They can be long, boring and seemingly insignificant. Go anyway. You have to sit by people you don’t know and talk to people with coffee breath. Go anyway.
They are precious milestones that will be over too soon. Graduation, Field Day, Grandparent’s Day, AR Recognition, Chapel, plays, musicals, ball games and spelling bees. Go.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney that tries to make these events a priority and reminds you to never refuse a breath mint.
www.BowTieLawyer.ms (601)850-8000
One of the most claimed grounds for divorce is Adultery. Actually, the statue refers to it as “Uncondoned Adultery.” What, you ask, is Uncondoned Adultery? That is adultery that has not been “forgiven.”
Condonation is “legal forgiveness.” This happens when the aggrieved spouse knows of the fault and decides to reconcile with the other party. You resumed living together as husband and wife, had sex and otherwise tried to make it work.
Once this occurs you no longer have grounds for divorce based on Adultery. Even if it didn’t work!
There are a few strings attached, however. The guilty spouse must, in “good faith” attempt the reconciliation. Additionally, the aggrieved spouse can only forgive what they know about. If there were multiple affairs and all were not disclosed there may still exist fault grounds, whether they are aware of it or not. Also, if the adultery is repeated it revives the grounds for divorce.
Condonation is a difficult issues to wrestle with in divorce. The Court must consider the knowledge of the aggrieved spouse, the intent of the guilty spouse, the effort(s) to reconcile – whether they are in good faith. All these are fact specific and subjective determinations to be made by the Court.
Matthew Thompson is a divorce attorney in Mississippi and cautions you that some lawyers will advise the guilty party to do or say whatever is necessary to get the other party back in bed, for “reconciliation,” so that the defense of Condonation may be used.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, has been sued in Hinds County, Jackson, Mississippi.
Kelly, a singer, songwriter, record producer, and former professional basketball player, is the named Defendant, along with his professional entities, in a pending Alienation of Affection lawsuit. The suit was filed by a Hinds County Sheriff’s Deputy, Kenny Bryant.
Bryant alleges that R. Kelly interfered with Bryant’s marriage relationship ultimately alienating his wife’s affection from Bryant.
Alienation of Affection is a Mississippi common law tort. That means it is a civil wrong, based on case-law and not a statute.
Alienation of Affection claims allow the wronged spouse to sue the “significant other” of the guilty spouse for the breakdown of the marriage. There are only 6 states in the country that still recognize Alienation, but Mississippi is one of them and in the 1990’s our appellate Courts reaffirmed Alienation as alive and well in the Mississippi legal system.
Alienation of Affection requires;
1) Wrongful Conduct, ie: adultery;
2) Loss of Affections, meaning there was a good relationship prior to the wrongful conduct; and
3) Causal Connection linking the Wrongful Conduct to the actual Loss of Affection. All 3 must be present for a viable claim. There is a 3 year statute of limitations in which to bring the claim, beginning when the loss of affection is finally accomplished.
Even if the above can be shown it does not mean that the Plaintiff wins. A jury would then decide a money value on the “damages.” That is a hard figure to quantify.
Thompson Law Firm wishes all Mothers, Grandmothers, mothers-in-law, step mothers, moms-to-be and all women who have served in these roles a very Happy Mother’s Day!
Youth Courts deal with matters involving allegations of abuse and neglect of children.(Youth Courts also handle cases involving offenses committed by juveniles, persons who have not reached the age of 18 may be subject to the Youth Court, although there are some exceptions. Some offenses which would be treated as crimes if committed by adults are known as “delinquent acts” when they involve juveniles.”)
21 counties have a County Court Judge serving as Youth Court Judge. In counties which do not have a County Court, the Chancery Judge may hear Youth Court matters, or the Chancery Judge may appoint a lawyer to act in a judicial capacity as Youth Court Referee. The city of Pearl also has its own municipal Youth Court.
In Madison County the County Court Judges also serve as Youth Court Judges. In Hinds and Rankin Counties, they have Youth Court Judges that serve in dedicated Youth Courts.
Child abuse can be:
Within a neglect or abuse case there are several phases. Upon a complaint or report, which can be anonymous, Youth Court will hold a Shelter Hearing. It is akin to an emergency hearing. The Youth Court will determine if immediate action needs to be taken. Typically, the next Youth Court determination will be an Adjudication Hearing. This is to determine if the child was neglected or abused. Lastly, youth Court will conduct a Disposition Hearing. This is to determine the final outcome.
Youth Court’s #1 goal is reunification when and where possible. Youth Court cases involving neglect and abuse are not seeking to punish and there could be separate criminal consequences for acts of neglect or abuse for the perpetrator.
The “players” in a Youth Court proceeding are the Judge, Youth Court Prosecutor, Guardian Ad Litem (attorney for the child and sometimes a non-attorney investigator), some Courts now have Parent’s Representatives (attorneys appointed for a parent), or privately hired Attorneys.
Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody attorney in Mississippi and has handled multiple Youth Court cases throughout Mississippi.
“Do you think the Judge was on the take?”
There have certainly been instances of judicial corruption. However, they are few and far between. In Family Law matters, Judges wield considerable power, read as discretion. The Judge, a.k.a. Chancellor, decides what evidence is admitted, how to determine witness credibility and what weight is given both.
To help in this endeavor, there are rules which the Court must apply and adhere to. These rules deal with whether evidence may be introduced, or if certain “witnesses” may even offer testimony. The lawyer knowing these rules, or at least that they exist and where to find them, should argue the application of the rules to the offered evidence or testimony and then the Judge determines if it is accepted.
With that background, if Court did not go your way ask your lawyer first. Were they prepared? Did they make sensible arguments? Did they know the law on the issues before the Court? Because, if they were not prepared, made nonsensical arguments and did not know the proper legal standard, perhaps your loss was not due to the vast conspiracy, but do to your own efforts and that of your counsel.
99 times out of 100 your loss is not to be put at the blame of the Judge. The Judge wasn’t bribed. Think about it. Why would the Judge risk his or her career, reputation and freedom just to give you a bad deal? They would not. Think about the checks and balances in place, the process for having rulings appealed, the fact that every word uttered in Court is taken down, recorded and documented and then look in the mirror and ask that person if they have done the right thing.
The Judge wasn’t bribed. Just maybe, the outcome was because of the facts.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and represents parents in domestic disputes regarding divorce, alimony, child custody and support.
The first text message was sent in 1992 from Neil Papworth, a former developer at Sema Group Telecoms. Mobile phones didn’t have keyboards at the time, so Papworth had to type the message on a PC. Papworth’s text — “Merry Christmas” — was successfully sent to Richard Jarvis at Vodafone. http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/text-messaging-history/#7WcM8gVdbZqj
A two-word message was the first text message and is a good general guide for how long your messages should be. Texting a novel is NOT a good idea. It is hard to read. Punctuation is an afterthought. Grammar rules are ignored. There is no tone in text messages.
A text message novel is a mere paragraph in an email. In an email form it is not daunting or harassing. In text form it is over the top. Send short texts. Save the longer messages for an email or even a letter.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and reminds you to avoid sending a novel length text message.
(601) 850-8000 - - BowTieLawyer.MS 