Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1968
Abstract
In an earlier article in this journal, I sketched and discussed the Dakota Civil Code as originally drafted for New York by David Dudley Field, the historical and conceptual background into which the work was cast, and some of the departures made in the Code from what appear to have been then generally accepted common law classifications, terminology and substantive rules. In this sequel I propose to consider the history of the Code after its completion in 1865 by Field's commission, concentrating on three jurisdictions: New York, where it was rejected after twenty-five years of wearying debate, amendment, parliamentary maneuver, and gubernatorial veto; California, where it was adopted in 1872 and where by virtue of a larger population, varied economy, and fairly high volume of litigation it was put to the severest test; and the Dakotas, where it was first adopted in 1866, periodically revised, and eventually dissolved into a consolidated code covering all subjects in an alphabetically arranged key-word format.
Recommended Citation
William B. Fisch, The Dakota Civil Code: More Notes For An Uncelebrated Centennial, 45 N.D. L. Rev. 9 (1968)