Family Law

Man Sues Fertility Clinic, Claims Ex-Girlfriend Used Stolen Sperm to Get Pregnant

A New York man claims in a lawsuit against a Texas fertility clinic that his ex-girlfriend used in-vitro fertilization to get pregnant with sperm from their used condoms. The plaintiff, telecommunications manager Joseph Pressil, tells the New York Post he learned about the scheme last February when he got a…

Nov 28, 2011 3:27 PM CST

Suit Claims DA Overreacted by Accusing Boy, 6, of Sex Assault over Game of Doctor

A federal civil rights lawsuit claims a district attorney in southwest Wisconsin overreacted when she accused a 6-year-old boy of sexual assault over a game of doctor. The suit, filed in federal court in Madison earlier this month, claims Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker violated the boy’s civil rights…

Nov 28, 2011 1:27 PM CST

Judge Marries Couple at Coffee Shop After Bomb Threat Closes City Hall

A judge helped a Michigan couple keep their wedding date after a bomb threat closed Lansing City Hall on Friday morning. Jeremy and Robin Morey ended up at a coffee shop when they couldn’t get into court offices at city hall, LSJ.com reports. Also at the coffee shop were Judge…

Nov 21, 2011 5:38 PM CST

Seattle Lawyer Who Allegedly Threatened to Kill Judge to Get 20 Months in Subsequent Home-Arson Case

A Washington attorney literally acting as his own jailhouse lawyer has struck a deal with prosecutors after allegedly setting fire to his own home earlier this year and violating a protective order concerning his estranged wife, a co-owner of the home who wasn’t present at the time of the fire.…

Nov 18, 2011 5:53 PM CST

Courthouse ‘Nurse-In’ Planned in Support of Mom with Nursing Baby Called Out by Judge

Supporters of a Michigan mom scolded by a Paw Paw district judge after she breastfed her son in the courtroom are planning a “nurse-in” outside the Van Buren County courthouse later this month. They expect perhaps 25 or 30 people to attend the Nov. 28 protest and rally, which will…

Nov 17, 2011 10:14 PM CST

Top Calif. Court Backs Prop 8 Supporters, Says They Have Standing to Pursue Same-Sex Marriage Ban

In a ruling today that is expected to help propel the case to the nation’s top court, the California Supreme Court held that supporters of Proposition 8 do have standing to defend the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban voters enacted in 2008. The standing ruling was rendered by California’s…

Nov 17, 2011 7:22 PM CST

Chicago ‘Fathers’ Rights’ Attorney Is Representing Mom in Paternity Claim Against Justin Bieber

A Chicago lawyer well-known locally for his “fathers’ rights” advertising has taken on a celebrity case … for a mom who says teen singer Justin Bieber is the father of her baby boy. Although Mariah Yeater has dismissed without prejudice her San Diego Superior Court suit against Bieber, it could…

Nov 16, 2011 9:01 PM CST

Congress Proposes to Cut FY 2012 Legal Services Corp Budget By 13.9 Percent, to $348M

Grants to organizations that help provide representation to low-income individuals are likely to be cut under a proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for Legal Services Corporation. A joint U.S. Senate-House of Representatives conference agreement calls for a 13.9 percent overall reduction in the interim $398.1 million fiscal year 2012 budget…

Nov 15, 2011 10:19 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide if Kids Conceived with Dead Dad’s Sperm Can Collect Survivor Benefits

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether children conceived by in vitro fertilization after the death of their biological father are entitled to collect Social Security survivor benefits. The court granted cert today in the case, Astrue v. Capato, report SCOTUSblog, Courthouse News Service and Bloomberg News. The…

Nov 14, 2011 6:01 PM CST

Ex-Wife Gets Court Order That Texas Judge in YouTube Beating Video Can’t Be Alone with Daughter, 10

There’s more fallout related to a viral YouTube video showing a Texas judge whipping his then-teenage daughter with a belt years ago after she allegedly illegally downloaded music and games. The ex-wife of Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams obtained a court order yesterday that prevents him from being alone…

Nov 11, 2011 9:38 PM CST

Top LA Juvenile Judge Seeks to Open Court Hearings

It isn’t yet a done deal. But the presiding judge wants to open the doors of juvenile courtrooms in Los Angeles, holding public hearings in cases about child abuse and neglect and foster care placements, unless the parties object. Currently such cases are presumptively closed to the public. However, that…

Nov 9, 2011 7:30 PM CST

9-Year-Old Girl’s Driving Skills May Help Her Dad, 39, Avoid Felony Child-Abuse Charge

There’s no question that it’s illegal for a 9-year-old to get behind the wheel and drive in Michigan. But that wasn’t the issue today in a court hearing in suburban Detroit concerning a felony child-abuse case. A judge must decide whether Shawn Weimer, 39, put his daughter at likely risk…

Nov 9, 2011 12:44 AM CST

Judge Orders Exchange of Facebook and Dating Website Passwords in Custody Fight

A Connecticut judge has ordered lawyers representing a divorcing couple to exchange passwords to their clients’ Facebook and dating websites. Judge Kenneth Schluger ordered the password exchange in the divorce of Stephen and Courtney Gallion, according to the Forbes blog The Not-So Private Parts. The judge cautioned in a Sept.…

Nov 8, 2011 5:25 PM CST

Texas Judge Won’t Be Charged re Viral Beating Video, Says Daughter Posted It Out of Spite

A Texas judge who made international headlines this week after his daughter posted a disturbing video on YouTube of him beating her with a belt in 2004 will not be prosecuted. This has nothing to do with his position as a judge; it is simply too late to prosecute, seven…

Nov 3, 2011 11:53 PM CDT

Colo. Supreme Court Nixes Attorney-Client Privilege for Children in Guardianship Cases

In a decision that is controversial among child advocates, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that attorney-client privilege is trumped, in guardianship cases, by the duty of a child’s attorney to protect his or her client from abuse. A divided court ruled that a lawyer acting as a guardian ad…

Nov 3, 2011 6:27 PM CDT