| Jefferson Davis judge benched | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 12:45:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | NEW ORLEANS — The state Supreme Court on Friday removed a Jefferson Davis Parish judge from office for violations that ranged from handling his secretary’s divorce case while having an affair with the woman, to sexual trysts at the courthouse. Thirty-first Judicial District Judge Wendell R. Miller is barred from running for judge again for at least five years and not until he obtains prior approval from the Supreme Court. "The sheer magnitude of the gross violations … is intolerable and mandates such serious discipline," the justices wrote in ordering Miller’s removal from the bench. The state Judiciary Commission, which investigates allegations of misconduct against judges, lodged six separate charges against Miller. Most of the charges stemmed from a relationship with his secretary that ultimately soured and resulted in a sexual harassment lawsuit that the state paid $50,000 to settle.... | |
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| | | Few low-income couples tapping mediation fund | | Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:45:49 PM by Blog57 Team | | VALPARAISO | Only eight couples this year took advantage of a county program offering free or subsidized divorce mediation services to low-income residents.Most of the money, which is generated through a $20 fee on all divorce filings, was spent to mediate paternity disputes involving couples who were unmarried when they had children, said Family Court Supervisor Alison Cox. Sixty-six families received paternity mediation assistance this year through the county's Alternative Dispute Resolution Fund Plan, according to an annual report compiled by Cox.Porter County magistrates Katherine Forbes and James Johnson, who handle most of the county's divorce cases, said they don't require mediation, but do encourage it.Successful mediation not only reduces the need for court time, but also provides an opportunity to discuss issues that might not be allowed in a courtroom, Forbes said."I can't imagine what the docket would be like without it," Johnson said.Divorcing couples interested in the mediation assistance program do not have to be referred by the county magistrate or judges, according to Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper.Individuals can be referred by their attorneys or apply on their own through the family court division at the Porter County Juvenile Probation Department, she said.Couples with children are eligible for assistance if they fall below 130 percent of the federal poverty index, but exceptions will be considered, according to the program guidelines.While Cox said the program is capable of handling more divorce referrals, it operated in the red this year, according to the annual report.... | |
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| | | More cases create longer waiting time | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 10:45:49 AM by Blog57 Team | | NEWARK -- When an Upper Arlington man still paying child support to his deceased ex-wife has to wait several months for a Licking County court date, people wonder what is causing the backlog. The answer likely can be found in the burgeoning number of cases filling Licking County court dockets. .... | |
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| | | Bonus Brought Lawyer's Hourly Rate to $1,500 | | Posted Sunday, October 29, 2006 6:46:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | Greenwich divorce lawyer Gary I. Cohen is among Connecticut's priciest attorneys. But requiring his client pay him an additional $300,000 "bonus," for a highly contentious five-day divorce mediation in Chicago, effectively ratcheted up his already considerable rate to an out-of-this-world $1,511 an hour, Connecticut disciplinary authorities contend. In a grievance proceeding that got underway Oct. 12, the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel is urging Cohen be presented in Superior Court for appropriate discipline for allegedly coercing his client into paying an unreasonably excessive fee. The grievance stems from a divorce action in which Cohen represented Redding real estate developer Gary Zimmerman. The $300,000 bonus secured by Cohen prompted Zimmerman to sue Cohen in federal court for economic damages.... | |
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| | | McCartney divorce turns nastier | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:45:49 AM by Blog57 Team | | LONDON - Attorneys for Paul McCartney said Wednesday that the former Beatle would "vigorously" defend himself against allegations made by his estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney. Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported Wednesday that a court document contained accounts of acrimony and mistreatment during their four-year marriage. "Our client will be defending these allegations vigorously and appropriately," the law firm Payne Hicks Beach said in a statement. The 64-year-old rocker and the 38-year-old anti-land mine campaigner announced their separation in May and have begun divorce proceedings in an increasingly acrimonious split. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice. The Daily Mail published excerpts from what it said was a court document filed by Mills McCartney in response to the former Beatle's July divorce petition.... | |
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| | | Family on edge as slay-for-pay trial set to start | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 12:45:46 PM by Blog57 Team | | DAYTONA BEACH -- A Holly Hill plumber was gunned down when he answered a knock at the door. More than two years later, as John Cataneo's sisters and mother ready their nerves for the murder-for-hire death penalty trial of his widow and a former employee, their agony continues. "It's not getting easier, it's actually getting harder," said Cataneo's sister, Lou Ann Cataneo. "Our nerves are raw." More than two weeks have been set aside for the trial of Karen Tobie and Tysjohaun Cooper. The jury is scheduled to be picked today. A penalty phase would come later if Tobie and Cooper are convicted. Cataneo, 45, a Yankees and Giants fan who moved here from New York City 15 years earlier, was shot to death June 30, 2004. His mother, Ann, heard the knock but didn't open the door.... | |
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| | | VARN to celebrate 10th anniversary with Cow Country Ball fundraiser | | Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 10:45:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | Volunteers Attorneys for Rural Nevadans and its Domestic Violence Victim's Assistance Program will celebrate VARN's 10th anniversary Friday at the annual Cow County Ball at Fuji Park Exhibition Hall. VARN provides free legal services to low-income individuals and families, domestic violence survivors and abused and neglected children. It uses nearly 100 percent of funds raised from the Cow County Ball to continue its services. "We need the community to support us so we can continue to provide these free services," said Odessa Ramirez, program director. She said in a typical divorce, an estimate for the cost of legal services is $5,000. "That's a low average," she said. The menu for the evening includes chicken and ribs and various salads and desserts, catered by A Catered Affair.... | |
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| | | Pet disputes in a divorce can be a real dog fight | | Posted Wednesday, October 04, 2006 2:45:43 PM by Blog57 Team | | Gaetano Ferro, a divorce lawyer, remembers an unusual case from a decade ago. It involved a custody dispute over a springer spaniel. What Ferro remembers most are the snickering judges in the courthouse. And he recalls that the couple finally decided the dog would spend alternate weeks with each owner. Such a case would be less unusual, and probably less funny, today. Nearly a quarter of divorce lawyers surveyed across the U.S. have noticed an increase in pet-custody cases in the past five years, according to a recent poll of 1,500 members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "There is a shift occurring in our society in which the ... pet is considered more a member of the family ... and therefore becomes, sadly, a part of the battle when the family disintegrates," said Joyce Tischler, founding director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Northern California.... | |
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| | | Divorce judge resigns amid allegations | | Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2006 2:45:40 AM by Blog57 Team | | OKLAHOMA CITY An Oklahoma County divorce judge is resigning after being accused of inappropriate behavior with female attorneys, female law students and women with cases before him. Special Judge Michael Chionopoulos decided to step down after district judges voted to replace him. A special judge is not an elected position and can be removed by a majority vote among district judges who hire them. Among the accusations against Chionopoulos is that he ordered a female stripper in a child-custody case to personally deliver to him the results of drug tests every Friday. And female attorneys say he called them repeatedly on their cell phones _ sometimes late at night. Chionopoulos is in a hospital and could not be reached for comment. Copyright 2006 Associated Press.... | |
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| | | PEOPLE: Brinkley files for divorce from Cook | | Posted Sunday, September 17, 2006 2:45:41 PM by Blog57 Team | | In a widely anticipated move, Christie Brinkley has filed for divorce from Peter Cook, who will likely go down in history as the cad who set the evolution of the male species back decades by marrying a famous model and then having an affair with an 18-year-old girl who was working for him. Brinkley's move comes two months after reports surfaced about Cook's alleged affair, the Associated Press and New York Post reported Thursday. Brinkley's rep refused to comment on the reports. The 52-year-old model announced in July that she and Cook, 47, her fourth husband, had separated. They were married in 1996, and have an 8-year-old daughter, Sailor. Cook adopted Brinkley's 11-year-old son Jack from her marriage to developer Richard Taubman. Cook's lawyer, David Aronson, said his client "regrets that this happened.... | |
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