Recent Articles

9th Circuit Panel Finds California's Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

February 07, 2012 21:22

Well, here's the decision from the 9th Circuit out in California, released as expected today.  The three-judge panel affirmed the lower federal court's decision finding Proposition 8 unconstitutional.  See the AP article on this here.   After reading the decision (and dissent)...

The Latest on Gay Marriage - California, Washington and the Nation

February 07, 2012 16:25

Folks interested in gay marriage issues, particularly those living in California, are awaiting the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, expected to be released today, which will reveal its three-judge panel's opinion on whether Proposition 8 (the ban by voters on gay marriage in the state of...

SCOTUS Says Cops Need Warrant for GPS Trackers

January 30, 2012 04:00

At the US Supreme Court, sometimes they all get it right on a truly important issue, as they did on Monday: Justices Rein in Police on GPS Trackers (Wall Street Journal). See the court's opinion and the two concurring opinions in the court case here.

Divorce Books for Little Kids

December 23, 2011 16:56

Many will soon be giving or receiving holiday gift cards for a certain megabook chain or amazon.com.  So maybe now's a good time for some recommendations of books about divorce.  I just created two listamania lists on amazon.com.  One of them is a list of my recommended books for...

New Probate and Family Court Rules

December 20, 2011 20:00

Revised rules for the Probate and Family Court of Massachusetts will go into effect January 2, 2012.  The new rules can be found on the website for the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries, as reported today in their blog:New Supplemental Rules of the Probate Court, which will replace...

Kobe Bryant Headed for Divorce

December 17, 2011 21:03

There's bound to be a bit of schadenfreude here in New England, as we Boston Celtics fans absorb the news of the impending divorce of our nemesis Kobe Bryant out in LA. But any divorce like this one - which involves two small children, ages five and eight - should be no cause for...

Christopher Hitchens, Rest in Peace

December 17, 2011 13:58

With the passing of Christopher Hitchens, we have lost a most brilliant, provocative writer and thinker. He was active and influential on both sides of the pond. I share my English brother John Bolch's admiration for the man and his writing. See John's post and the video contained...

Lindsay Lohan's Judge Gives the Gift of Porn

December 10, 2011 02:25

Photos from Lindsay Lohan's much-hyped nude photo spread, to be officially released in next week's Playboy, leaked out on the internet today.  Playboy claims to fear the leak may negatively affect sales of the magazine, which will need to be phenomenal enough to justify its nearly million...

Father Absence Affects Sons More than Daughters?

December 08, 2011 15:54

A new working paper  recently discussed in the Freakonomics blog, and which looks at the relationship between the absence of fathers from the home and juvenile delinquency, suggests that the presence of fathers, while beneficial for both sons and daughters, may be much more beneficial for sons...

Divorce Parties

October 15, 2011 19:54

Divorce is not only the end of a marriage, but also the beginning of a new life, and for some people, even a cause for celebration.  As I recently discussed here, some newly divorced or divorcing individuals have begun to mark the end of their marriages with some form or other of leisure...