Something unusual in the Yale Law Journal: an article that takes a not entirely enthusiastic view of the continued spread of domestic restraining orders. Under such orders (some earlier posts) allegations of spousal abuse, whether or not eventually proven at trial and whether or not withdrawn by the accuser, can trigger highly burdensome sanctions against the accused spouse, including a prohibition on entering his or her own home. Harvard Law assistant professor Jeannie Suk says the process can amount to “de facto state-imposed divorce” and greatly increases the power of the state to reach into and reorder family life, sometimes against the will of both parties. (“Criminal Law Comes Home”, Oct., abstract leads to PDF of full version)(via Pattis). In response, a second law professor argues that current legal trends appropriately treat alleged domestic violence as a crime against the state and not just against the nominal victim, and that it is wrong to place too much emphasis on accusers’ supposed right to forgive abusive conduct (Cheryl Hanna, “Because Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, The Pocket Part, Oct. 12)(& welcome Ron Coleman/Dean Esmay readers).
Posts Tagged ‘divorce’
Tarheel heartbalm, cont’d
Newsweek looks at North Carolina’s cottage industry of tort actions by wronged spouses against the cads, hussies and assorted homebreakers who put an end to their domestic felicity (see May 22, 2005, Nov. 16, 2004, and May 18-21, 2000). “Although alienation of affection is rarely invoked in most states, a series of high-profile judgments in North Carolina, including one in 2001 for $2 million, have inspired more than 200 suits annually in recent years. Lawyers say people typically file these claims as leverage in divorce and custody disputes. ‘A wife says I’m going to sue your girlfriend if you don’t give me $50,000 more in property settlement. That’s an improper use of the [law], and it shouldn’t take place,’ says A. Doyle Early Jr., former chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s family law section. … Conservative [i.e., Religious Right] groups like the North Carolina Family Policy Council say the law should stay on the books”. (Julie Scelfo, “Heartbreak’s revenge”, Dec. 4).
November 8 roundup
- Post-election roundup from me and Walter. [Point of Law]
- Black helicopter crowd calls 90-10 Amendment E (Oct. 27) loss a fraudulent conspiracy. [Lattman]
- University of Michigan seeks to engage in frivolous litigation to strike down measure barring racial preferences. [Bernstein @ Volokh]
- Patron drinks, dances on bar, sues bar when she falls down. [Above the Law; Lattman; TortsProf]
- Can KFed use custody battle to renegotiate “ironclad” prenup? (NB that, unless prenup says otherwise, Britney Spears may be required to spring for Federline’s attorneys.) [TMZ via Defamer]
- Speaking of which, here’s a divorce case with a legal bill of $3M and counting. [Forbes]
- The litigious Michael Crook, unhappy that others are posting screen-caps of his mug. [Boing Boing]
- “Sometimes patients and their families DON’T want to hear good news.” A tale of a Social Security disability seeker. [Rangel]
“Mom tells of daughter’s ‘rape’ scheme”
“After walking past her husband’s silent gaze in a courthouse hallway, the woman testified that she knew of plans by her daughter and her husband to frame [teacher] Danny Cuesta, 30, for rape. She said it was part of a scam to sue the North Babylon School District.” NB, however, that the witness is going through a divorce with her husband, and the prosecutors are alleging that the mother participated in the teacher’s cover-up. (Alfonso A. Castillo, Newsday, Oct. 18; AP/WSYR, Oct. 4).
Lawyer-ad Hall of Fame: DivorceEZ.com
Florida divorce lawyer Steve Miller wants your business if “you and your spouse hate each other like poison”. Just a few easy steps, and “you’re on the way to getting rid of that vermin you call a spouse.” His YouTube video is discussed by Carolyn Elefant (Aug. 30), Greedy Trial Lawyer (Sept. 2), and Jacobson Attorneys in South Africa (Aug. 31) which contributes a Flickr photo documenting a marketing effort by divorce attorneys in that country (“Cheating Bastard!”). Miller’s site is here.
Jailed for 11 years — so far — in divorce
Is H. Beatty Chadwick concealing major assets, as his ex-wife’s lawyers contend and as a court has agreed? Or is Chadwick right in his story about not being able to lay hands on the money? And is Chadwick stubborn enough to have stuck with a false story through 11 years — so far — of imprisonment for contempt of court? (“A divorce case’s singular result: 11 years in jail … and counting”, AP/Baltimore Sun, Sept. 17).
“Case studies in divorce madness”
Ann Althouse and commenters (Jul. 21) analyze the marital breakup of football player Michael Strahan, as well as an unrelated guy whose live-in relationship fell victim to contractor cuckoldry.
“National Divorce Rate Reaches New Highs in Bitterness”
Comparatively few spouses blow up buildings, as police suspect a Manhattan doctor may have done, but things can still get pretty extreme:
Prominent New York divorce attorney Raoul Felder was more specific. “I had a client murdered by his wife,” Felder said. “I have seen [cases in which] a kitten [was] put in a washing machine, a puppy in the microwave — the puppy died, the kitten lived.
“I have seen art collections slashed, a guy with a vinyl record collection had it returned by his wife all smashed into bits,” Felder added. “I’ve seen clothes ripped up. One gentleman got his wife tickets to some hot play, and when she returned, her stuff was in the street. I’ve seen children taken at airports.”
(Chris Francescani and Kristen Depowski, ABCNews.com, Jul. 11; Anemona Hartocollis and Cara Buckley, “Divorce, Real Estate and Rubble: When Marriages Go Really Awry”, New York Times, Jul. 12 (note similar quotes from Felder, who’s clearly not afraid to give the same interview twice); Jane Ridley, “Divorce gets dirty”, New York Daily News, Jun. 12(et plus encore for that same kitten and puppy)). And: Rebecca Goldin at STATS.org chides ABC for sensationalism (Jul. 14).
Bonus video link: Patsy Cline, “A Church, A Courtroom, and Then Goodbye” (YouTube) (via Terry Teachout’s fabulous new listing of online video and audio resources).
Update: Devastated by cheating spouse
In the much-watched case we discussed last week (Jun. 21), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that compensation could indeed be awarded a wife for her inability to work due to ongoing trauma from her ex-husband’s infidelity years earlier. Per the Globe and Mail:
Some legal experts said yesterday that the vague and self-contradictory nature of the ruling may encourage litigation from other estranged spouses who want to mount similar arguments based on their emotionally fragile state.
“What has opened up is a new route for people to argue that they cannot become self-sufficient,” said University of Toronto law professor Brenda Cossman.
(Kirk Makin, “Divorce ruling threatens to open floodgates”, Globe & Mail, Jun. 22).
18-year legal malpractice suit
Adeline Scomello of Suffolk County, N.Y. engaged five attorneys to represent her in divorce proceedings, and sued all five for legal malpractice. Now a judge has finally thrown out, with strong words as to its lack of merit, her pro se suit against lawyer #2 in the series — a suit that lasted for eighteen years. Dismissing her 329-page application for reargument, Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Arlen Spinner wrote that New York’s public policy of “unfettered access to the courts” must give way at some point. (Mark Fass, “Judge Halts Pro Se Litigant’s ‘Abusive Litigation Practices’ Against Divorce Lawyers”, New York Law Journal, May 11). (Corrected to fix typo in litigant’s name).