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May 2008

NEW YORK

Making Seven Minutes Count

New York Lawyer, By Mark Fass, New York Law Journal

5-9-08 -- Each week day, hundreds of litigants show up at Brooklyn's Family Court, nearly four-fifths of whom are unrepresented by an attorney and, to varying degrees, unprepared for what may be six or seven of the most important minutes of their lives. . . . The six floors of the court at 330 Jay St. offer standing room only for people whose familial problems - mostly custody, visitation, child support and paternity issues - have deteriorated to the point that they require court intervention. Virtually no one wears the tell-tale dark suit of an attorney. . . . "Family Court hearings proceed very quickly and pro se litigants are overwhelmingly unprepared for this," said attorney Leah Edmunds. "They often emerge not knowing what hit them." . . . Such was the genesis of the now 18-month-old New York City Family Court Legal Services Project, a twice weekly free-consultation service in the Brooklyn Family Court that provides pro se parties a chance to meet with volunteer attorneys on a one-time basis, usually for about 30 minutes to an hour. . . . Such was the genesis of the now 18-month-old New York City Family Court Legal Services Project, a twice weekly free-consultation service in the Brooklyn Family Court that provides pro se parties a chance to meet with volunteer attorneys on a one-time basis, usually for about 30 minutes to an hour.

RHODE ISLAND  

Judge puts off same-sex divorce ruling

By Edward Fitzpatrick, Journal Staff Writer

5-9-08 --  A judge yesterday said she needs to know more before deciding whether to ask the state Supreme Court if the Superior Court may grant Rhode Island’s first same-sex divorce. . . . In December, the Supreme Court ruled that Family Court lacked jurisdiction to grant a divorce to two Providence women — Margaret R. Chambers and Cassandra B. Ormiston — who married in Fall River in 2004, shortly after Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. . . . Now, Chambers wants the high court to determine whether Superior Court, the state’s main trial court, can dissolve the marriage. . . . During a hearing yesterday, Superior Court Judge Patricia A. Hurst asked both sides to submit legal memos and she scheduled another hearing for June 12. “You have caught me off guard with a one-page motion with no supporting memoranda, no analysis,” Hurst told Chambers’ lawyer, Louis M. Pulner.

NEW YORK  

Court Decision Is Victory For Gay Marriage Backers

By Joseph Goldstein, Staff Reporter of the Sun

5-7-08 -- Gay marriage advocates have won a partial victory in New York, as the state's highest court has left in place a lower court ruling that recognized a lesbian couple as being married. . . . The Court of Appeals declined yesterday to review the mid-level appellate court's decision to recognize the couple's Canadian marriage, the first such ruling by an appellate court in New York State. . . . For now, that lower court decision remains binding across the state. . . . In 2006, the state's Court of Appeals found that there was no right to same-sex marriages under the state constitution, leaving unanswered the question of whether the state would recognize same-sex marriages and civil unions performed in other states and abroad. So far, lower courts around the state have mostly said yes. . . . There is no specific law out of Albany addressing the issue, but New York state has long recognized most marriages from other states, even when a couple would not be eligible to get married under New York law.

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles man wins right to use wife's last name

By Jill Serjeant Reuters

5-5-08 -- All Michael Buday wanted to do was take the last name of his wife, Diana Bijon, when they married. . . . But it took two years, a lawsuit alleging sex discrimination and a change in California law before he picked up his new drivers license in the name of Michael Bijon on Monday. . . . "It was personal. I feel much closer to (Diana's) father than I do mine. She asked me to take her name and I thought it would be very simple. I never imagined the state would make it so difficult," Michael Bijon, 31, told reporters. . . . He discovered it would take a $350 fee, court appearances, a public announcement and mounds of paperwork to make a change on his driving license that is routine for women who marry. . . . After months of frustration, the Los Angeles computer programmer and his ER nurse wife Diana, 29, took their problem to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

April 2008

PENNSYLVANIA  

Judge’s brother-in-law paid $877K

Psych services to court not bid out

By Jennifer Learn-Andes, Luzerne County Reporter

4-30-08 -- A Luzerne County judge’s brother-in-law has been paid $877,880 to provide psychological services to the court system since 2004, raising questions about why that work isn’t publicly advertised. . . . The psychologist, Frank Vita, is married to the sister of Mike Conahan, who is now a senior judge in the county Court of Common Pleas. . . . Psychology is considered a professional service by county officials. . . . The county’s 2004 purchasing policy requires public requests for proposals or qualifications for professional services over $7,500. The mandate is meant to give everyone a shot at the work and to gather cost comparisons, though there’s no requirement that the work will go to the individual or business that submits the lowest price. . . . Common Pleas President Judge Mark Ciavarella said he wasn’t aware of the county purchasing policy and has been abiding by the state County Code, which does not require public advertising for professional services. . . . Requests-for-proposals will be sought for the psychology service in the future, said county Chief Clerk/Manager Doug Pape. . . . Ciavarella said he has no problem advertising the psychology work, but he stressed that he does not believe the court is required to abide by the county’s purchasing policy. . . . “The court is a separate branch of government. They (commissioners) can’t dictate how I manage the court system, as long as I am in compliance with the state law,” Ciavarella said. . . . But Commissioners Stephen A. Urban and Maryanne Petrilla believe the courts must follow the county policy. . . . Urban said $877,880 is a lot of money to pay someone without shopping around for the prices and qualifications of other providers. . . . Petrilla said she knows of no county document or state law that exempts the courts from following county purchasing policies.

Now We Know, Marriage Is Cost-Effective

By Carey Roberts, NewsWithViews.com

4-26-08 -- It’s long been known that family break-up inflicts massive social costs on communities and children. But what about the burden it imposes on the American taxpayer? . . . It’s a proven fact that family dissolution places children at greater risk of poverty, mental and physical illness, juvenile delinquency, abuse, substance abuse, and educational failure. A few years ago Wade Horn, former director of the federal Administration for Children and Families, revealed, “My agency spends $46 billion per year operating 65 different social programs. If one goes down the list of these programs... the need for each is either created or exacerbated by the breakup of families and marriages.” . . . But what about the impact of heavier demands on the criminal justice system? Medical care services? And losses in tax revenues? At last we have a good idea of the answer. . . . Last week -- Tax Day to be exact -- the Institute for American Values released its ground-breaking report, “Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing.” Researched by economist Benjamin Scafidi, the document lays out an elegant four-step logic:

1. Anti-poverty programs like TANF, housing assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, WIC, etc. – family break-up is responsible for 32% of these programs’ costs.

2. Government programs for children such as Head Start, SCHIP, school breakfast programs, etc. – family dissolution causes 36% of these costs.

3. Justice system -- 24% of crime is the result of childhood poverty.

4. Lost taxes – Newly employed workers would presumably pay taxes to the IRS (10% of wages), state and local government (11%), and FICA (15%).

Tally up the numbers and – voila! – the total taxpayer cost of fragile families comes out to $112 billion dollars a year. That’s billion with a B.

But what’s clear is these numbers vastly underestimate the financial impact of family break-down, in at least three ways.

Is Planned Parenthood Above The Law?
By Maggie Gallagher

4-22-08 -- Planned Parenthood likes to think of itself as above all reproach -- a champion of women's rights and also (as its annual report claims) the nation's "social justice movement." . . . But this week, in front of Planned Parenthood offices at 1108 16th St. NW in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, a group of black pastors and pro-life activists (joined by two GOP congressmen) will demand a congressional audit of what the group alleges are a pattern of racist practices, funded by taxpayers, at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. . . . Planned Parenthood's latest trouble began when a feisty pro-life student magazine called Planned Parenthood offices in seven states, posing as an openly racist donor seeking to make sure his check could be earmarked to abort "a black baby." The resulting phone conversations are horrifying listening. (Judge for yourself at www.youtube.com./watch?v=zwif0VMW3c4.)

According to the group, Planned Parenthood officers in at least four states agreed not only to accept the racists' check, but to actually earmark the donation for that purpose. "The less black kids the better," the caller tells one Planned Parenthood employee. "For whatever reason we'll accept the money," was one typical response. . . . The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is promising to spend $10 million this election cycle. "These donations come even as Planned Parenthood is defending itself against a range of civil and criminal complaints in several states, and critics charge that the organization is trying to buy influence in Congress," notes ABC News. . . . It's a smart investment for an affluent organization (a budget surplus of $114 million and assets of more than $1 billion) that gets more than one-third of its income, or almost $337 million in 2006, from the taxpayers.

CALIFORNIA

Help a single mom claim her money

Get-rich-quick opportunity

Frank Mickadeit, Register columnist

04-03-08 -- Hey! Tracie LaMee of San Juan Capistrano wrote to me in so many words. What's up with the huge Public Notice county Treasurer Chriss Street ran in your paper last Friday? Page after page of tiny type containing the names of folks who have mistakenly left money sitting in one county account or another. . . . If not claimed by May 12, the County of Orange keeps it. . . . "I just think they have a moral obligation to spend a little more effort to reunite the money with the proper owner," she said, noting that some of those listed shouldn't be hard to find. . . . The attorney general of Texas and L.A. County are on it, she noted, although they aren't owed much. But how about something called Rancho Santa Margarita Joint Venture, which has $10,315.24 sitting with Street? Or the Los Verdes Homeowners Association, which has $5,310? . . . This piqued my interest for purely selfish reasons: Was I on the list? And how much did my newspaper receive for twice printing these eight full pages of agate type? . . . The answers: No, and $166,000. . . . Street is sitting on $1.1 million in funds belonging to 5,733 people, businesses, organizations and public agencies. . . . The vast majority of the funds, 85 percent by my estimate, are unclaimed or uncashed child-support checks. In other words, it belongs to a class of people, mostly single moms and kids, who can least afford to be without it. . . . Treasurer spokesman Keith Rodenhuis says county Child Support Services staffers "attempted to locate both custodial and/or non-custodial parents using all of their available resources. If an updated address was found they followed up with a letter. … They even worked with a collection agency in reverse, having them locate the parties." . . . "We are all in agreement that this is taxpayer and not government money, and we want it to get back into their hands." . . . If you want to help, find the list at http://tax.ocgov.com/treas/escheatment2007.asp. After ensuring you're not a millionaire, use the search function and plug in the names of divorced moms you know.

NEW YORK

"Til Death Do Us Part" Just Sounds Too Long to One NY Judge

New York Lawyer By Vesselin Mitev
04-01-08 -- Noting that Americans are living longer with fewer financial resources, a Long Island judge has refused to order a 59-year-old car salesman to pay lifetime maintenance to an ex-wife with health problems. . . . "[W]hile a non-durational maintenance award in this case might assuage the Court's concerns for the wife's future financial well being, it would do so at the expense of enslaving the historic wage earner to indefinite years of employment beyond any reasonable expected retirement," Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Falanga of Nassau County wrote in J.S. v. J.S. . . . Justice Falanga found that Mr. S. has "no choice but to work full time" until he turns 65 and has the ability to work until he is 70 in order to provide for his ex-wife. . . . Thus, he ordered Mr. S. to pay a monthly stipend of $3,000 only for 10 years. The payments will stop should Ms. S. remarry or either party die during that period. . . . The case, according to attorneys familiar with the issues, is illustrative of a trend - Americans are living longer and in relatively good health while facing a diminishing income as they pass retirement age. This presents a unique challenge to courts in projecting what amount someone facing retirement should have to pay for maintenance of a former spouse. . . . "If someone retires at 65, they could live another 20 or 30 years but what is the likelihood they will be making as much money [then] as when they were working," said Lloyd C. Rosen, an attorney with Wisselman, Harounian & Associates in Great Neck who was not involved in the case. . . . Mr. S., a career Jaguar car salesman, was divorced from his wife, Ms. S., on May 9, 2007, after nearly 38 years of marriage; they have three adult children. According to the decision, Ms. S., who testified that she was living on Social Security of $592 a month, wanted lifetime, or "nondurational," maintenance based on "her claim of total disability, the duration of the marriage and an inability to meet her reasonable needs due to her deteriorating health."

OHIO

R&B Star Dies in Jail

New York Lawyer, By Thomas P. Sheeran, The Associated Press

04-01-08 --  Sean Levert, a third of the 1980s R&B trio LeVert and son of lead O'Jays singer Eddie Levert, has died after falling ill while serving a jail term. He was 39. . . . Authorities said Monday that an autopsy was inconclusive but foul play was ruled out. . . . Levert was sentenced last week to one year and 10 months in jail for failing to pay $89,025 in child support. He died at Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland late Sunday, less than an hour after he was taken there from the jail, said coroner Frank Miller. . . . Levert was sentenced by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, who said a presentence report indicated he had been addicted to marijuana from the time he was 14 until recently. He didn't speak at his sentencing and gave no indication of any health problems, the judge said Monday. . . . His brother Gerald Levert, who had success as a solo artist after leaving their trio died in 2006 at age 40 of an accidental mix of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. . . . The brothers had formed LeVert in the 1980s with childhood friend Marc Gordon. Their hits included "Baby I'm Ready," ''(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" and "Casanova."

Levert's Family Asks FBI to Probe Death

(AP) — The family of R&B singer Sean Levert wants the FBI to look into his death after a jail medical emergency. His cousin, Michael Gibson, said Levert never had any outburst such as the type described by Kevin McDonough, warden at the Cuyahoga County jail. . . . The 39-year-old Levert died Sunday night at a hospital after he was taken from the county jail where he was serving a one year and 10 months sentence for failure to pay $89,025 in child support. . . . McDonough said Levert was pounding on his cell door so guards strapped him in a restraint chair; Levert's breathing became shallow and he was taken to Lutheran Hospital, where he died less than an hour later. . . . An autopsy did not determine the cause of death. Toxicology tests are expected to take weeks.

March 2008

CONNECTICUT

Law Goes Too Far

Courant Editorial

03-28-08 -- Divorce can, no doubt, have a devastating emotional effect on the children of a broken marriage. Common sense dictates that loving parents would instinctively want to minimize the stress that their breakup might have on their offspring — through counseling and therapy, both for themselves and their children. . . . The state of Connecticut, however, should not make it a requirement. . . . Bristol trucker Tom Dutkiewicz made a credible case for that recently when he argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court that a blanket state law mandating automatic parent-education courses for all divorcing couples is unconstitutional. . . . Mr. Dutkiewicz maintained that the law unfairly targets parents without cause and, absent any proof of incompetence, infringes on their right to raise their children as they please. . . . He has a point. As well-intentioned as this statute may be, it presumes — without supporting medical or psychiatric evidence — that all parents in a divorce proceeding are unfit and have neglected or abused their children. That's quite a leap of faith. . . . The law, by inference, assumes the opposite is also true: that, barring documentation to the contrary, all couples who stay together are by definition good and attentive parents. . . . Although the law allows judges the discretion of waiving the requirement, the high court should render a firm opinion on its constitutionality. . . . Mr. Dutkiewicz and his former wife, Aimee, were granted such a waiver when they challenged the parent-education provision during their divorce in 2006. Getting the waiver, however, didn't satisfy Mr. Dutkiewicz, who represented himself before the Supreme Court.

GENERAL

Credit Crunch Raises New Issues for Divorce Lawyers
Matthew Hirsch, The Recorder

03-19-08 -- Andrew Ross' client is in a bit of a jam. . . . The Walnut Creek, Calif., divorce lawyer represents a man whose wife wants to keep the family home. But because of the tight consumer credit market, she can't get enough cash to buy his client's piece of the property. . . . To facilitate a settlement, Ross said his client is thinking about helping his wife secure a new loan on the house. "He needs $200,000 to $300,000 to make it an equal division of property," he said. . . . A haven for mortgage brokers and McMansions, California's Contra Costa County has been hit especially hard by the U.S. housing slump and the credit crunch. . . . The weakening economy, in turn, has some lawyers and judges in divorce cases grappling with issues they haven't seen in years, if ever. And it's affecting families at all income levels. . . . "It seems to me that a lot of people have been using their house as a bank," said Barry Goode, a family court judge in Contra Costa County Superior Court. . . . That was fine when prices were increasing, Goode said. But with prices sliding downward, the judge said he hears about home foreclosures "if not every day, then certainly every week."

NEW JERSEY  

Judge seals McGreevey divorce proceedings on custody of daughter

By Judith Lucas and Robert Schwaneberg, Star-Ledger Staff

03-19-08 -- After former Gov. James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife traded public accusations about who did or did not share a bed with them, the judge overseeing the former first couple's bitter divorce case took steps yesterday to dim the spotlight. . . . Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy issued an order to seal all filings, transcripts and future hearings related to the "custody and parenting time" of 6-year-old Jacqueline McGreevey. The judge even sealed the document spelling out her reasoning behind the ruling but said it was with consent of the parties. . . . The order is likely to affect about half the filings and court proceedings in the case. A hearing scheduled for tomorrow in Elizabeth is still expected to be open to the public. . . . Cassidy's directive followed a war of words that started when a former aide, Theodore Pedersen, told The Star-Ledger on Sunday that he had routinely engaged in three-way sex with the couple before McGreevey's 2001 election as governor. . . . Matos McGreevey charged that Pedersens's claims were "completely false" and were part of a campaign by McGreevey to smear her. McGreevey said Pedersen's account was accurate.

CONNECTICUT

Before High Court, On His Very Own

Father Brings Case On Parents’ Right

By Colin Poitras | Courant Staff Writer

03-19-08 -- For 30 minutes Tuesday, Tom Dutkiewicz, a 47-year-old Bristol truck driver, stood before the Connecticut Supreme Court passionately arguing that the state routinely violates parents' constitutional rights. . . . Not many laypeople get the opportunity to be heard before the state's highest court, and Dutkiewicz waited six years for this single, defining moment. . . . As Dutkiewicz bolstered his argument with a scattering of legal citations that he had pulled from the Internet, the panel of five black-robed jurists, including Chief Justice Chase Rogers, listened with a patient ear. They asked no questions. . . . When asked later why he didn't hire a lawyer, Dutkiewicz said, "No guts no glory. When you hire a lawyer, they say what they want to say. I wanted to be there to speak for myself." . . . Dutkiewicz was in court to challenge the constitutionality of a state law requiring divorcing parents to participate in parenting education classes. He insists the state has no right to compel parents to take such classes unless the parents are deemed unfit. Simply getting divorced, Dutkiewicz said, doesn't cut it. . . . "The state wrongly assumes I need help," Dutkiewicz told the court in what was at times a rambling opening statement. "To me, that's arrogance."

VERMONT

Vt. high court upholds ex-partner's visitation rights

By Associated Press

03-17-08 -- A woman involved in a high-profile custody dispute welcomed a Vermont Supreme Court ruling yesterday upholding her visitation rights to a child her former lesbian partner had when they were together. . . . more stories like this. . . . "I think it's absolutely wonderful," said Janet Miller-Jenkins, 43, of Fair Haven, Vt. "It's just affirming that she indeed has two parents." . . . After hearing an appeal from Lisa Miller-Jenkins on Thursday, a three-judge panel ruled yesterday that it had no reason to reexamine the case. . . . "There is no new evidence or facts to consider that would affect our prior legal conclusions," the justices said. . . . Lisa Miller-Jenkins, a resident of Winchester, Va., has been fighting to bar custody to her former partner since the two split in 2003, three years after they had obtained a civil union in Vermont. . . . In April 2002, Lisa Miller-Jenkins gave birth to the girl, who was conceived through artificial insemination, and the three moved to Vermont. . . . About a year later, Lisa Miller-Jenkins renounced her homosexuality, returned to Virginia, and denied Janet Miller-Jenkins access to Isabella, who is now 5.

CALIFORNIA  

Group seeks probe of payments to judges

By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer

03-14-08 -- Outraged over a disbarment recommendation for a crusading lawyer who has sought to expose alleged improprieties in the Los Angeles County court system, the American Family Rights Association said Thursday that it plans to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. . . . The group plans a noon Saturday rally at Leimert Park at Vernon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, and another rally at 10 a.m. March 25 outside the county Hall of Administration building at 500 W. Temple St. . . . Organizers hope to gather signatures for a petition and letter to the Department of Justice requesting an investigation into whether county government's practice of paying judges nearly $40,000 in annual cash benefits - in addition to their state salary and benefit packages - makes it difficult to get a fair trial in cases involving county government. . . . "AFRA has witnessed too many injustices occurring within the courts," said Bill Tower, president of the group that represents 6 million families nationwide.

VERMONT  

Justices to revisit custody battle

By Alan J. Keays, Herald Staff

03-12-08 -- The Vermont Supreme Court will once again weigh in on a national headline-making child custody suit stemming from a civil union split. . . . The five justices of the Vermont Supreme Court are set to hear arguments Thursday from attorneys representing Janet Jenkins of Vermont and Lisa Miller, who now lives in Virginia. . . . The issues at the heart of the dispute involve custody and contact with a child born while the two women were joined in a civil union from Vermont. . . . Attorneys for Miller and Jenkins on Thursday will present their competing arguments and the justices of the state's highest court are expected to take the matter under advisement. It could take several months before a written decision is released. . . . The case has been working its way through the court systems of Virginia and Vermont for more than three years. . . . Miller's attorneys have challenged Jenkins' parental rights throughout the case, arguing that the rights could not be established by a biological tie and were not established by Jenkins formally adopting the child.

CALIFORNIA

Ruling threatens custody of homeschool kids
'We hope common sense prevails, people wait for Supreme Court'

By Bob Unruh, © 2008 WorldNetDaily

03-07-08 -- An attorney working on an appeal to the California Supreme Court of a ruling declaring homeschooling by parents illegal says the threat to such families is serious and immediate, especially if there has been a contentious previous relationship with authorities. . . . Ultimately, Brad Dacus, chief of the Pacific Justice Institute, told WND the ruling involving a Los Angeles family might even be used by "overzealous" school district officials and social workers to try to remove a child from a family. . . . "We are hoping enough common sense prevails for everyone to wait and see how this plays out before the state Supreme Court," he said. But in California, such appellate level rulings are binding on lower courts when they are issued, he said. . . . The decision from the 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles granted a special petition brought by lawyers appointed to represent the two youngest children after the family's homeschooling was brought to the attention of child advocates. The lawyers appointed by the state were unhappy with a lower court's ruling that allowed the family to continue homeschooling and challenged it on appeal. . . . Justice H. Walt Croskey, whose opinion was joined by two other judges, then ordered: "Parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program."

MISSISSIPPI  

Judge recuses self in child-support case

The Associated Press

03-07-08 -- Chancellor Ray Montgomery has recused himself from hearing the child support case involving Leflore County Justice Court Judge James Littleton. . . . Littleton, who also is Greenwood's city attorney, faces charges for allegedly being late making a $1,500 child support payment. Littleton says he doesn't have the money to pay it. . . . Littleton compared the amount of child support he was ordered to pay to celebrities like musician 50 Cent, who Littleton said pays $5,000 a month in child support. . . . "I'm a relatively poor peon compared to rapper 50 Cent," Littleton said. . . . Montgomery stepped down from hearing the case Wednesday. Littleton's attorney had filed a motion asking Montgomery to step aside. The Mississippi Supreme Court will appoint another judge to preside over the case. . . . Montgomery had presided over Littleton's custody case last year. . . . Littleton told The Greenwood Commonwealth newspaper before Montgomery recused himself that he had expected to be jailed over the late child support payment.

NEW JERSEY

Silent partners then and now

Alfred Doblin

03-07-08 -- DINA MATOS McGreevey wrote a memoir entitled: "Silent Partner." I bet her estranged husband, former governor and still gay Jim McGreevey, wishes that were true. . . . The battling McGreeveys continue to make a mockery of the institution of divorce. As had been noted by others, when their little girl's birthday party required court intervention, the likelihood of an amicable divorce was next to none. . . . If the McGreeveys were either important or even legitimate celebrities, their saga would be on the front page of the tabloids of television and print. But they aren't important. A recent Pew Center report gave New Jersey a C for governance. No surprise, then, that B-level McGreevey made it all the way to the governor's mansion. McGreevey may have envisioned himself a future U.S. president, but that was never in the cards. And while the public's initial sympathies went toward Dina Matos, those too have dissipated as her demands for more cash and prizes seem less proportionate to reality. . . . The scary part of this story is not the nasty divorce. The hallways of politics are littered with the messy remains of failed marriages. The scary part is that the McGreeveys were once the first family of New Jersey. A majority of New Jerseyans trusted McGreevey enough to make him governor. If that isn't a splash of cold water, I don't know what is. . ..  Where are New Jersey's bright, smart and electable candidates? They don't exist. There are some smart folks, no doubt. But smart and electable statewide? I'm not so sure.

NEW JERSEY

McGreevey's ex calls him fraudulent

by South Jersey News Online, By Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press Writer

03-05-08 -- New Jersey's gay former governor said his four-year marriage produced a child and was not a fraud, as his estranged wife contends. . . . In court papers made public Tuesday, Jim McGreevey said the claim that he concealed his sexuality from his wife is without merit and should be dismissed. . . . His lawyers said Dina Matos McGreevey has no legal claim even if McGreevey, now openly gay and living with a male partner, hid his bisexuality or married her to advance his political career. . . . Matos McGreevey wants to be compensated for the 13½ months that she did not get to spend in Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion in Princeton Township. She is seeking $605,999 in damages. . . . McGreevey resigned suddenly during his first term after announcing he was gay and saying he had an affair with a male staffer. The couple split when he left office in November 2004. . . . McGreevey also is seeking to keep a financial report compiled by his estranged wife's accountant out of the contentious divorce case. His lawyers want it tossed because they say it contains "unsupported conclusions which are inadmissible at trial." . . . The report claims Matos McGreevey is entitled to continue a lifestyle similar to the one she enjoyed as New Jersey's first lady, which provided her with household servants, access to a state police helicopter and a state-owned beach house. . . . Estimated cost: more than $51,000 a month. . . . It also contends that, as a celebrity and high-profile lawyer, McGreevey has earnings potential of nearly $1.5 million from his legal practice and such things as book deals and speaking engagements.

Children of the State

by Joseph A. D'Agostino

There is no such thing as other people’s children. -- Hillary Clinton

03-04-08 -- Conservative Americans fancy that socialism has been largely defeated or that its greatest remaining threat lies in taxation and spending. They forget that the dream of leftist revolutionaries for centuries has been not only to equalize wealth and social status, but to eliminate all distinctions among the citizens of their ideal republic. All of these revolutionaries from Marx on down have targeted the family for destruction. . . . Undemocratic Institution . . . The family is a highly undemocratic institution. The nuclear family consists of one man and one woman, a highly specific and unliberated straitjacket of a social structure. They have loyalty to one another greater than that to society at large and also dedication to their own children, over whom they have authority—and any private authority is a rival to the government’s. To a true democrat, this preference for one’s spouse and authority over one’s children violates the principle of equality, which proclaims that we must treat everyone exactly the same. For the modern democratic statist, these loyalties and authorities weaken his own power and inhibit the ongoing concentration of all authority in one central government. . . . Stephen Baskerville’s Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family (Cumberland House) details just how far leftists have succeeded in abolishing the family. Of course, anyone with a cursory knowledge of the state of the American family knows that it has been largely destroyed, with most children spending at least part of their childhoods without one of their biological parents at home, a divorce rate of more than 40%, an ever-increasing illegitimacy rate and no-fault divorce laws that render a marriage compact less legally enforceable than a cell-phone contract.

My Wife Became Legal And I Became Illegal

By Carey Roberts, NewsWithViews.com

03-03-08 -- Each year the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and similar federal laws funnel $1 billion to help abused and battered women – or so we are led to believe. A good part of that money goes to immigrants who claim to be victims of domestic violence. . . . Last Fall I wrote a three-part exposé that revealed how an immigrant woman’s restraining order becomes a “gold-plated meal ticket that entitles her to preferential treatment by immigration authorities, free legal services, and a generous helping of welfare services.” . . . One woman whose father had been falsely accused of abuse and forced from his home wrote me, “I believe the Violence Against Women Act should be called the ‘Women Get What They Want Act.’” . . . Following those columns I received an unending stream of horror stories from persons falsely accused of domestic violence. One came from Sean Moffett of St. Paul, Minn. whose wife is from Guatemala. Soon after the wedding he discovered to his dismay that her real aim was different from what she had pledged in her wedding vows. . . . This is his story: . . . My wife’s family came to visit for a few months and they repeatedly attempted to provoke confrontations between my wife and me. Ultimately, my wife assaulted me by punching me in the neck. I did not hit my wife back or abuse her in any way. . . . I was arrested for 5th Degree Domestic Assault and spent three days in jail for a crime I did not commit and for not leaving my home under duress. While I was behind bars, my wife cleaned out the joint bank account. . . . I later learned that a legal aide group called Civil Society Helps had assisted with my wife’s abuse claims to expedite her immigration application. This outfit helps many immigrant women to file false abuse claims under the Violence Against Women Act. . . . Shortly after my release from jail, my wife asked me to write a letter to immigration stating I was an abusive husband. She promised if I wrote the letter she would help me get my home back. . . . Instead of allowing myself to be blackmailed, I wrote the Citizenship and Immigration Service to withdraw the petition for my wife’s U.S. residency. I used my last credit card to retain a lawyer to petition for divorce. At that point I was broke, homeless, and sleeping in my car and under my desk the office.

CALIFORNIA

Judge orders homeschoolers into government education

Court: Family's religious beliefs 'no evidence' of 1st Amendment violation

By Bob Unruh, © 2008 WorldNetDaily

03-03-08 -- A California court has ruled that several children in one homeschool family must be enrolled in a public school or "legally qualified" private school, and must attend, sending ripples of shock into the nation's homeschooling advocates as the family reviews its options for appeal. . . . The ruling came in a case brought against Phillip and Mary Long over the education being provided to two of their eight children. They are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court, because they have homeschooled all of their children, the oldest now 29, because of various anti-Christian influences in California's public schools. . . . The decision from the 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles granted a special petition brought by lawyers appointed to represent the two youngest children after the family's homeschooling was brought to the attention of child advocates. . . . "We find no reason to strike down the Legislature's evaluation of what constitutes an adequate education scheme sufficient to promote the 'general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence,'" the court said in the case. "We agree … 'the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education.'" . . . The words echo the ideas of officials from Germany, where homeschooling has been outlawed since 1938 under a law adopted when Adolf Hitler decided he wanted the state, and no one else, to control the minds of the nation's youth.

TEXAS

Child-support payments, federal funding caught in the middle of Texas court battle

By David Tarrant / The Dallas Morning News

03-03-08 -- Claiming that nearly $200 million in federal funding is at stake, the Texas attorney general's office is involved in a faceoff with family-court judges over who has the right to collect child-support payments. . . . The high-stakes showdown focuses on Guardian Ad Litem, a Dallas-area child-support collection business run by Robert O'Donnell of McKinney since 1986. . . . For more than 20 years, family-court judges in Dallas and Collin counties have appointed Guardian Ad Litem in about 20,000 divorce-decree cases to collect and distribute child-support payments. He boasted a collection rate of about 80 percent and was quick with enforcement actions, including suing parents who fell behind on their payments. He charged each client $10 per month. . . . But in mid-February, the attorney general's office announced that, according to federal and state law, it was obligated to take immediate control of about 2,300 of Guardian Ad Litem's cases – an action that Mr. O'Donnell and some family-court judges believe will disrupt and delay child-support payments that are counted on by custodial parents to meet the needs of their families. . . . "There are [thousands] of families whose lives will be impacted," family-court Judge Lynn Cherry said. "They may not get their child-support payment in a timely fashion because of a lot of legal maneuvering. It didn't need to get to this point."

VIRGINIA

Virginia cuts all government funding to Planned Parenthood

LifeSiteNews.com

03-03-08 -- The Virginia Senate decided to end taxpayer funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood on Wednesday. Lt. Governor Bill Bolling cast the tie-breaking vote and approved the amendment to the state budget following the 20-20 tie vote among senators. . . . Attorney general hopeful Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II introduced the amendment. He explicitly attacked Planned Parenthood's abortion programs. "What we are doing is financing an abortion-mill operator," Cuccinelli said. "This will deny them that money" . . [Click for more]

February 2008

NEW YORK

New York Governor Launches Crusade to Expand Abortions

Family News in Focus

02-29-08 --