Family Law

Judge orders ‘brainwashed’ kids to live in juvenile facility for refusing to interact with their dad

A Michigan lawyer has filed a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of three children placed in a juvenile facility by a judge who claimed they had been brainwashed in a case that rivaled the worst example of parental alienation she had ever seen. Judge Lisa Gorcyca of Oakland County,…

Jul 9, 2015 9:04 AM CDT

Concurring state justice calls gay marriage ruling ‘utter travesty’; another sees adoption exception

The Louisiana Supreme Court said in a per curiam opinion on Tuesday that it was bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s gay-marriage decision in an adoption case involving same-sex partners, but one justice disagreed and another reluctantly concurred. The concurring justice blasted the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges…

Jul 8, 2015 8:44 AM CDT

Lawyer is disbarred for ‘social media blitz’ intended to influence custody case and top state court

A divided Louisiana Supreme Court has disbarred a lawyer who used Twitter and an online petition to urge readers to contact two judges she accused of being unwilling to consider the evidence in two custody cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The supreme court disbarred 52-year-old lawyer Joyce Nanine…

Jul 8, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Divorce lawyer hurt by package bomb will return to work ASAP, bar president says

A Canadian lawyer who was hospitalized after being seriously injured Friday in a package-bomb blast at her Winnipeg law office plans to return to practice as soon as possible. Maria Mitousis “wants people to know that she’s going to be right back in the game as soon as she is…

Jul 7, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

SCOTUS opinion recognizing dignity of gay marriage could lead to dignity codes, law prof says

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s majority opinion finding a constitutional right to gay marriage could have unintended consequences because it is based on an expansive view of the due process clause, a law professor says. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley says the…

Jul 6, 2015 9:03 AM CDT

Man is arrested in law firm bombing; Winnipeg police warn lawyers to watch for suspicious packages

Police in Winnipeg, Canada, are warning lawyers, justice officials and business people to watch for suspicious packages after arresting a man for allegedly mailing explosives that severely injured a divorce lawyer on Friday. Police charged Guido Amsel, 49, with two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault and…

Jul 6, 2015 6:54 AM CDT

Montana man seeks license to marry additional wife, cites Roberts’ gay-marriage dissent

A Montana man who appeared in an episode of the TV show Sister Wives applied for a license to marry an additional wife on Tuesday, saying he was inspired by Chief Justice John G. Roberts’ dissent to the Supreme Court ruling finding a constitutional right to gay marriage. Nathan Collier…

Jul 2, 2015 11:15 AM CDT

Michigan district court stops performing marriages in the wake of gay-marriage decision

Michael Carpenter, who is the only judge sitting in the Midland County District Court in Michigan, announced Monday that his court would no longer perform marriages, the Midland Daily News reports. The decision follows Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage violate the…

Jul 1, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Spanking conviction is overturned; top state court allows reasonable force in child discipline

Massachusetts’ top court has overturned the assault conviction of a man arrested after spanking his nearly 3-year-old daughter in public. The decision by the Supreme Judicial Court said parents may discipline their children with spanking as long as the use of force is reasonable; it is used to safeguard or…

Jul 1, 2015 9:53 AM CDT

ACLU suit challenges Louisiana governor’s ‘marriage and conscience order’

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s “marriage and conscience order” is being challenged in a lawsuit that claims the executive action exceeded his powers. The suit (PDF) was filed on Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana, the Forum for Equality Foundation and six New Orleans residents, according to…

Jul 1, 2015 9:21 AM CDT

Lawyer targeted in claimed murder plot says not enough was done to protect her family

An Indiana matrimonial lawyer allegedly targeted by a mother and son in a bizarre murder plot says authorities haven’t done enough to protect her and her family. Even though two suspects have been arrested, Rebecca Eimerman is fearful that she is still in danger. She credits her husband, Michael McQuinn,…

Jun 30, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Posner: Chief justice’s gay-marriage dissent is ‘heartless’

Federal appeals judge Richard Posner is using an op-ed to criticize Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. for a “heartless” dissent in the gay-marriage case on Friday. Posner says all four dissents in Obergefell v. Hodges are weak while Kennedy’s majority opinion “is convincing, though I would have preferred to…

Jun 30, 2015 8:27 AM CDT

County clerks, judges with religious qualms can refuse to issue gay marriage licenses, Texas AG says

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says in a legal opinion that government employees may refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses if doing so violates their sincerely held religious beliefs. Paxton’s opinion (PDF) says employees such as county clerks and their employees, justices of the peace and judges retain religious freedoms.…

Jun 29, 2015 7:43 AM CDT

Lawyer targeted in claimed murder plot says her husband saved her life by taking her car

Following news that authorities have recaptured a mother and son accused of participating in a bizarre murder plot against an Indiana divorce lawyer, the attorney herself is speaking out. Rebecca Eimerman says she is still fearful for her family’s safety and credits her husband’s decision to drive her SUV for…

Jun 26, 2015 10:45 AM CDT

Gay marriage is a constitutional right, Supreme Court rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that same-sex marriage is a right protected by the Constitution. Gay couples’ fundamental right to marry is protected by the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion (PDF). Denying the right…

Jun 26, 2015 9:03 AM CDT