Henry VIII (at left) and Cardinal Wolsey Not long ago I wrote a two-installment Article on what I called “Common Law Divorce,” the phenomenon of unmarried former domestic partners flocking to the courts to disentangle their property interests. The topic had nothing to do with married people filing for a divorce pursuant to statutory authority. […]
Moving traffic violations that are infractions are seldom threatening enough to move a client to “dig deep” to retain me. Even then I can’t guarantee any particular result for the money. I’m sure that I have said “pay the fine” more than once, when asked for advice about a pending citation. After all, experience shows […]
The topic of this Article is the progress, or evolution, of common law divorce in Indiana subsequent to Glasgo v. Glasgo, 410 N.E.2d 1325 (Ind.Ct.App. 1980). It was nearly certain that I would write on the relevant topic of common law divorce, but the catalyst for writing now arrived in the form of the unanimous […]
I’ll explain within the next paragraph what I mean by “common law divorce,” but first a short refresher about common law marriage. Through January 1, 1958 Indiana was said to tolerate common law marriage but not to encourage that arrangement. In the 1956 case of Anderson v. Anderson, 131 N.E.2d 301 (Ind. 1956) a unanimous […]
My last two featured articles dealt with the judgeship of the Hammond City Court. The earlier article of April 21, 2016 was an analysis of Judge Jeffrey Harkin’s appointment of a special judge to serve temporarily during Judge Harkin’s disability. The follow-up article of April 25, 2016 was written in the wake of news of […]
Hammond City Court Judge Jeffrey Harkin passed away April 22, 2016, two days after publication of his appointment of a special judge and one day after my posted Article analyzing that action. While I speculated what might follow a prolonged disability, my speculation was rendered moot by death and the consequent vacancy in the Office […]
The NWI Times dedicated front page ink in its April 20, 2016 issue to the ongoing health travails of Hammond City Court Judge Jeffrey Harkin. It was reported that Judge Harkin had appointed a court referee as “special judge” of the Hammond City Court due to Judge Harkin’s “health issues.” The article mentioned that Governor […]
The Calumet Law Blog previously reviewed (as an Appellate Case Note) the unanimous COA opinion of September 30, 2015 in Larkin v. State, ___ N.E.3d ___ (Ind.Ct.App. 2015), an interlocutory appeal. The title to that post was “Sixth Amendment Outrage Fizzles in the COA.” The addendum to that post mentioned an eerily similar appeal decided […]
Suppose that I approach a man to request that he commit a criminal act. Suppose that I hand him money sufficient to win his cooperation considering the value of his services and the risks involved. When the man does my bidding he surely commits a crime, but what about me and my culpability? I, too, […]
I write this short article on March 7, 2016, the first business day after the March 6, 2016 anniversary of Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857). This morning I revisited the overwrought Opinion of the Court and the concurring and dissenting Opinions covering 240 pages. The Scott case included a controversy as to whether […]