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Super Bowl Ad Features Dads and Daughters

Who could have imagined that an ivory tower academic scholar could influence a major corporation to produce a television ad that relied on her research about the relationship between dads and daughters? That’s what hair product company Pantene has done as they debut their Super Bowl ads this weekend, giving due credit to Dr. Linda Nielsen, a leader and expert in parenting issues. Their tag line?…

Pooches Need Protection in Divorce Too

  The State of Alaska is joining several other States in introducing new legislation to protect dogs that are caught in the midst of their owners’ divorce or domestic violence incidents.

Family law lawyer and Democratic House Representative Max Gruenberg sponsored the bill with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. Its provisions include expanding the definition of “essential personal…

Murder, Mayhem, and Matrimony

Yesterday I finished reading an intriguing true crime book called “Guilt by Matrimony” A Memoir of Love, Madness, and the Murder of Nancy Pfister”. The story involved the 2014 murder of wealthy, Aspen Colorado socialite Nancy Pfister, age 57, and was written by Nancy Styler. Both Nancy Styler and her husband Dr. William Styler were arrested for the capital murder of Ms. Pfister. Colorado is a…

Take Your Pick: 19 Dogs or Your Kids?

A couple in England lost custody of their two children, ages 7 and 2, when authorities discovered 19 dogs in their house, a home described by officials as “incredibly filthy and utterly squalid”. The children were placed into foster care.

At the time of the seizure of the children, their mother had been prosecuted by the SPCA and banned from owning any dogs for a period of 4 years.

After three…

The Lighter Side of Divorce

We all need a few laughs once in while, so today’s post is intended to focus on the lighter side of divorce, which, believe me, does not exist when you are in the middle of it. It is always amusing to see what Hollywood has to say about the subject, given their residents are abundant among the divorce statistics.

For those who have survived divorce and those who watch from a distance (and are…

The Tragedy of Munchausen By Proxy

Many years ago I acted for a single mom who had an 8-year-old daughter. She retained me when her ex-husband filed an application seeking a change of custody from my client to him…not so unusual, right?

Wrong! This case was my first introduction to the mental illness called “Munchausen by proxy”, an insidious syndrome that experts say causes mothers, rarely fathers, to exaggerate or fake their…

A Merry Christmas for Two Innocent Men Set Free in December 2015

As Franz Kafka wrote in “The Trial”:

“It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.”

While Vancouver’s wrongly convicted Ivan Henry spent weeks in court this year seeking compensation due to a disturbingly flawed police investigation; a prosecutor whose focus was on winning, not achieving justice; and an arrogant jurist, more innocent men around North America…

The Mysterious Phenomenon of Human Chimeras

Perhaps one of the most shocking parental discoveries is when a father finds out that contrary to what he has been told and believed, he is not the biological parent of a child he is raising. Many devastated fathers have terminated their spousal relationships unable to cope with such fundamental deceit.

Recently a father in Washington State was flummoxed when he learned he had no biological…

Is Transgenderism a Fad?

The media circus surrounding Caitlyn Jenner (aka Bruce Jenner) has introduced transsexualism and transgenderism to a public that has been largely unaware of the nuances of these forms of gender dysphoria.

I can’t remember a time when there was such open discourse about gender identity and with this transparency comes articles, movies, TV shows, and public policy discussions.

A recent article in…

T’was The Night Before Christmas: Legal Version

Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas, there did occur at a certain improved piece of real property (hereinafter “the House”) a general lack of stirring by all creatures therein, including, but not limited to a mouse.

A variety of foot apparel, e.g. stocking, socks, etc., had been affixed by and around the chimney in said House in the hope and/or belief that St. Nick a/k/a/ St.…

  PLEASE ACCEPT without obligation, express or implied, these best wishes for an

environmentally safe, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, and gender

neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday as practiced within the most

enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice (but with respect

for the religious or secular persuasions and/or traditions of others or…

Lawyers’ Christmas Card Greetings

Just for fun, I’ll set out the sentiments from a few lawyers’ Christmas cards:

1. Picture an intense lawyer grilling Santa Claus on the witness stand:

“I’ll ask you again sir, did you or did you not look at my client, and in a crowded shopping mall, in front of her children, call her not once, but three times… a ho?”

2. A lawyer making closing submissions in court:

“The evidence will clearly show…

Brainwashed and Alienated Teens Found on “Underground” Farm

In April 2015 I wrote about the deception and lies that Sandra Rucki engaged in when she divorced her husband David Rucki in 2013. It began with a fraudulent one-sided consent order that she alleged her husband had agreed to. Once the order was overturned by the  Minnesota Court it escalated into despicable false allegations that father, David Rucki had sexually abused his two daughters, Gianni…

Will Wife’s Shoe Collection Determine Court’s Jurisdiction?

We often hear politicians speak of our “global community” to describe the people or nations of the world being closely connected by modern telecommunications and being socially, economically, and politically interdependent.

One area where the phenomena of global connectedness is ever more apparent is  in the area of family law. Only a few decades ago cases in family court typically involved a…

Junk Science Strikes Again: Flawed Arson Evidence

My regular readers will know that I am disgusted and disappointed with the vast number of men (and women) who have been imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit, and for wrongful convictions based on junk science. I have tackled the now discredited theory that hair found at the scene of a crime is foolproof evidence of guilt, if it can be linked to a suspect, and the notion that bite marks can…

Fifty-Year-Old Woman Can Refuse Life-Saving Treatment Where She Has Lost Her Youth and Beauty

Assisted suicide is a complex social issue, one that many people struggle with. I have come to the conclusion that if a person has a fatal or incurable condition with no quality of life or unmanageable pain, it is simply humane to engage a physician to assist in a peaceful passing. However, I am still concerned there will be inappropriate, even frivolous medical conditions that will pass scrutiny…