Family Law

Cleared in second neglect case, ‘free range’ parents plan to sue

For the second time in six months, a suburban Washington, D.C., couple has been cleared of child-neglect charges based on their decision to allow their two children to walk approximately one mile from a park to their Maryland home. Now the so-called free-range parents, Alexander and Danielle Meitiv, plan to…

Jun 24, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Appeals court rebukes judge for breastfeeding ban on mom who got a tattoo, overturns order

An Australian judge is under fire for ordering a mother to stop breastfeeding her 11-month-old child because she got a tattoo. An appeals court on Friday unanimously overturned the order issued by Federal Circuit Judge Matthew Myers in the Newcastle case. The full family court also rebuked Myers for issuing…

Jun 22, 2015 1:35 PM CDT

Top Texas court OKs same-sex divorce, says state AG lacked standing

Siding with a trial court judge and against the state attorney general, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the divorce of a same-sex couple who married in Massachusetts. However, the 5-3 decision (PDF) by the state’s top court focused on civil procedure rather than constitutional law. The supreme court…

Jun 22, 2015 10:30 AM CDT

Judge jails woman who refused to testify; prosecutors, 2 other judges help win her release

When a Kentucky woman refused last week to testify against her boyfriend in a domestic violence case, she wound up in handcuffs. Jefferson District Judge Sheila Collins questioned Jasmine Stone, 21, who did not have a lawyer, then ordered her jailed for filing a false report. She was released, about…

Jun 17, 2015 10:30 AM CDT

Comments by Ginsburg, Kennedy lead prognosticators to predict votes on gay marriage, health law

Prognosticators looking for clues on the Supreme Court’s upcoming decisions on gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act are interpreting the meaning of justices’ comments outside of court. The New York Times has a story on the reading being given to recent comments by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice…

Jun 16, 2015 8:55 AM CDT

Man who murdered lawyer gets 3 years added to life sentence for jail escape attempt

Already serving a life term without parole for murdering his wife’s matrimonial lawyer, a Colorado man had more time added to his sentence last week because of an unsuccessful 2014 escape attempt. Aric Miera, 40, must serve the three years consecutive to his life term, the Cortez Journal reports. Miera,…

Jun 15, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

Woman claiming due-process right to live with Afghan spouse loses in SCOTUS; a gay marriage hint?

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against an American citizen who challenged the denial of a visa to her husband, a citizen of Afghanistan who was a former civil servant in the Taliban regime. The court ruled 5-4 (PDF) on Monday against Fauzia Din, who had claimed the government violated…

Jun 15, 2015 11:26 AM CDT

Lawyer is accused of trying to hire hit man after poisoning attempt fails

A Tennessee lawyer is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill his estranged wife after he failed to kill her with poisoned toothpaste. Fred Auston Wortman III of Collierville was indicted on Friday on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child endangerment, report WMCActionNews5, WREG and…

Jun 15, 2015 6:52 AM CDT

Federal cyberstalking trial blames courthouse shooter’s widow, son and daughter for slaying of woman

There’s no dispute that former police officer Thomas Matusiewicz shot two women to death at a Delaware courthouse on Feb. 11, 2013, as they were headed to a child-support hearing, and then committed suicide. But an unusual federal cyberstalking trial now underway in Delaware also seeks to hold his widow,…

Jun 12, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

New Michigan law allows adoption agencies to refuse service based on religious objections

A Michigan bill signed by the governor on Thursday allows private adoption agencies with state contracts to refuse to place children with families based on sincerely held religious beliefs. The law’s backers say the bill will ensure that faith-based adoption agencies remain open so that as many children as possible…

Jun 12, 2015 8:00 AM CDT

Gay marriages are targeted in new North Carolina opt-out law for magistrates, other officials

Some court officials in North Carolina can refuse to perform marriages based on a sincerely held religious objection, according to a new law passed on Thursday. The North Carolina House voted to override the governor’s veto of the measure on Thursday, following a June 1 vote by the Senate, report…

Jun 12, 2015 7:18 AM CDT

Woman who is 92 adopts her cousin

A 92-year-old Dallas woman has adopted a 76-year-old cousin who has always been like a daughter to her. A judge in Dallas approved the adoption this week, report the Associated Press, Today and the Dallas Morning News. The older woman, Muriel Clayton, had raised the cousin, Mary Smith, after Smith’s…

Jun 12, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Family of car crash victim had no right to know brain was removed during autopsy, court rules

The family of a 17-year-old car crash victim had no right to be notified that his brain had been removed during an autopsy, New York’s highest court has held. The 5-2 ruling (PDF), issued Wednesday by New York’s Court of Appeals, overturned a $600,000 jury award to the parents of…

Jun 11, 2015 11:39 AM CDT

Mom and son accused of plotting to kill divorce attorney are on the lam

An Indiana divorce lawyer was allegedly targeted in a murder plot because she tried to help a client collect money owed in a divorce settlement by the client’s ex-husband. Now the Florida mother and son accused of plotting to kill attorney Rebecca Eimerman and sitting in a vehicle outside her…

Jun 10, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

Police: Man on stolen bulldozer smashed occupied house to smithereens, violating a protective order

The limited value of a court protective order against a determined individual was dramatically illustrated this week after authorities alleged that Jamie Francis Sager drove a stolen bulldozer through a home in Australia on Sunday morning, smashing it to smithereens. Three female occupants barely escaped with their lives because a…

Jun 9, 2015 3:50 PM CDT