Family Law

Prosecutor Convicted of Harassing Woman in Child-Support Case, Gets 30 Days

It all began with a “rather revealing dress” a woman wore to court, a Lincoln County deputy district attorney told the Oregon State Bar in a letter. In a phone call with the woman, from whom Rand Overton was trying to collect child support, “I said something about her wearing…

Dec 14, 2010 10:55 PM CST

Lawyer’s Mom Says She Saw Estranged Husband Kill Her Daughter in Murder-Suicide

The mother of a Texas lawyer reportedly shot to death over the weekend says she witnessed the murder-suicide by Arden Anne Specia-Spencer’s estranged husband. “He just pulled out a gun and shot her right in the head,” the mother, 79-year-old Mary Specia, told the San Antonio Express News yesterday. Then…

Dec 14, 2010 5:45 PM CST

Texas Lawyer and Estranged Husband Dead; Possible Murder-Suicide Investigated

Updated: A 52-year-old San Antonio lawyer and her 53-year-old estranged husband have been found dead in a field near a pickup and a firearm on real estate they owned near Canyon Lake in Cornal County. Both had been shot. Arden Specia-Spencer and her husband, Mark, had been separated for a…

Dec 14, 2010 12:26 AM CST

Lawyer Sues Ex-Fiancé for Jilting Her Four Days Before Planned Wedding

A suburban Chicago lawyer has sued her former fiancé, alleging he should reimburse her for nearly $100,000 she spent on a wedding that he called off just four days before the scheduled date. Hoffman Estates, Ill., lawyer Dominique Buttitta claims breach of a promise to marry and intentional infliction of…

Dec 13, 2010 1:49 PM CST

Parrot’s Chilling Comments Aid Police in Elder Abuse Case

A talking parrot provided what could be taken as chilling evidence in the case of a 60-year-old South Carolina woman charged with neglecting her 98-year-old mother, who was found on the verge of death suffering from severe bedsores. “The parrot was mimicking, ‘Help me. Help me.’ Then he would laugh,”…

Dec 8, 2010 7:12 PM CST

Attorney Gets 10 to 20 Years in $300K ‘Adoption Ponzi Scheme’

A New York lawyer has been sentenced to a 10- to 20-year prison term for operating a scam in which he stole some $300,000 from would-be adoptive parents by pretending to be in the process of supplying them with children. But, in fact, the children didn’t exist: Attorney Kevin Cohen…

Dec 7, 2010 7:47 PM CST

Dodgers Owner Loses Round in Divorce Battle as Judge Rules His Wife Is a Co-Owner of the Team

Frank McCourt lost a round in a divorce battle with his wife of 30 years when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled today that a 2004 postnuptial agreement recognizing him as sole owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers isn’t valid. Jamie McCourt had argued against enforcing the agreement on…

Dec 7, 2010 6:32 PM CST

Appeals Panel Weighs Narrow Ruling in Gay Marriage Case

A federal appeals court panel considering California’s gay marriage ban could decide the case without finding a broader constitutional right to same-sex marriage. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focused on two issues, the Los Angeles Times reports. One is whether voters can…

Dec 7, 2010 3:01 PM CST

Lender Backs Divorce Litigants, Typically Women, on Contingency Basis

A law school grad with a career in finance has created a lending company that helps fund divorce litigants pursuing hidden assets. The Beverly Hills, Calif., company, Balance Point Divorce Funding, finances divorces on a contingency basis, the New York Times reports. Stacey Napp, the “lawyer by training” who created…

Dec 6, 2010 4:37 PM CST

Liberal Judge Refuses to Bow Out of Same-Sex Marriage Appeal, Despite Wife’s ACLU Past

Updated: Opponents of same-sex marriage in California have lost their bid to disqualify a liberal judge on the panel appointed to hear their appeal that was based on his wife’s history with the American Civil Liberties Union. On Wednesday, sponsors of the state’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage asked Judge…

Dec 2, 2010 4:09 PM CST

Illinois OKs Civil Unions for Same-Sex—and Opposite-Sex—Couples

Following the lead of five other states that have already approved some form of recognized same-sex relationships, lawmakers in Illinois today approved a bill to provide for same-sex—and opposite-sex—civil unions. The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act approved today by the state senate says civil unions will be…

Dec 1, 2010 9:38 PM CST

Gay Couple Marries in Texas (via Skype), Cites Local Paper for Refusing to Run Wedding Item

After making international headlines by figuring out a way to circumvent a Texas ban on same-sex marriage, two men married in their home state by a Washington, D.C., officiant via Skype have now filed an administrative complaint against a local newspaper for refusing to run their wedding announcement. Dante Walkup…

Nov 24, 2010 5:14 PM CST

Mel Gibson Movie Releases on Pause for Child Custody Case, Domestic Abuse & Extortion Probes

Put the pause on Mel Gibson’s recent movies–as Hollywood producers certainly have. The actor’s real-life saga right now is front and center, as the industry and fans wait to see how interrelated domestic abuse and extortion probes, as well as a child-custody case, play out. Sheriff’s detectives in Los Angeles…

Nov 23, 2010 10:54 PM CST

Bankruptcy Lawyer Charged With Beating His Wife Outside of Courtroom; Another Lawyer Intervenes

Reportedly angered over a protective order taken out by his wife that limited access to his home law office, a suburban Chicago bankruptcy lawyer allegedly began beating her Friday morning outside a Joliet, Ill., courtroom after a judge refused to rescind the order. Robert Gold-Smith, 48, was arrested at about…

Nov 22, 2010 1:55 PM CST

Judge Axes Ex-Client’s Sex Suit Against His Lawyer, Upholds $25K Settlement

A former client’s much-publicized suit against a Canadian lawyer he accused of trying to pressure him into having sex with the lawyer’s wife, who is now a prominent judge, has been dismissed. However, the onetime client, Alex Chapman, vows to appeal. The suit against attorney Jack King, alleging that he…

Nov 17, 2010 1:16 PM CST