Family Law

Private law firm to handle city’s court-appointed indigent cases; will this improve current ‘mess’?

In a controversial plan, the city of Philadelphia is planning to retain a private law firm to handle all court-appointed defense work for indigent individuals at an expected savings of $1 million annually. But will this be an improvement on an indigent-defense system that many see as flawed? The issue…

Oct 8, 2013 7:15 PM CDT

‘Legal limbo’ for foster child seeking abortion? Neb. decision doesn’t decide who must give consent

The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled a foster child must get the consent of a parent or guardian for an abortion, but it did not reach the issue of who can give that consent. The court majority upheld a finding that the girl did not sufficiently establish she has the…

Oct 8, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Noncustodial parents not responsible for college costs of adult children, court says

The Alabama Supreme Court has reversed a 1989 decision requiring noncustodial parents to help pay college expenses for their adult children. The court, in a 6-2 decision (PDF) Friday, said the 1989 ruling failed to recognize the “ordinary and common-law definition” of a child as a minor, which the state…

Oct 7, 2013 7:41 PM CDT

A child can have two legal mothers, Nevada Supreme Court says

A child born in Nevada can have two legal mothers, the Nevada Supreme Court has declared in a dispute over custodial rights between two women. The court overturned a ruling that found the co-parenting agreement signed by the one-time partners was unenforceable as a matter of law. How Appealing notes…

Oct 7, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Brain-injured man can’t marry, judge rules

An Illinois man who suffered a brain injury during surgery in 2009 can’t marry his girlfriend of 38 years because he doesn’t have the capacity to consent, a Rockford judge has ruled. Judge Lisa Fabiano says she has no doubt that John Morris would like to marry long-time girlfriend, Colette…

Oct 7, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Alleged name-calling not defamation, judge says in dismissal of NJ lawyer’s suit against ex-wife

A judge has dismissed a New Jersey lawyer’s defamation suit against his ex-wife. Ocean Township lawyer Mark Kentos had sued his ex-wife, Kelly, for remarks he says she made about him in front of one of his clients, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. According to the suit, Kelly Kentos…

Oct 3, 2013 7:45 PM CDT

Oct. 21, 2003: Florida enters the Terri Schiavo case

In 1998, after eight years watching his wife wither in a persistent vegetative state, Michael Schiavo petitioned a Florida court to remove the feeding tubes that were keeping her alive. Though her doctors offered little to no hope of recovery from cardiac arrest, Terri Schiavo’s parents—Robert and Mary Schindler—objected, continuing…

Oct 1, 2013 5:30 AM CDT

Court fight over reclusive heiress Huguette Clark’s $300 million estate ends

A bitterly fought court battle over a reclusive heiress’ $300 million estate has been settled. Under the terms of the settlement, most of Huguette Clark’s estate will go to arts charities and distant relatives, the Associated Press and the Daily Mail report. The settlement, which has been filed in court,…

Sep 27, 2013 10:15 PM CDT

New Jersey trial judge orders state to recognize same-sex marriage

A New Jersey trial judge Friday granted an emergency motion ordering the state to recognize gay marriage. Current law only recognizes civil unions, the Star-Ledger reports, and Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s order (PDF) is expected to be appealed. The action (PDF) was filed after the U.S. Supreme…

Sep 27, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

Judge allows abortion to be used as evidence in high-profile child-custody case

A family court judge in Manhattan has stirred up a firestorm of public criticism by allowing questioning of the ex-wife of a man who heads a Texas bank about an abortion in a child-custody case. High-powered divorce attorney Eleanor Alter, who represents the woman’s ex-husband, Manuel John Mehos, said she…

Sep 25, 2013 8:26 PM CDT

Baby Veronica is returned to adoptive parents after Oklahoma supremes lift stay

Corrected: The 4-year-old girl known as Baby Veronica is back with her adoptive parents after the Oklahoma Supreme Court lifted a stay (PDF) that had kept the child with her father, Dusten Brown. The girl has been the subject of legal appeals that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled…

Sep 24, 2013 6:56 PM CDT

Spousal privilege doesn’t apply to woman testifying in same-sex partner’s murder trial, judge rules

Kentucky doesn’t allow same-sex marriages or civil unions, or recognize those that occur in other states. But even if it did, that wouldn’t mean that a woman who prosecutors say heard her same-sex partner admit to killing a man and saw her cleaning blood from his van a couple of…

Sep 23, 2013 11:15 PM CDT

Baby Messiah regains moniker

A Tennessee court on Wednesday reversed a magistrate’s change of name for an 8-month-old baby named Messiah by his parents, finding that it was not the lower court’s job to overrule the name on which his parents had agreed. However, the latest ruling in the Cocke County Chancery Court case…

Sep 18, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Daughter of courthouse shooter held without bail in ‘unique’ cyberstalking case

The daughter of a man who reportedly shot his former daughter-in-law and another woman to death at a Delaware courthouse before committing suicide earlier this year is being held without bail in what a lawyer for another defendant has called a “unique” cyberstalking case. Amy Gonzalez, 41, was denied bail…

Sep 17, 2013 5:10 PM CDT

Lawyer suspended for ‘illegal alien’ comment

An Indiana lawyer has been suspended for 30 days for a comment about the immigration status of his divorce client’s spouse in a letter sent to opposing counsel and the judge in the case. The lawyer, Joseph B. Barker, wrote the letter in 2009 to protest his client’s lack of…

Sep 17, 2013 10:40 AM CDT