Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 32.djvu/609

573 RECENT CASES 573 on appeal does not contain all the evidence offered, a new trial will be granted. Barton v. Burbank, 119 La. 224, 43 So. 1014; State v. Huggins, 126 N. C. 1055, 35 S. E. 606. So, also, where by the death or illness of the trial judge the appellant cannot get his bill of exceptions signed and sealed. Hume v. Bowie, 148 U. S. 245; Sullivan v. White, 15 S. W. 126 (Texas). Or where the appellant is deprived of his biU of exceptions by the loss of the official stenographer's notes. Richardson v. State, 15 Wyo. 465, 89 Pac. 1027. See Mathews v. Mul- ford, 53 Neb. 252, 73 N. W. 661. Logically, the appellant must furnish a complete report of the evidence to give the appellate court jurisdiction to review the case. Morin v. Claflin, 100 Me. 271, 61 Atl. 782; Felheimer v. Eagle, 79 Ark. 201, 95 S. W. 139. Some courts, taking a middle ground, dis- miss the appeal if the appellant has made no effort, by proper proceedings in the lower court, to reinstate the lost part of the record. Buckman v. Whitney, 28 Cal. 555; Close v. Close, 28 Ore. 108, 42 Pac. 128. It is submitted that an arbitrary rule in favor of or against the appellant should not be adopted. But if the records were lost or destroyed long after the trial, so that the evi- dence or nilings of the court could not be recalled accurately enough to be re- instated, then justice would require a new trial. Otherwise, grave hardship would ensue, especially in criminal cases. Attorneys — Professional Ethics — Solicitation of Business by Means of Personal Letters. — An attorney made a practice of sending letters and then additional "follow-up" letters to business firms soliciting them to intrust him with their legal business. The letters contained no false or misleading statements, being merely requests for a trial on legal work. Held, that respondent's conduct merited censure and must cease. In re Gray, 172 N. Y. Supp. 648. In some states, it is a criminal offense for an attorney to advertise for divorce cases. 1915, Cal. Pen. Code, 74, § 1590; 1917, III. Rev. Stat., c. 40, § 21. Even where there is no such statute, such unprofessional conduct is held to be sufficient ground for suspension or disbarment. People ex rel. Maupin v. MacCabe, 18 Colo. 186, 32 Pac. 280; In re Schnitzer, 33 Nev. 581, 112 Pac. 848. Solicitation of legal business by means of paid agents or runners is conduct warranting suspension or disbarment. Chreste v. Commonwealth, 171 Ky. 77, 186 S. W. 919; In re Clark, 184 N. Y. 222, 77 N. E. i. The contracts for hiring such solicitors are void as against public policy. Langdon v. Conlin, 67 Neb. 243, 93 N. W. 389; Alpers v. Hunt, 86 Cal. 78, 24 Pac. 846. Contra, Vocke V. Peters, 58 111. App. 338. See 20 Harv. L. Rev. 576. Mere personal solicitation of clients, if accompanied by such objectionable features as false statements, mental incompetency, or distress of the person solicited, has been punished by the courts. In re Welch, 156 N. Y. App. Div. 470, 141 N. Y. Supp. 381 ; In re Lauterbach, 169 N. Y. App. Div. 534, 155 N. Y. Supp. 478. Recently, widespread advertising in newspapers and by means of printed circulars and folders in extravagant terms brought judicial censure on an attorney. In re Schwarz, 175 N. Y. App. Div. 335, 161 N. Y. Supp. 1079. But the principal case seems to be the first case where an attorney has been disciplined by a court for mere personal solicitation unconnected with fraud or the use of paid runners. The New York courts' thus giving official sanction to the Canons of Ethics of the American Bar Association should meet with the approval of the profession. Bills and Notes — Doctrine of Price versus Neal — Payment of Bill with Forged Bill of Lading Attached. — An order draft containing the words "value received and charge to the account of p^g.jyj j - bales of cotton" was sold to an exchange house with an order bill of lading attached