Family Law

Hearst Heir’s Malpractice Suit: Lawyer Helped Wife Steal $20M

A New York appeals court has reinstated a $20 million malpractice and fraud suit brought by a grandson of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst against the grandson’s wife and the couple’s lawyer. After he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1989 at age 55, John Randolph Hearst Jr. contends, his wife,…

May 2, 2008 10:49 PM CDT

Texas Changed Marriage Age to Restrict Rights of Polygamy Ranch Residents

Much has been written, in recent weeks, about the number of teen girls entering into “spiritual” underage marriages at a Texas ranch from which some 462 children were removed last month. However, it was not until the fringe religious group that operates the ranch, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ…

May 2, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Texas Official Sees ‘Cause for Concern’ in Broken Bones of 41 Sect Boys

A Texas official told a legislative committee yesterday that at least 41 boys removed from a polygamous sect had broken bones. Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said very young children were among the boys who had bone fractures, the New York Times reports.…

May 1, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court Refuses Emergency Relief in Ranch Raid Case

After a state appellate court’s denial of emergency relief concerning 462 children in a religious sect that were removed from a Texas ranch in a several-day raid early this month, all involved are settling in for what appears likely to be a lengthy course of litigation. Except for babies, the…

Apr 28, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

Possible Life Term for Texas Mom in Child-Surgery Abuse Case

A Texas mother was convicted yesterday by a jury in an unusual child abuse case of putting her now 13-year-old son through at least two unnecessary surgeries, and now faces a possible sentence of life in prison during the penalty phase of the trial. At trial, prosecutors said Laurie Williamson,…

Apr 25, 2008 7:16 PM CDT

Lawyers Who Support Religious Liberties Question Polygamy Case

Some lawyers who support religious freedoms are questioning the removal of more than 400 children from a polygamous sect. These lawyers argue that evidence of some underage girls being forced into marriage doesn’t merit the wholesale removal of all children from a Texas ranch. An emergency appellate hearing in the…

Apr 25, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court to Hear Emergency Challenge in Polygamy Ranch Raid

As Texas officials separated more than 100 mothers from their children in a controversial 462-child custody case concerning a religious sect that has advocates polygamy and teenage marriages, a state appeals court has agreed to hear a due-process challenge on an emergency basis. (The number of children said to be…

Apr 25, 2008 12:11 AM CDT

‘Bad Dads’: New Fox Reality TV Program Collects Child Support

Forget about watching cops place the cuffs on badly behaved adults after breaking up fights and catching them with illegal narcotics. The truly compelling law enforcement reality program may be watching an expert child support enforcer confront deadbeat dads. Viewers will soon have a chance to find out for themselves:…

Apr 24, 2008 9:37 PM CDT

When Protective Orders Don’t Work, Satellite Monitoring May Control Abusers

It’s a sad and all-too-frequent story when an abuser, often male, violates a court protective order. Today, for instance, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that a woman found murdered yesterday had an order of protection against her husband. While he is reportedly not a suspect in that crime, he is…

Apr 22, 2008 11:27 PM CDT

Child Protection v. the Constitution: Did Removal of 437 Kids Violate Parents’ Rights?

Updated: As the state of Texas proceeds with DNA tests this week to try to determine exactly who parents and siblings are in a controversial custody case that, at last count, involved 437 children, lawyers for the families—as well as some observers—are expressing concern about possible violations of parents’ constitutional…

Apr 22, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

Meet Barbara Walther, Judge in Texas Ranch Raid Case

A Texas state court judge had perhaps the toughest case in the nation last week as she presided over a record-breaking 416-child custody hearing. But Barbara Walther is a seasoned, authoritative jurist with a sense of humor who handled the challenging hearing as well as anyone could have, according to…

Apr 21, 2008 7:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Throws Open Secretive Sect’s Gates to Media

Before authorities raided their western Texas compound, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was a closed, secretive community. All inquiries from the media were uniformly rejected. But, as the Associated Press reports, when hundreds of children from the polygamous sect were rounded up and removed from…

Apr 21, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

Judge Orders DNA Testing of 416 Kids; Sect Reconsiders Sex With Minors

More than 400 children removed from a polygamous sect on suspicions that they are being subjected to abuse or are at risk will undergo DNA testing this week so their complicated family connections can be sorted out. Judge Barbara Walther, who is presiding over what is considered the largest, most…

Apr 21, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Young Children Removed from Texas Ranch Not Abused, State’s Expert Says

Updated: In the second day of a massive 416-child custody hearing, at least one expert for the state of Texas testified today that there was no sign of abuse among the boys and younger girls removed from a ranch run by a polygamous sect. Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist, testified…

Apr 18, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

No Slowdown for Britney’s Lawyers: Latest Spears Legal Bill is $372,500

Last month, Britney Spears was told to ante up $375,000 to pay her ex-husband’s legal fees in a child custody case. Now, a Los Angeles judge says, she’ll have to pay another $372,500 to cover legal fees related to her own conservatorship. “And that doesn’t even include the $10,000 a…

Apr 18, 2008 8:22 PM CDT