ABA Journal

Domestic Relations

34 ABA Journal Domestic Relations articles.

Protecting Polyamory: Municipalities expand rights, domestic partnerships to include nontraditional relationships

Polyamory is a slightly narrower form of consensual nonmonogamy in which people agree to have multiple, loving relationships openly and with full consent. Structure and agreements vary widely.

Colorado will license paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work

The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new rule that allows licensed nonlawyer paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work in some divorce and child-custody matters.

Colorado man faces $300K bond after suing, threatening multiple judges

A Colorado man still faces a $300,000 bond after being indicted by a grand jury on 24 counts, including criminal extortion, conspiracy and retaliation against a judge.

Federal judge rejects Trump’s quid-pro-quo DNA offer in suit by rape accuser

A federal judge in Manhattan, New York City, has ruled against former President Donald Trump after he belatedly offered to provide a DNA sample in a suit filed by a woman who accused him of sexual assault, in exchange for missing pages of a forensic analysis of the dress that his accuser says she wore on the day in question.

Heat-of-passion defense no longer available in slayings after infidelity disclosure, top state court says

The top court in Massachusetts has ruled that a murder defendant who kills a partner after being told of infidelity can’t use a heat-of-passion defense to lower the charge to voluntary manslaughter.

Lawyers for Trump and rape accuser square off over DNA offer

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump and a woman who accused him of sexual assault are fighting over his offer to provide a DNA sample in exchange for missing pages of a forensic analysis of the dress that she claims to have worn on the day in question.

5th Circuit looks to history and strikes down law banning gun possession by subjects of civil protective orders

A federal appeals court has struck down a ban on gun possession by people subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, citing the historical approach required by the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest Second Amendment precedent.

Judge discusses negotiating trauma and the law as chief tribal court judge of Yurok Nation

Judge Abby Abinanti was the first tribal woman to be admitted to the State Bar of California. For almost two decades, she served as a judicial officer for the San Francisco Superior Court, and Abinanti has been a Yurok tribal court judge since 1997.

$7M adultery penalty in postnuptial agreement is valid, appeals court says

A wife’s agreement to stay in a marriage after her husband’s adultery was adequate consideration for a $7 million penalty against him in a postnuptial agreement for any subsequent extramarital romantic relationship, a state appeals court has ruled.

Self-defense law doesn’t protect officer who shot at charging dog and injured child, top state court rules

A Kansas law allowing the use of deadly force against an aggressor does not protect people defending themselves who act recklessly and harm a bystander, the state’s top court has ruled.

After collaborating with bestselling author, judge discusses new solo book

After several collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson, Judge David Ellis of Illinois, a prolific novelist, decided to go it alone for his latest book, Look Closer.

Traci Feit Love continues to deliver pro bono services while negotiating through the trauma and injustices she witnesses

Lawyers have been organizing in large numbers during the last six years to offer pro bono legal services to immigrants, racial minorities and small businesses affected by COVID-19. The new post-Roe landscape is no different.

Lawyer gets suspension after posting secret nude photos of his then-wife

A Philadelphia lawyer will be suspended for three years after taking secret nude photos of his then-wife and posting them to the website wifelovers.com without her knowledge.

How to negotiate trauma during a lifetime of advocacy for domestic violence survivors

Anyone who’s studied domestic violence law is likely familiar with the woman who pioneered its study in law schools, wrote the textbook Domestic Violence Law and regularly testifies as a domestic violence expert witness. In a practice area most attorneys agree is emotionally draining and personally trying, Nancy K.D. Lemon has shown four decades of staying power.

ACLU lawyers reviewed op-ed that led to Johnny Depp’s defamation claim, its GC testifies

Several lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union reviewed the Washington Post op-ed by actress Amber Heard that led to actor Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against her, according to testimony by the organization’s general counsel last week.

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