PHILOS 3Q03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Testator
28 Sep 2017
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Riggs v palmer 1889: ny appellate court. Elmer palmer murders grandfather to render will operative before grandfather can change will. Dissenting opinion by justice gray: should the grandson (murdered grandfather) be allowed to inherit grandfather"s estate, no legislation/precedence to allow for altering a last will. This situation is unprecedented: court"s conclusion. No way for the testator to have agreed to his grandson inheriting his fortune under the circumstances he"s trying to. Concedes that the intention of a will as a final will, last decree before death. Justice earl (majority) opinion: strict adherence (plain meaning) to language of inheritance statute would require deciding in elmer"s favour. The letter of the law is clear in that the grandson is entitled to his property: but judges must do an equitable construction. Equitable construction: an interpretation of those statutes that enables one to satisfy the demand of equity, avoid some kind of manifest injustice. Statutory law: based on statutes originating from parliament/legislature.
