Family Law

Courts Reluctant to Stop Divorcing Bloggers From Airing Complaints

Courts are reluctant to stop divorcing bloggers from revealing intimate details of their marriages or engaging in angry rants about their spouses in online postings. The courts are citing the First Amendment in refusing to intervene, the New York Times reports. A New York judge has refused to block a…

Apr 18, 2008 1:47 PM CDT

Huge 416-Child Custody Hearing in Texas Ranch Raid Involves 350 Lawyers

Updated: A huge custody hearing began today concerning 416 children taken by Texas officials from a ranch operated by a renegade Mormon sect that reportedly promotes polygamy. It bogged down almost immediately as lawyers for the children demanded to see the evidence being introduced—three teenagers’ medical records. “State District Judge…

Apr 17, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

350 Lawyers Trek to San Angelo, Charging ‘Billables for the Soul’

Gearing up for what surely will be among the largest child custody cases in U.S. history, scores of attorneys are converging upon San Angelo, Texas, to represent pro bono the 416 children and parents caught up in the raid of a polygamist sect’s compound. Some 350 lawyers from throughout Texas…

Apr 16, 2008 9:54 PM CDT

Mothers in Texas Ranch Raid Case Protest Removal of Children

Updated: As all involved gear up for a huge child custody hearing Thursday over 416 children removed from a Texas ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that allegedly promotes polygamy and underage marriages, a number of mothers are protesting that their children have been removed from their custody without…

Apr 15, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Dozens of Lawyers at Custody Hearing for 416 Kids from Texas Ranch

In preparation for a massive custody hearing Thursday concerning 416 children taken by the state of Texas from a ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that advocates polygamy, a preliminary hearing was held today that drew some 48 lawyers. District Judge Barbara Walther “was clearly struggling with how to…

Apr 14, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

Meet Gerry Goldstein, Lawyer for Polygamy Sect in Texas Ranch Raid

Known for taking challenging constitutional cases, Gerry Goldstein apparently didn’t hesitate when he got a chance to defend a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy, concerning a controversial raid of their Texas ranch. The gray-haired 64-year-old San Antonio lawyer wouldn’t condone the alleged child abuse that led authorities to search…

Apr 11, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

Texas Scrambles to Prep for Sect Hearing

The state of Texas has dispatched about 300 welfare workers to interview 416 children removed from a polygamous sect in preparation for a hearing Thursday before a Texas judge who will decide whether to place the youths in foster care. The Texas Bar Association is trying to recruit almost 100…

Apr 11, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Utah AG Mulled Texas-Style Raid on Polygamous Group

In the wake of a controversial raid by Texas authorities on a ranch at which multiple teens allegedly may have been sexually abused by a fringe Mormon group promoting underage “spiritual” marriages and polygamy, the Utah attorney general says he, too, considered such an action concerning a polygamous group there.…

Apr 10, 2008 4:22 PM CDT

Sect Protests Ranch Raid; Texas Wonders What to Do With 416 Kids

As additional details were revealed about the child abuse concerns that led to an unprecedented raid by Texas authorities of a ranch run by followers of a fringe Mormon leader who advocates polygamy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contended that its constitutional rights had been…

Apr 9, 2008 10:25 PM CDT

Wedding Ring Coffin a ‘Must Have’ Gift, Divorce Lawyer Says

Looking for the perfect gift for a divorce attorney or a divorcing client? An Atlanta newspaper offers a possible suggestion: a wedding ring coffin. “When I heard about it, I went to the website and thought to myself, ‘Must have. Must have’,” divorce attorney Melody Richardson tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.…

Apr 8, 2008 5:17 PM CDT

State Takes Custody of 416 Children in Raid on Polygamist Ranch

Updated: In what is apparently the largest child abuse case in state history, officials in Texas have taken custody of 416 children from a Texas ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. “Officials have completed removing all 416 children…

Apr 8, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Ranch Run by Warren Jeffs Followers Raided in Texas Child Abuse Probe

In what may be the largest child abuse investigation in Texas history, state workers have removed nearly 200 children and a number of women from a ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, a leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. The ongoing operation, which began Thursday evening,…

Apr 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Ark. Reinstates Minimum Marriage Age

It took a bit of time, but Arkansas has reinstated its minimum marriage age after becoming the butt of jokes when it inadvertently enacted legislation that would allow even toddlers to marry. The corrected legislation was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Mike Beebe, the Associated Press reports. At issue…

Apr 3, 2008 6:40 PM CDT

More Men Get Alimony as Stigma Lessens

As more men sacrifice their careers for their higher earning spouses, more are receiving court-ordered alimony. And more are willing to talk about it. The percentage of men receiving alimony rose to 3.6 percent in the five years ending in 2006, compared to 2.4 percent in the previous five-year period,…

Apr 1, 2008 1:38 PM CDT

Group Seeks Recall of Tree-Cutting Judge for ‘Evil Terrorism’ from the Bench

A recall petition against a California judge claims he inflicts “evil terrorism” from the bench and poses an “extreme danger to children and parents.” The recall targets Judge Peter McBrien of Sacramento for two decisions in 1998 and 1989 in which he is accused of placing children in the homes…

Mar 28, 2008 2:35 PM CDT