Did couple in their mid-90s have the right to marry? One spouse is legally incapacitated

Edith Hill, 96, and Eddie Harrison, 95, are newlyweds who are very much in love, according to Hill’s granddaughter, Robin Wright. “You catch them kissing all the time,” Robin Wright said of the happy Virginia couple, in an interview with the Associated Press. She and her mother help care for…

Sep 10, 2014 6:15 AM CDT

Former Ravens player Ray Rice got no special treatment in criminal case, lawyers say

There has been widespread public criticism over seemingly light penalties initially imposed on now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for striking the woman who later became his wife in a casino elevator in February. But lawyers say concerns he may have gotten special treatment from prosecutors who agreed to…

Sep 9, 2014 4:30 PM CDT

Litigant is accused of illegally recording custody conference and posting it on Facebook

A Pennsylvania man is facing charges of intercepting and disclosing private communications for allegedly recording a custody conference and posting it on Facebook. Patrick Cline, 40, of Allentown has been named in an arrest warrant, Lehigh County prosecutors announced on Monday. Lehigh Valley Live, the Allentown Morning Call and WFMZ…

Sep 9, 2014 7:03 AM CDT

NFL suspends Ray Rice indefinitely after new video shows Ravens player punching fiancee

Updated: Criticized over a two-game suspension imposed on Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice concerning a fight with his then-fiancee, the National Football League’s top executive admitted he “didn’t get it right” and last month announced a new NFL policy concerning such incidents. Now the NFL has revisited the issue…

Sep 8, 2014 10:55 AM CDT

Statutory rape victim is told to pay child support

Updated: An Arizona man who had sex with a 20-year-old woman when he was only 14 was, according to state law, a statutory rape victim. He is also a father, he learned eight years later, and the state wants him to pay child support. The Arizona Republic has a story,…

Sep 8, 2014 6:15 AM CDT

5-attorney family law firm is lead sponsor for NASCAR driver, hopes he will win race and new clients

A five-attorney family law firm in Richmond, Va., is taking an innovative approach to advertising for new clients. As lead sponsor for NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek, the Friedman Law firm will have its name emblazoned on the hood, roof, trunk and sides of his number 66 race car this weekend,…

Sep 5, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

Flight en route to China from D.C. returns at request of feds because parent may have kidnapped son

Five hours after leaving Washington, D.C., for Beijing a United Airlines flight returned to Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday because a passenger was suspected of violating a child-custody order by taking her son overseas. Back in D.C., the flight was met by FBI agents and a mother, grandmother and…

Sep 5, 2014 2:55 PM CDT

Federal judge takes plea in domestic battery case, will not be convicted if he completes treatment

A federal judge charged with battery in a domestic dispute with his wife that took place in an Atlanta hotel room has apologized and agreed to a plea deal. It will result in the misdemeanor charge against U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller being dropped if he successfully completes domestic violence…

Sep 5, 2014 1:10 PM CDT

With ‘eye-popping speed,’ 7th Circuit strikes 2 states’ same-sex marriage bans 9 days after argument

Acting with what USA Today describes as “eye-popping speed,” a Chicago-based federal appeals court on Thursday struck same-sex marriage bans in two states only nine days after hearing oral arguments. Joining with federal appeals courts that have declared bans on same-sex marriage in Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia to be unconstitutional…

Sep 4, 2014 4:30 PM CDT

Harper Lee, ABA Journal fiction prizes announced

John Grisham is a best-selling author who has seen many of his books become major Hollywood pictures. Jason Bailey is a first-time author who maintains a busy legal practice in western Colorado and only writes during his spare time. What do these two writers have in common? This year, they…

Sep 4, 2014 4:28 PM CDT

Federal judge upholds Louisiana ban on gay marriage, sees rational basis in democratic process

A federal judge in New Orleans has upheld Louisiana’s ban on gay marriage in an opinion that applied rational-basis scrutiny. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman ruled on Wednesday, report BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He is the first federal judge to uphold a gay-marriage ban since…

Sep 3, 2014 12:19 PM CDT

New NFL policy imposes 6-game suspension for domestic or sexual assault, banishment for 2nd offense

In a letter sent Thursday to all National Football League team owners, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admits he “didn’t get it right” when Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice got a two-game suspension for allegedly striking the woman to whom he is now married. Six months ago, a grainy video…

Aug 28, 2014 10:05 PM CDT

Boies and Olson reveal the backstory of the case against California’s Proposition 8 (podcast)

Aug 28, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

Federal gun ban applies even if domestic violence victim isn’t injured, state appeals court says

A federal gun-possession ban for those with state-law misdemeanor domestic violence convictions will be applied broadly in California, a state appeals court has ruled. Petitioner Scott R. James, who had applied to be a reserve deputy sheriff and wanted to buy a gun, sought a writ of mandate arguing that…

Aug 28, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Posner derides tradition as ‘feeble’ justification for gay-marriage ban, says it’s ‘based on hate’

Lawyers defending gay-marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin faced tough questioning in oral arguments before the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, particularly from Judge Richard Posner. Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher was only moments into his argument when Posner jumped in, the Chicago Tribune reports. The…

Aug 28, 2014 4:01 PM CDT