The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will no longer be defended in court by the Obama administration, according to an announcement by Attorney General Eric Holder. The Defense of Marriage Act, a facially discriminatory statute that barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages (thus preventing gay married couples from receiving the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples), has been … [Read more...]
Lying Cops and Rubber-Stamp Judges: What Can an Appellate Court Do?
A recent ruling from a Florida appellate court in the case of Ruiz v. State questioned the honest of the cops and the independence of the judge in a dispute over whether a defendant had given consent to a search of his home. The appellate court all but said the law enforcement officers committed perjury, and stressed the importance of trial court judges not becoming "rubber stamps" for whatever … [Read more...]
Do You Do One Space or Two After the Period?
An issue that generates a surprising amount of argument is whether one should hit the space bar once or twice after a period. People pay no attention to some of the most important issues of our time, but disagree with how they think a document should be typed and they will be ready to take off your head. Since this trivial issue is the subject of so much heated debate, I wrote an article about it … [Read more...]
About.com Law Practice Management Guide
Image via Wikipedia I apologize for the scarcity of posts on this site over the last few months. One of the reasons the Stubborn Writer site has been neglected recently is that I've added a new website to the list of sites where I write, and it has taken some time to adjust to the new responsibilities along with everything else I try to do in a day. A few weeks ago I became the new Law Guide for … [Read more...]