12-28-07 -- A hearings officer said state child protective services workers violated the rights of a disabled Livingston woman and retaliated against her when she complained about an investigation into whether she could properly care for her child. . . . In a 49-page ruling issued last week, Terry Spear, a hearings officer with the state Department of Labor and Industries, found that employees with the Child and Family Services Division of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services violated state anti-discrimination laws when they began an investigation without good cause into whether Geri Glass could properly care for her newborn son. . . . Glass, 29, was injured in a 1996 car crash and uses a wheelchair, but has partial use of her arms and hands. She filed the discrimination and retaliation complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau in April 2005. A hearing was held in April 2006.

By Jeffrey Gold, Associated Press 

12-14-07 -- The state Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a stepmother who fled the state with her husband and his children should not have been convicted of kidnapping unless she used force, threat or deception. . . . The 5-1 decision by New Jersey's highest court is the latest twist in a custody tussle that ended in 2001 when the couple were arrested after their boat broke down in North Carolina en route to the Bahamas. . . . In directing a trial judge to have a hearing on overturning the kidnapping conviction of Stacey Froland-Kindt, the high court said lawmakers didn't intend kidnapping to apply in such situations since the woman had the consent of the children's father, John E. Kindt. . . . "Rather, both of them were subject to prosecution under the interference with custody statute," Justice Virginia A. Long wrote for the majority. The decision reversed an appellate court ruling issued in June 2005.

By Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times staff reporter

12-07-07 -- With custody of her three children hanging in the balance, Brenda King, a housewife with a ninth-grade education and no money, was forced to act as her own attorney during a five-day divorce trial in Snohomish County last year. . . . King gave speeches when she was supposed to ask questions. She didn't subpoena any witnesses. And she didn't know how to present evidence against her then-husband, including Child Protective Services reports about him. . . . Not surprisingly, her husband, who had an attorney, won. After spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mom, King gets to see her kids every other weekend. . . . On Thursday, in a precedent-setting case, the state Supreme Court denied King's request for a new trial, this time with a divorce lawyer at public expense. . . . The seven-justice majority ruled that the constitutional right to an attorney in criminal and child-welfare cases does not extend to divorce cases when someone can't afford to hire a lawyer. But Justice Charles W. Johnson, writing for the majority, suggested that the Legislature may want to do so as a matter of "wise public policy."

by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor

11-30-07 -- (LifeNews.com) -- A leading pro-life law firm is looking for more women who regret their abortion decision to come forward. The Justice Foundation says it needs to receive signed legal statements from women in order to help the Supreme Court see the physical and emotional damage abortion has done to millions of women since Roe v. Wade. . . . Justice Foundation officials point out that the Supreme Court finally acknowledged the problems abortion causes women in its April decision upholding the partial-birth abortion ban. . . . Citing sworn testimony that The Justice Foundation presented, and acknowledging the argument that "abortion hurts women," the Court recognized that "some women come to regret" their abortions. . . . "Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful moral decision" and is "fraught with emotional consequence," the Court said. The Court also noted that "severe depression and loss of esteem can follow" an abortion. . . . Yale Law School professor Jack M. Balkin noted this inclusion and said, "The new rhetoric of pro-life forces [that Abortion Hurts Women] is no longer just rhetoric. It is now part of Supreme Court doctrine. That is the big news."

11-28-07 --This is a special plea for justice from an abuse survivor to Oregon's Governor. Does hope exist in Oregon's legal system? This is a story every one should know. Part One in a special series.

After surviving years of childhood and marital abuse and neglect, a woman suffers a physical collapse and severe mental/nervous breakdown. While in a near catatonic state, the woman is physically assaulted and raped. She becomes pregnant. . . . Toward the final stages of her pregnancy, she fully recovers from her breakdown. She births her baby, and mother and baby enjoy bonding and breastfeeding. The mother cherishes her newborn son. After undergoing several psychiatric tests and evaluations, her physicians state that she is well. . . . Her abuser, the father of the child, manipulates the judicial system and seeks custody of the baby. With intervention from the religious community and testimony about the mother's prior mental history, the father is awarded custody of the nursing infant. The mother is ordered to pay her rapist/abuser exorbitant child support while suffering from homelessness and disabilities. She is no longer allowed contact with her child. When the baby is abruptly taken away, the mother goes into shock. . . . The 'father of the child' has committed crimes against the mother according to Oregon statutes and laws (Chapter 743, Oregon Laws 1971, 163.375), but is embraced and rewarded in our judicial and religious system. The victim becomes the criminal. I am this woman; this baby is my child; and the father of this child is my ex-husband. [more]

Jack Fink, Reporting

11-2-07 -- (CBS 11 News) McKINNEY A North Texas mother said she had to surrender her wedding ring in the middle of a custody battle for her young son. . . . Lanna Wood claims two days before her trail, her attorney, Sharon Easley, demanded $10,000. If she did not pay, her firm wouldn't represent her in court. Easley is a former candidate for judge in Collin County. . . . Wood said she told Easley she didn't have the money and that Easley told her to bring something of value, such as a car title or jewelry instead. . . . "When I told her all I had was my wedding ring, she said that was fine, to bring it in, and to have it there by five o'clock that day or the attorney that was representing me wouldn't be allowed to go to the trail," said Wood. . . . In addition to giving up her ring, Wood said she had already been paying Easley $300 a month. . . . Despite the monthly payments, and the ring as collateral, Easley sued her client for $21,000 in back payments.

WEST VIRGINIA   

Supreme Court restores full custody to mother from babysitters

By Steve Korris -Statehouse Bureau

11-2-07 -- Swiftly and sternly, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals restored to a mother full custody of her 4-year-old daughter. . . . The Justices reversed Cabell Circuit Judge Alfred Ferguson and Family Court Judge Patricia Keller, who had ordered the mother to share custody with babysitters. . . . In an unsigned Oct. 25 opinion, the Justices wrote that they were "deeply troubled by the utter disregard" for the mother's rights. . . . They delivered the opinion 16 days after oral arguments, making it one of their quickest decisions this year. . . . They didn't send it back to Ferguson for a new custody order. They restored full custody as soon as their clerk could send out the opinion. . . . By informal agreement, the mother had kept her daughter from Monday evenings to Wednesday mornings and from Wednesday evenings to Friday mornings. . . . The sitters, distant cousins of the child's father, did not allege that the mother was unfit. They did not seek custody of her sons, ages seven and 11.

Tony Mauro, Legal Times 

10-29-07 -- When the Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on "partial-birth" abortions in April, critics sounded the alarm that women would be harmed, physicians would be jailed, and state legislators would be energized to pass similar laws. . . . Six months later, it appears that those fears have not come true, with no prosecutions on the federal or state level, little legislative action, and quiet adjustments in abortion procedures that have so far kept doctors on the safe side of the law. . . . And here's the kicker: the Supreme Court's April decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, as dramatic as it was, may not even be able to revive some of the state partial-birth abortion laws that had been struck down based on earlier Supreme Court precedent, before the high court ruled in Gonzales. . . . The legal landscape changes slowly, it seems, even -- or especially -- on a hot-button issue like abortion. . . . An important new measure of the effect of Gonzales comes this week, when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals re-evaluates Virginia's partial-birth abortion ban -- possibly the strictest ban in the nation -- in light of Gonzales. The high court remanded the Virginia law to the 4th Circuit just days after the Gonzales decision.

Rene Stutzman | Sentinel Staff Writer

10-12-07 -- A husband and wife from Oviedo have lost their legal battle to take custody of the baby girl they had hired a surrogate mother to bear. . . . A Jacksonville judge ruled Wednesday that Tom and Gwyn Lamitina are not the legal parents of the child, Emma, now 5 months old. The decision leaves the infant with her mother, Jacksonville teacher Stephanie Eckard. . . . "They are obviously devastated," said the attorney for the couple, Scott Salomon of Coral Springs. He said they would appeal. . . . "The ultimate victim in this case -- the person that is suffering the most -- is the child," he said, "because at least on a temporary basis, this child is going to grow up, for the time being, without the love of a father."

New York Lawyer, By Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press

10-12-07 -- It wasn't one of Britney Spears' more overwhelming performances, but her live appearance in court won her back a piece of motherhood. . . . Spears stood up for herself Thursday for the first time in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline and faced the court commissioner who took her kids away, citing drug and alcohol abuse by the pop princess. . . . By the time the closed-door session was over, Spears was awarded one overnight stay a week with her two little boys even though she won't be left alone with them — someone appointed by the court will be monitoring her. . . . She spent about an hour before the commissioner, who earlier declined to rule on her emergency request to expand visitation. . . . She then drove from the courthouse in a white Mercedes-Benz and was swarmed by news media at a stop light, escaping only after sheriff's deputies ran from the courthouse to aid her. . . . Neither Spears nor her attorneys spoke to reporters after the hearing. . . . Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini announced that the visitation order had been modified to permit the children, who were recently placed in Federline's custody, to have one overnight visit a week with their mother. . . . Spears was previously allowed monitored visits with the children but no overnight stays.

10-10-07 -- (AP) -- A judge who barred words including "rape" in a trial has clarified that the alleged victim can use what the judge says is an "equally descriptive term": sexual assault. . . . The clarification from Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront came after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Cheuvront by the alleged victim but expressed concerns over the language ban. . . . Tory Bowen, 24, said in the September complaint that Cheuvront violated her free speech rights by barring words including "rape," "victim" and "assailant" from the trial of Pamir Safi. . . . Safi, 34, was charged with first-degree sexual assault stemming from an encounter between Bowen and Safi at his apartment three years ago. Safi says he and Bowen had consensual sex. Bowen, a former student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who lives in Washington, D.C., says she was too intoxicated to give consent and that Safi knew it. . . . In the new order filed by Cheuvront, he doesn't back off his earlier order that "rape" should be barred from the trial.

By Rick Laney, of The Daily Times Staff

10-10-07 --A Maryville woman who went to court on Aug. 14 for a child custody hearing says she was persecuted because of her religious beliefs at the hands of the Blount County judicial system. . . . According to Jo Anne White, what was supposed to be a standard child custody hearing turned into an almost hour long “Bible study” in the courtroom in spite of the repeated protests of her attorney, Kevin W. Shepherd. . . . After a detailed discussion of her religious beliefs — documented in court reporter transcripts obtained by The Daily Times — and a brief recess to chambers, Blount County Circuit Court Judge W. Dale Young awarded temporary custody of White’s two children to her ex-husband. The custody will be reviewed again in Circuit Court on Dec. 11. . . . While Young questioned White about one specific aspect of her religion, attorney Craig Garrett, who represented White’s ex-husband, asked numerous probing questions about her faith. Of the 65 pages of court transcripts reviewed by The Daily Times, 41 pages deal directly with White’s religious beliefs.

By Rebecca Winters Keegan

10-3-07 -- The February 2006 photo of Britney Spears steering her SUV out of a Starbucks parking lot in Malibu, Calif., with her infant son, Sean Preston, slumped on her lap was the first sign for many of us that the young mom might not be ready for parenthood. By the time a Los Angeles judge temporarily stripped the pop singer of custody of Sean, now 2, and Jayden James, 1, on Monday, Spears had provided dozens more images that suggest she is unable to care for two young children. From her impromptu head-shaving to her trips to rehab to her recent listless shuffle around the MTV Video Music Awards stage, Spears, 26, seems incapable of taking care of herself. Today she and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, will face a judge to determine the next step in this increasingly ugly custody battle. . . . The judge, L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon, didn't make public his reasons for separating Spears from her sons Monday, but family law experts say such a dramatic move is rare. "A change of custody is very difficult," says Muriel Savikas, a divorce mediator and child psychologist in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "The courts don't normally do that without some real concerns about safety."

By Felicia Mello, Globe Correspondent

9-27-07 -- A state appeals court judge ruled yesterday in favor of a Harvard medical student who wanted extra time to pump breast milk during a licensing exam. . . . The woman, Sophie Currier of Brookline, argued that it would be uncomfortable and possibly pose a health problem if she took only the allowed breaks. . . . The National Board of Medical Examiners offered to let her pump while she took the test, but she said that would put her at a disadvantage during the exam, which she must pass to graduate and begin her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. . . . "I now feel that I am able to take this test without putting my health or my child's health at risk," said Currier. "I hope this decision encourages moms to breast-feed and employers of moms to accommodate their needs."

Nicole Miller Signature Lingerie Collection

9-26-07 -- A lawyer for a former Somerset County woman has asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider its recent unanimous opinion that doctors don't have to tell a woman seeking an abortion that the procedure would kill a human being. . . . In asking for the do-over, a lawyer for Rosa Acuna, a former Somerset County woman who sued her doctor for emotional distress after having an abortion, said the court should hold rearguments on the case. If the request for the rarely-granted reconsideration wasn't honored, the next step would be the U.S. Supreme Court, said the lawyer, Harold Cassidy. . . . "We feel the errors are so patent and palpable that we should ask the court to correct those errors," he said. "What issue is more important than protecting the constitutional rights of a pregnant mother?" . . . Cassidy has already asked the nation's highest court to review a separate issue in Acuna's legal battle: whether she should be able to sue for wrongful death of her fetus. He filed the motion for reconsideration late Monday, he said.

By Woody Baird

9-25-07 -- (AP) — Mary Winkler convinced a jury she was physically and emotionally abused by her preacher husband before she shot him to death. Now, after a short jail sentence, she is trying to persuade the courts to let her have her children back. . . . The children's paternal grandparents are trying to have Winkler stripped of her rights as a parent so they can adopt the three girls, ages 2, 8 and 10. . . . It is sure to be a bitter and difficult custody battle, and one with little precedent in Tennessee. . . . Termination of parental rights is allowed if one parent "wrongfully" kills the other. But that has been part of state law for only a few years. . . . Usually, the surviving parent "is incarcerated for such a long time that the parent cannot raise the children. But we don't have that here," said Christina Zawisza, a lawyer with the University of Memphis Child Advocacy Clinic. . . . Winkler's husband, Matthew, 31, was killed with a shotgun blast to the back in March 2006 at his Church of Christ parsonage in Selmer, a small town about 80 miles east of Memphis. Mary Winkler went to jail and the couple's children moved in with their father's parents in the small town of Huntingdon.

By Clarence Mabin / Lincoln Journal Star