Family Law

Jury deadlocks in case against lawyer accused of neglect causing his dad’s death

A jury has deadlocked in the case of a suburban Philadelphia lawyer accused of causing his father’s death by moving the elderly man to his home, using some of his father’s pension income for his own benefit and withholding needed care. After nine hours of deliberation ended in an impasse…

Feb 26, 2016 2:35 PM CST

Family of teen hospitalized in medical diagnosis conflict files malpractice and civil rights suit

The family of a Connecticut teen put in the custody of the state of Massachusetts for more than a year and hospitalized against their wishes has filed a medical malpractice and civil rights suit against Boston Children’s Hospital and four physicians. Weeks before Justina Pelletier was misdiagnosed at Children’s with…

Feb 25, 2016 4:00 PM CST

Attorney dad freed after $1M bail in missing-teen case is reduced to $5K

A lawyer arrested in Florida late last month as he was trying to board a plane for a court hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands has been freed from jail after his bail was reduced from $1 million to $5,000. Bruce Jorgensen, 58, is charged with unlawful desertion of his…

Feb 25, 2016 10:00 AM CST

Family law attorney is charged with driving getaway van in armed robbery of frozen yogurt shop

A Maryland family law attorney is facing criminal charges after allegedly driving the getaway van used in the September armed robbery of a Baltimore County frozen yogurt store. The alleged gunman pointed the finger at Diana Beth Denrich, 36, who is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed…

Feb 17, 2016 4:55 PM CST

Attorney defending his own murder-for-hire case says he was framed by jailhouse ‘snitch’

A suburban Chicago courtroom was nearly filled with an audience comprised largely of fellow attorneys and law enforcement officers on Thursday as Robert Gold-Smith made closing arguments in his own murder-for-hire trial. The onetime bankruptcy practitioner is accused of trying to find a hit man behind bars to kill his…

Feb 5, 2016 1:05 PM CST

Lawyer is accused of getting opposing counsel’s trial questions from emails hacked by client

The Missouri Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments this month in an ethics case against a lawyer accused of using information obtained by his divorce client by guessing his wife’s email password. The lawyer, 70-year-old Joel Eisenstein, is a part-time prosecutor, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The disciplinary counsel…

Feb 2, 2016 8:06 AM CST

Judge faces ethics case after jailing woman who recanted domestic violence claims

A Louisville, Kentucky, judge is facing a legal ethics case for jailing a witness in a domestic violence case after she recanted her original accusations. Jefferson District Court Judge Sheila Collins denied any misconduct last week, in a response to a notice earlier in January by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct…

Feb 1, 2016 1:15 PM CST

Lawyer sues docs over shaken-baby diagnosis, state for taking away her kids

A lawyer in Toledo, Ohio, claims in a lawsuit that doctors wrongly diagnosed her daughter with shaken baby syndrome, and the state removed both daughters from her care without justification. Lawyer Molly Blythe of Holland, Ohio, filed the suit (PDF) on Jan. 15, the Toledo Blade reports. The suit claims…

Jan 25, 2016 9:05 AM CST

Lawyer charged with murder in wife’s stabbing death

Amidst a pending divorce case filed by his physician wife, a lawyer who is a partner in an accounting firm allegedly stabbed his spouse to death in their upscale home in the New York City suburbs. Julius “Jules” Reich, 61, was charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of his…

Jan 21, 2016 11:55 AM CST

Lawyer turns down no-prison plea deal, goes on trial in attempted murder case

After turning down a plea deal that likely would have resulted in a sentence of probation, a New Jersey lawyer went on trial Wednesday in an attempted murder case. Todd Gorman is accused of attacking his girlfriend, Stephanie Schwartz, in 2011 at the couple’s home. Not quite a year later,…

Jan 20, 2016 3:15 PM CST

Chief judge wants more security at courthouse where shooting occurred during government meeting

More than a year after an armed man fired a shot during a meeting at an Iowa courthouse and then killed himself during an ensuing struggle, the Jackson County courthouse still has no armed bailiff regularly on duty. But Chief 7th Judicial District Judge Marlita Greve hopes that will soon…

Jan 15, 2016 2:05 PM CST

Man gets 18 months for threatening divorce judge in email

A Connecticut man described by supporters as a hardworking, loving father and dedicated community volunteer was sentenced Tuesday to serve 18 months for sending an email that threatened the judge who oversaw his contentious divorce case. After more than a year of home confinement as he awaited the verdict, Edward…

Jan 13, 2016 12:35 PM CST

Alabama chief justice orders probate judges to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has issued an administrative order saying the state’s probate judges have a duty to enforce the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Moore wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court decision finding a right to gay marriage has created “confusion and uncertainty” among judges, Al.com reports. Some…

Jan 6, 2016 1:51 PM CST

Husband who raped and abused wife isn’t entitled to share of marital assets, court rules

A man convicted of raping his wife isn’t entitled to any marital assets in divorce because of his “egregious conduct,” a New York judge has ruled. Judge Jeffrey Sunshine ruled in the case of “Terrance T.” and “Alice M.” that Terrance’s conduct was the rare instance in which conduct can…

Jan 6, 2016 10:31 AM CST

Utah judge who ordered baby removed from same-sex couple’s home retires

The Utah juvenile court judge who made headlines when he ordered a baby removed from a married same-sex couple’s home has retired, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Seventh District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen retired from the bench Friday, the newspaper said, according to a judicial vacancy announcement. An…

Jan 6, 2016 10:30 AM CST