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Lifetime Alimony in TN

Family Law — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:36:00 +0000

From the Daily Journal: NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on a case that could change the way alimony is awarded in the Volunteer State. The case involves the bitter divorce of a former Hendersonville couple,…

Driver Gets DUI Charges After Hitting Cyclist

Legal Information — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:31:43 +0000

A drunk driver ran into a group of bicyclists on Thursday morning around Baldwin Hills after drinking and is charged with a misdemeanor of drunk driving.
Christine Dahab, 27 from Los Angeles, is being held on Thursday with a $15,000 bail.
The accident occurred at Jefferson Boulevard and Rodeo Drive when Dahab allegedly drove into eleven bicylists, one of which was critically injured, while they were waiting for other group members to catch up while overlooking the beautiful scenery.
The cyclists are supposedly part of a group called Midnight Ridazz which organizes …

Opinion in case involving sentencing for rehabilitation purposes

CrimProf BlogEditor — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:14:05 +0000

The case is Tapia v. United States. Here is the syllabus: Petitioner Tapia was convicted of, inter alia, smuggling unauthorized aliens into the United States. The District Court imposed a 51-month prison term, reasoning that Tapia should serve that long…

Birckhead: "Juvenile Justice Reform 2.0"

Family Law — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:45:27 +0000

Tamar Birckhead (UNC Chapel Hill) has posted “Juvenile Justice Reform 2.0″ (forthcoming Brooklyn J. Law & Policy) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Before the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court’s exercise of…

Birckhead: "Juvenile Justice Reform 2.0"

Family Law — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:45:27 +0000

Bankruptcy Court Rules Out Gay Marriage Ban

Legal Information — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:48:15 +0000

The country’s largest bankruptcy court based in Los Angeles has ruled that the federal law excluding same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
The federal court decided to make the ruling after a gay couple filed jointly for a bankruptcy petition on Monday. The couple got married in 2008 once the same-sex marriage was temporarily legal in California.
A Justice Department lawyer tried getting the petition dismissed by using the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits all marriages to strictly a man and a woman.
Although the Obama administration believes the act is unconstitutional, it was …

Hernandez on State Courts and Padilla

CrimProf BlogEditor — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:50:00 +0000

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández (Capital University Law School) has posted When State Courts Meet Padilla: A Concerted Effort is Needed to Bring State Courts Up to Speed on Crime-Based Immigration Law Provisions (Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law, Vol. 12,…

Soccer Coach Faces Sex Abuse Charges

Legal Information — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:10:38 +0000

Darrel J. Stephenson, age 24, has allegedly sexually abused a 12 year old boy on the soccer team he coaches. He was arrested Friday at his home in Crest Hill after investigation from Will County Sheriff’s Police.
Stephenson appeared in court this morning with charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He had a $750,000 bail. He was ordered to have absolutely no contact with minors should he post 10 percent of that bond.
The investigation was a week long before police determined he had, in fact, had sexual contact with a …

Fatigued Bus Driver Crashes Bus

Legal Information — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:32:08 +0000

Large interstate bus crashes have brought awareness to driver fatigue as fatal crash reports grow bigger.
Two weeks ago four women in Virginia were killed and many were injured when the driver of a 59-passenger bus toppled northward on Interstate 95. The bus was traveling from North Carolina to New York as it flipped over once the driver woke up and swerved back onto the road.
The driver, Kin Yui Cheung, age 37, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Sleep scientists and safety advocates say the roots of these …

Divorce in Philippines

Family Law — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:05:00 +0000

From PhilStar: MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Congress began this week a heated debate on the issue of legalizing divorce, but many social scientists believe it hard to achieve in this majority Catholic country at present. The Philippines and the Vatican…