Family Law

UK to Install CCTVs in Private Homes to Monitor 20,000 ‘Sin Bins’

Reportedly far ahead of the United States in developing a network of closed-circuit television cameras with which to keep an eye on the activities of misbehaving citizens, the United Kingdom is now upping the ante even further. The government plans to install CCTVs in at least 20,000 private homes to…

Aug 4, 2009 7:20 PM CDT

Gay Marriage Measure Passes House Without Debate #ABAChicago

Corrected: The ABA policy-making House of Delegates passed by an overwhelming voice vote a resolution calling on Congress to repeal a section of the Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal marital benefits and protections to lawfully married same-sex couples. Despite the controversial nature of same-sex marriage, no one spoke…

Aug 3, 2009 8:47 PM CDT

Worth the Effort?

When the American Law Institute published its long-awaited proposals for sweeping changes in divorce law in 2002, they were met with great fanfare. One academic predicted
the proposals would be a “resounding success,” while the New York Times said they would likely have a “major impact” on the development of the law.

Aug 2, 2009 2:40 AM CDT

Pricing Out Marriage

Who says you can’t put a price tag on marriage equality? Not the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law that studies the economic impact of same-sex marriage and other public policy issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

Aug 2, 2009 2:10 AM CDT

N.Y. Appeals Court Fires Lawyer Who Never Met 11-Year-Old Client

Saying that an attorney’s representation of an 11-year-old client in a family law matter did not comply with court administrative and legal ethics rules, a New York appellate court fired the attorney and ordered that new counsel be appointed for the youth. J. Mark McQuerrey’s young client “was, at the…

Jul 31, 2009 9:25 PM CDT

Legal Bills in Pet Pug Custody Case Top $40K as Judge Mulls ‘Subjective Value’

When Eric Dare and Doreen Houseman first asked a New Jersey judge to determine which of the two would get custody of their pet pug, Dexter, he treated the toy dog as if it were simply another item of property to be apportioned as part of the break-up of their…

Jul 30, 2009 6:06 PM CDT

Debbie Rowe Agrees Katherine Jackson Will Get Kids, Retains Visitation Rights

Michael Jackson’s children will be raised by his mother, Katherine Jackson, but the mother of two of the children will get visitation rights under an agreement reached by the two women, according to a newspaper report. A source tells the Los Angeles Times that the agreement is expected to win…

Jul 30, 2009 2:18 PM CDT

Judge Appoints Guardian to Review Finances of Octomom’s Kids

A California judge has appointed a guardian to review the finances of Nadya Suleman’s octuplets. Judge Gerald Johnston of Orange County ruled a guardian is “appropriate and justifiable” in a suit filed by former Disney Mouseketeer Paul Peterson, a child labor advocate, the Associated Press reports. Peterson is represented by…

Jul 28, 2009 1:58 PM CDT

Mom Accused of Neglecting 555-Pound Son by Overfeeding Him

The arrest of a woman accused of allowing her 14-year-old son to reach 555 pounds raises the issue: Does allowing a child to become dangerously overweight amount to criminal neglect? Jerri Gray of Travelers Rest, S.C., was charged in June and her son, Alexander Draper, was put in foster care,…

Jul 21, 2009 2:36 PM CDT

California Divorce Lawyer Accused of Soliciting Wife’s Murder

A La Jolla, Calif., divorce lawyer has been arrested on charges that he tried to hire others to kill his wife. Lawyer Steven Robert Liss was arrested Monday and charged with solicitation to commit murder, false imprisonment and spousal battery, according to the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune.…

Jul 21, 2009 1:29 PM CDT

Homeless Man, Jailed for Failing to Support Boy Who Wasn’t His, Is Freed

A homeless man has been freed after sitting in a South Georgia jail for more than a year for failing to pay the costs of supporting a boy who wasn’t his. Frank Hatley won his freedom yesterday after a Georgia judge concluded he was indigent, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “I…

Jul 16, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

Judge Sent Homeless Man to Jail for Failing to Support Boy Who Wasn’t His

Updated: A judge who put a homeless man in a South Georgia jail for more than a year for failing to pay the costs of supporting his “son” knew there was no biological tie. On Wednesday, the judge released Frank Hatley after his new lawyer from the Southern Center for…

Jul 15, 2009 12:37 PM CDT

Lawyer Freed After Spending 14 Years in Jail on Contempt Charge

A Pennsylvania lawyer has been freed after spending more than 14 years in jail for refusing to give his ex-wife more than $2.5 million in a divorce settlement. H. Beatty Chadwick, a 73-year-old former corporate lawyer, told the Associated Press he couldn’t pay the money. “If I had been convicted…

Jul 13, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

How a Kidnapped Conn. Lawyer Managed to Escape

A Hartford, Conn., lawyer held hostage by her husband for more than nine hours on Tuesday managed to escape by unscrewing an eyebolt on a basement wall to which she was handcuffed. Lawyer Nancy Tyler told The Day of New London that she did not expect to survive the kidnapping…

Jul 10, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Hartford Lawyer, Held Hostage for a Day, Escapes Before Home Is Set on Fire

A Hartford, Conn., medical malpractice defense lawyer managed to escape her home after her ex-husband held her hostage for more than nine hours yesterday. Soon afterward, the home became engulfed in flames. It’s not clear whether lawyer Nancy Tyler escaped or was released by her ex-husband, Richard Shenkman, according to…

Jul 8, 2009 11:23 AM CDT