There are two meaty things to note about the opinion in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. I’ve added a jump page if you want to get in to the two meaty things. The ultra-short version — the opinion sets out findings of… Continue Reading
Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled today that California’s Proposition 8 violates the Federal Constitution in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. I’m pleased with the result but as yet unsure about the reasoning because I’ve not had a chance to read the 136-page… Continue Reading
That’s about as provocative a post title as I could think of for a more detailed report on the more interesting of the two cases issued yesterday striking down the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United… Continue Reading
In Boston today, U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. If you’re following the same-sex marriage issue, whether you’re pro-SSM or anti-SSM, this is an appropriate time for you to let out… Continue Reading
I was astonished to learn last night that New York State does not have no-fault divorces. If the columnists at Freakonomics are to be believed, a switch to no-fault divorce benefits neither the “monied” nor the “un-monied” spouse; it does… Continue Reading
Today will be the closing arguments in the Federal challenge to California’s Proposition 8. By the close of business, Pacific time, the case will be in the hands of Judge Vaughn Walker. It will almost certainly be appealed to the… Continue Reading
The plaintiff, Clay Greene claims that he was forcibly separated from Harold Scull, his partner of twenty-five years, with whom he had made a home for twenty, and with whom he was still deeply in love. Greene he was put… Continue Reading
A great coup for a trial attorney is to get the other side’s expert to admit that you’re right about the part of your case that he has been called to testify about. David Boies pulled that off today —… Continue Reading
There are relationships out there that may once have been contractual but now I suggest that they are properly viewed, at best, as three-party contracts and more properly ought no longer to be treated as contractual at all. First-year law… Continue Reading
I. Background Karen Golinski is a staff attorney employed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, who works out of the Ninth Circuit’s headquarters office in San Francisco. In 2008, during the window of time in… Continue Reading