Archive for March, 2011
So you just made the most brilliant objection of your legal career and the blankety-blank judge reserved ruling. How could this be? You begin to stew and fret, so much so that you let the witness conclude her testimony and be excused. Guess what. Your brilliant objection went out the window as the witness left the [ READ MORE ]
In law school we were taught not so much the law as how to think like lawyers. That is, we were taught to think analytically, to break complex issues into comprehensible components, and to bring creative solutions to bear using the framework of the law. Michelle Harner of the University of Maryland School of Law [ READ MORE ]
If anyone has a legitimate claim over authority to have the last word, it’s got to be the Oxford English Dictionary, aka the OED to English word afficianados everywhere. The OED is recognized as being the authoritative source for what is and is not an actual English word (as any accomplished Scrabble fan can tell you). When one [ READ MORE ]
Suppose in an equitable distribution case that you have to prove the balance in a PERS account and its balance on a past date? Or in a contempt case that you have to prove it was a hail storm that did the damage on May 15, 2008? Or in a modification of child support case that [ READ MORE ]
If you’ve ever tried your hand at making an anagram, you will appreciate how difficult it can be to come up with one that consists of actual words, much less one that makes a meaningful sentence and even conveys a meaningful message. That is what makes this one so incredible. TO BE OR NOT TO [ READ MORE ]
Is an indigent parent in default of child support payments entitled to appointment of counsel when he or she is faced with jail as a penalty? That is the issue that was presented to the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) on March 23, 2011. The majority of states do appoint counsel in such a [ READ MORE ]
I’ve posted here about the necessity to file post-trial motions to preserve error in chancery court, and how the COA’s January 25, 2011, decision in Robinson v. Brown may have changed our traditional practice. Then the COA stayed the mandate and we awaited a new decision. The new Robinson v. Brown opinion was issued yesterday, [ READ MORE ]
The law that applies in custody disputes between natural parents and third parties is not the same as that in custody disputes between two natural parents. “The well settled rule in a child custody case between a natural parent and a third party is that it is presumed that the best interest of the child [ READ MORE ]
Momma, daddy, baby, grandma and grandpa, Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Billy are all assembled expectantly with their digital cameras and mylar baloon bouquets awaiting that happy moment when the judge signs the adoption papers. Their party is deflated, though, when you glumly emerge from the judge’s office and report that there are still some papers you need [ READ MORE ]
English is just too confusing … I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough. Others may stumble, but not you, On hiccough, thorough, laugh, and through. Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps. Beware of heard, a dreadful word, That looks like beard [ READ MORE ]
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