Family Legal News Headlines Archive


Dennis Rodman Pleads No Contest in Domestic Violence Case
Former basketball star Dennis Rodman pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from his April 30 arrest at a Century...
For Massachusetts divorce lawyers, slump in economy can boost business
Domestic relations lawyers in Massachusetts who are seeing the effects of a tumultuous economy in their practices are saying, thankfully, that a recession...
Court fight over records nears for DHS, children's advocates
A national child advocacy group and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services are scheduled to battle in Tulsa federal court Tuesday over what DHS records...
Lesbian mother loses appeal in custody case
The Franklin County Court of Appeals has ruled against a mother who wanted to end a joint-custody agreement with a woman who had been her partner.
Groups urge changes in transracial adoption laws
NEW YORK - Several leading child welfare groups today urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black children...
NO DIVORCE IN GEORGIA?
Same-sex Georgia couples who get married in California will have to divorce in California, and a divorce settlement there will raise the question of how...
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
A majority of voting Virginians made it clear: Marriage is reserved for one man and one woman. But even a constitutional amendment can't keep bonds from...
Father's suit seeks to prevent losing children to foster care
A Fayette County man who admits to consensual sex with his children's 16-year-old baby sitter has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking to prevent...
'Fresh Start' Targets Child Support Debt
More than $11 million in unpaid child support payments was wiped off the books in the past three years - not because parents paid up, but because the state...
BLIND JUSTICE?: For years fathers have contended that mothers get preferential treatment in child custody cases, but judges and attorneys in Alamance...
Jun. 15--I t has been four years since Sean Perkins McDonnell started fighting for custody of his two children.
Speaker's sealed divorce could set precedent
brankin@ajc.com In early February, Glenn and Susan Richardson walked into the Paulding County Courthouse, filed for an uncontested divorce and got their...
Stung by furor over halt in civil weddings
Ann Barnett says she's always tried to do the right thing, whether for her church, her five children, her husband of 31 years or the people she serves...
Speaker's sealed divorce could set precedent
In early February, Glenn and Susan Richardson walked into the Paulding County Courthouse, filed for an uncontested divorce and got their case sealed from...
The difference a dad makes in a family
As Americans celebrate Father's Day this weekend, the changing face of modern parenthood may prompt some to wonder: Do dads still matter? The answer no...
City News Service
With the state's gay-marriage ban set to be lifted Tuesday, some Coachella Valley attorneys said they are seeing a rise in calls from gay and lesbian couples...
Ruling comes in same-sex custody case
A Vermont child-custody order in a failed civil union must be enforced in Virginia even though same-sex marriages are barred here, the Virginia Supreme...
Child-abuse claims vs. parents' rights
The US Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether procedures used in Illinois to investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect violate the fundamental...
Insurers must cover autism in children, Senate declares; Bill never received a vote of 'no'
BATON ROUGE -- Starting Jan. 1, insurance companies must offer coverage to treat children with autism, the Senate decided Wednesday.
Feds accuse CompuCredit of deceiving customers; Restitution sought for subprime card holders
In one of the largest actions of its kind, federal regulators are seeking to recover an estimated $217 million in restitution and fines from credit card...
Rules, religion collide in Amish cases; Violators of municipal codes claim bias against their beliefs
Andy Swartzentruber and Sam Yoder, of tiny Ebensburg, Pa., face sentencing Thursday for violating state sewage laws.
Despite Price Fears, There Are Few Hikes Past Food, Energy; Core-Goods Costs Up 0.1%; Wholesale prices pick up, but struggling consumers eschewing autos, clothes
Soaring commodity costs are pressuring companies to raise prices, fueling fears that weak economic growth may not be enough to cool inflation.
Sis comes through for disabled boy; $12 mil. settlement to be placed in trust for child who went without oxygen after malfunction
There were several points in his life when Jaylen Whaley wouldn't have had much of a chance -- if not for his sister.
Therapy breaks cycle of arrests; WELLNESS COURT: Alcohol and drug offenders clean up habits -- and criminal records.
Twenty-three-year-old Tara Ginn sat in a yellow jail jumpsuit with her hands cuffed and watched the controlled chaos of the "wellness court" -- where dozens...
$79 million smoker case not over
The US Supreme Court has agreed once again to take up the case of a smoker's widow in Oregon who was awarded $79.
Jury to hear HIV lawsuit; Despite statute of limitations, L.A. judge rules woman's case against husband who infected her is valid.
In tearful testimony, the woman known in court documents as "Bridget B." choked up as she described the first time she met her ex-husband, the man she...
The Nation; High court curtails rights of public workers; The justices say an Oregon woman's bias suit could have turned ordinary job gripes into fe...
The Supreme Court on Monday limited the rights of public employees, ruling that a state worker who said she was fired by a supervisor who was out to "get...
Anne Heche pays the price in divorce
LOS ANGELES - Anne Heche's five-year marriage to Coleman Laffoon is officially over, but not without a pinch to her pocketbook.
Child-support system leaves some frustrated: Despite higher collection rates in county, many remain in bind
Jun. 8--Mitchell Sigrist gets $686 a month in disability payments. But $411 of that goes for child-support payments to a son who doesn't carry his last...
Wife asks judge for $1M from McGreeveyEx-governor counters with an offer of zero
In the closing arguments of what has become the state's most infamous divorce case, the attorney for former first lady Dina Matos asked yesterday for a...
The Gay Divorcees; Gay marriage is new. Gay divorce isn't.
Barring a last-minute stay of the California Supreme Court's May decision, the state will begin allowing same-sex couples to wed on June 17.
IT'S LOHAN VS. LOHAN AGAIN AS CUSTODY DISPUTE ARISES
The battling Lohans are back in court. Nearly a year after they settled their divorce, Lindsay Lohan 's estranged parents were in a Long Island courtroom...
Holyfield accused of missing child support; Woman says she's not gotten $6,000
The mother of Evander Holyfield's 10-year-old son --- one of nine children he's fathered --- says the boxing icon has missed two child-support payments...
Family-friendly ; Businesses offer benefits for employees who adopt.
NEW YORK - When Tim Huval and his wife decided to adopt, they got financial aid, moral support and legal counseling from a seemingly unlikely source: his...
Bids to halt gay marriages rejected; Rites will begin June 17 as the state high court quickly rebuffs appeals.
Gay couples in California rushed to set wedding dates Wednesday after the California Supreme Court's unusually quick rejection of challenges to its historic...
Wife gets 6 years for trying to poison rival
Carol Anne Bond said she had felt twice betrayed - once by her unfaithful husband and once by her close friend who gave birth to his child.
Navigating accusations of sexual abuse in custody cases
By their very nature, custody battles are exhausting and emotionally fraught. But something that can make raw feelings even worse is when one parent introduces...
Mass.Appeals Court rules prenup invalid absent waiver of marital rights
A prenuptial agreement that was drafted by a husband and signed by his wife without the assistance of counsel could not be enforced because it did not...
Court can go after assets to pay child support
Q: Our son was divorced in 1999. He agreed to pay child support of $1,000 a month until his youngest child turned 18. The youngest child is now 16, but...
The Nation; Children headed home; A Texas judge says members of a polygamist sect can reunite their families.
A Texas judge Monday allowed parents to begin retrieving more than 400 children who were taken by the state during a raid on a polygamist sect's compound...
PERSONAL FINANCE; Money's role in marriage woes; Financial infidelity can destroy trust as quickly as a physical affair, a therapist says.
When her husband gave one of her coats to charity while she was at work, Tara Padua Wise got her vengeance. At the mall. "When I asked him about it, he...
web sightings: Parents finally get a schedule for vaccines
Children often miss getting recommended vaccines on schedule, leaving parents and pediatricians scratching their heads as to how to catch up.
Bill Murray's Wife Cites Abuse in Divorce Filing: Jennifer Butler has been married to the comedian for nearly 11 years
May 30--Once again, Hollywood stardom does not bring marital happiness. Bill Murray's wife, Jennifer Butler Murray, filed for divorce on May 12 in a Charleston...
The Nation; Polygamist families win high-court ruling; Texas did not prove that all of the FLDS compound's children were in imminent danger, the sta...
The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist compound last month, opening the door...
TAKING LIBERTIES; FAMILY PLANNING PROVIDERS FEAR BUSH ADMINISTRATION GAG ORDER
Family planning providers around the state and country are bracing for expected new rules from the Bush administration that would prohibit them from counseling...
California sets June 17 as first day to issue gay couples marriage licenses
SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Gay couples in California can start making their wedding plans for June 17. Following through on a landmark state Supreme Court decision...
California court considers if doctors can deny treatment because patients are gay
Just two weeks after finding California's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court on Wednesday found itself thrust back into...
Federal adoption law is faulted 'Colorblind' rules fail to help black children, advocates say Transracial adoption
"Colorblind" federal adoption legislation passed more than a decade ago was supposed to reduce the number of black children in foster care and smooth the...
Ex-wife must support man's lifestyle; High court backs $2,000 a month in divorce case
A Walworth County woman will have to pay her ex-husband $2,000 a month for the next 10 years, even though he earns $85,000 a year, so that he can continue...
Nation in Brief / NEW YORK; Gay unions will be recognized
Gov. David Paterson has told state agencies to recognize gay marriages performed where the unions are legal, including California and Maryland.
For Matos McGreevey, part two is `main event'
The McGreevey divorce trial enters its third week and the salacious stuff that once made the case the talk of gossip sheets everywhere the three-way sex...
Both sides jockey Texas Supreme Court with sect case filings
Arguments continue to pile upon arguments in the polygamist sect's child custody case. In a filing Tuesday, the state Child Protective Services agency...
Who gets custody of the dog?; Increasingly, it's a big issue, though not insurmountable, for couples who break up
When couples split up these days, a matter every bit as intense as who keeps the house or plasma TV is increasingly being slammed onto the table for discussion...
THE DOS & DON'TS OF DIVORCE Think you can just file some papers and move on to single life? Well, think again.
You've had it. She's a cheating witch. He's a lazy bum. It's time for a divorce. And it's going to be an all-out war. Stop. Don't make the common mistakes...
Divorce is pending: Is it wise to accept job offer?
Question: My husband, 53, and I, 47, have been married 24 years. I recently discovered he has been having an affair with my best friend; we are now in...
Stolen identity? Battle back, and quickly
Editor's note: This is the second of two parts Heather Hill's column on consumer issues, finance and useful news appears each Monday in The Sun.
Guatemala investigates its adoption system
American couples trying to adopt Guatemalan children have been put on hold as the Central American country conducts a major overhaul of an adoption system...
Genetic fingerprinting
Religious sect puts DNA testing in the spotlight As the state grapples with the nation's largest child custody case, a thread of science will be woven...
Battle over 9/11 pension; Firefighter's parents claim fiancee is not entitled to a share, but two sides meet to try to reach settlement
Until they sat down together yesterday in a Brooklyn courtroom, Doreen Noone said she had not spoken to the parents of her dead firefighter fiance, Kevin...
No conflict between partnerships, marriage; CALIFORNIA; Same-sex domestic partners can wed without dissolution
Same-sex couples who are registered as domestic partners do not have to dissolve that union before getting married, attorneys that advise the state Legislature...
Guatemala annuls 15 pending adoptions to U.S. couples
Guatemala's attorney general said Wednesday that he has annulled 15 pending adoptions to U.S. couples after finding evidence of fraud or other irregularities...
Va. late-term abortion ban remains unconstitutional
By Tim McGlone The Virginian-Pilot A federal appeals court has once again struck down Virginia's ban on late-term abortions, setting up a likely legal...
Fee award can be diverted to pay overdue child support, rules 11th Circuit
Attorney fees awarded in a dispute over Social Security benefits can be diverted to offset the claimant's delinquent child support obligation, the 11th...
Islamic 'talaq' divorce can be rejected by state court, rules Md. Court of Appeals
A state court need not grant comity to Pakistan's "talaq" divorce law because it violates state public policy in favor of equitable property division...
Stalled adoptions pick up speed in Nepal; Asian nation steps in as China, Guatemala put on the brakes
Sue Ann Siebert met her adoptive son, Sunny, last May when he was 5 months old. In an orphanage in Nepal, a small country between India and China, she...
DIVORCE 411; Ex may learn expensive lesson about fraud
Q. I brought my ex-husband into court on contempt for nonpayment of alimony and child support. He showed up with copies of pay stubs showing a lower pay...
Children of no one; Once, out of wedlock meant out of luck for kids and parents. That began to change in 1968.
It's the 1968 revolution you never heard of. Forty years ago today, tucked in between the assassinations of the Rev.
Foreign adoption rules frustrating couples; They have fewer options, but more waiting and paperwork
It was a moment of serendipity when Vicky Loos decided on adoption: That very day in September 1998, her oldest daughter was born on the other side of...
Detroit Free Press Brian Dickerson column: Angry court takes duped parents' side
May 16--Foiled in its efforts to terminate the parental rights of a Guatemalan couple, Michigan's Department of Human Services conspired to have the couple...
JUDGE NIPS SEX SURGERY
The city does not have to pay for a foster child's sex-change operation, an appeals court has ruled.
Foster dad's new heart full of grief
Roy Engelman's new heart is not immune to heartache. Engelman, 55, of the North Side survived a brush with death 16 months ago, thanks to a 30-year-old...
Tougher prison baby custody rules OK'd
REVIEW-JOURNAL Gov. Jim Gibbons signed emergency regulations Friday to ensure that babies born to Nevada prison inmates are given to responsible caregivers...
Bill to speed up adoption signed by Arizona governor
A proposal seeking to streamline the process of adopting children out of the state's foster care system was approved by the Legislature May 7.
No jail time for mom who fled with kids3 years' probation likely in custody case
Runaway mom Michelle Kimble - who fled New Jersey with her two preschool daughters amid a custody dispute 15 years ago and carved out a new life under...
Ruling on Madonna's adoption bid delayed
LILONGWE, Malawi -- Madonna won't know until next week whether a Malawian boy she found in an orphanage in 2006 will become a permanent member of her family...
Foster care: A home away from home: Temporary stay can transition to adoption for some families
May 18--Henry and Tasha Wertin's indoctrination into parenthood wasn't quite what they thought it would be.
Immigration to Labor Law: Every Legal Issue. One Legal Source. Lawyers.com

exculpatory evidence

evidence that tends to clear a defendant from fault or guilt

Jackson's ex-wife may fight for custody

MICHAEL JACKSON S ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, the mother of two of his three children, suggested yesterday that she would fight the dead singer s family for...

A jury in a divorce case? Yes, in Georgia; Supporters say it helps thwart judges' bias.; Cost, desire for privacy make it a rare choice; only Texas also...

The road to wedded bliss usually ends in the couple declaring their undying love before a judge or, in a religious setting, a man --- or woman --- of the...

FRAUD; Economy is creating a swindler 'gold rush'

The recession has killed jobs by the millions, but it's been a boon to one sector of the population: con artists.

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