dominated by political and social conservatives. Though the ERA failed to be ratified by its 1982 deadline, Smith continued to advocate equal rights for women. She also became an outspoken proponent for GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS. By 1996 Smith had been pushed to the margins of the Republican Party. Party leaders sought to exclude her from the 1996 Repub lican National Convention because delegates feared she might make public statements that were out of step with party ideolo gy. At the last minute, a party leader secured her entrance to the con- vention floor by giving her a ticket as a member of the convention’s security personnel. Though outspoken, Smith was an admired figure in Iowa politics. As founder of the Iowa Women’s Political Caucus, she was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1991 Smith created the Women’s Archives project at Iowa State University, and in 1995 the university honored her by creating the Mary Louise Smith endowed chair in women and politics. Smith died on August 22, 1997, in Des Moines, Iowa. FURTHER READINGS Orduna, Arthur. “Smith Wants to Take Back GOP.” Des Moines Business Record (August 31, 1992). Schultz, Jeffrey D., and Laura van Assendelft, eds. 1998. Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Smith, Mary Louise (1914–1997). Papers and biography at Iowa Women’s Archives Online. Available at http:// www.sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/findingaids/html/Smith MaryLouise.htm; website home page: http://www.sdrc. lib.uiowa.edu (accessed August 26,2009). CROSS REFERENCES Abortion; Equal Rights Amen dment; Women’s Rights. v SMITH, ROBERT Robert Smith was a lawyer and statesman who served as attorney general of the United States under President THOMAS JEFFERSON and as SECRE- TARY OF STATE under President JAMES MADISON. Smith’s father, John Smith, a native of Strabane, Ireland, immigrated to the American colonies in the 1740s. By 1759, he was living in Baltimore and had established himself as a merchant and shipping agent. In 1766, he financed the building of Baltimore’s first market house and the development of the city’s first residential neighborhood. He was an advocate of independence for the American colonies and active in politics and the military. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SMITH, ROBERT 237 . louise Smith 191 4– 199 7 190 0 195 0 197 5 2000 192 5 ❖ ❖ 191 4 Born, Eddyville, Iowa 193 5 Graduated from University of Iowa 193 5–36 Worked for Iowa Emergency Relief Administration 197 4–77 Served. judge or judicial officer will make a decision at the end of the presentation of the evidence. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SMALL CLAIMS COURT 233 The informality of small claims. Reconstruction. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION SLAVERY 2 29 populations in Section 2 of Article I, and declared that debts relating to the loss or emancipation of slaves were illegal