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31 Mo. L. Rev. 249 (1966)
Rules Are Made to Be

handle is hein.journals/molr31 and id is 261 raw text is: RULES ARE MADE TO BE WILLIAM L. HUNGATE* To what extent do procedural requirements govern the substantive content of legislation enacted by the United States Congress? Lawyers acquainted with the consequences of suing in tort or as- sumpsit, when their client bit into a tack while eating blueberry pie or chewed a stone in a bowl of beans,1 well realize the homage our courts sometimes pay to procedure. What legal scholar hasn't savored the his- torical dilemma of whether to sue in trespass or trespass on the case? And, if the case is not your own, you can currently enjoy the subtle but significant difference in a judgment depending on whether it was taken as a summary judgment, a default judgment, or a judgment on the pleadings. When our own case or judgment is lost because of some procedural insufficiency, we may deplore those who worship dry form to the detri- ment of substantive merits. Nonetheless, if custody of a child is sought, would anyone criticize a court that dismissed the action because it was brought in replevin instead of by way of habeas corpus? For many years Professor Ralph J. Baker at Harvard Law School taught a course in trusts in which he demonstrated nearly every conceiv- able problem which could arise, simply by carefully examining five or six well chosen cases. I hope to demonstrate some of the procedural pitfalls and the importance of understanding parliamentary procedure in the United States House of Representatives by the discussion of one bill. The bill was introduced in the United States Senate as S. 11182 two days after an identical bill was introduced in the House as H.R. 4644.s *LL.B. 1948, Harvard University. United States Congressman, Ninth District, Missouri. 1. Ash v. Childs Dining Hall Co., 231 Mass. 86, 120 N.E. 396 (1918) (tack in blueberry pie, action in tort; no negligence shown, no recovery); Friend v. Childs Dining Hall Co., 231 Mass. 65, 120 N.E. 407 (1918) (stone in beans, action in contract breach of warranty; recovery permitted). Both decisions were issued by the same court on the same day. 2. 111 CONG. REc. 2546 (daily ed. Feb. 11, 1965). 3. 111 CONG. REc. .2414 (daily ed. Feb. 9, 1965). (249)

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