Recent Blog Posts
Can Using Mediation Make Divorce Less Unpleasant?
Divorce cases tend to be much nastier than regular business disputes. Most people who are in the middle of a divorce feel that they have been wronged and that a judge should hear just how badly their soon-to-be-ex-spouse has behaved. They also know that the couple’s financial assets must be split and issues of… Read More »
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in International Alabama Custody Case
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that an Army sergeant who had been stationed at Redstone Arsenal could sue for custody of his six-year-old daughter who now lives in Scotland. It is very rare that a custody case is heard by the Supreme Court — the court took this case because of its international… Read More »
Better Late Than Never – How a Post-Nuptial Agreement Can Help Your Marriage
Many couples decide to sign a prenuptial agreement before they marry. These agreements are designed to protect a spouse who brings property into a marriage and is concerned that the property might be viewed as marital property should the parties divorce. However, many people whose interests would be served by a prenup do not… Read More »
Virtual Visitation – The Next Best Thing to Being There
As more marriages end in divorce and as more people move away from their childhood homes to live across the country, there is an increasing number of children who live hundreds, even thousands, of miles away from one of their parents. Many people decide that they would like to relocate after a divorce, but… Read More »
Alabama Grandmother Arrested for Leaving Child in Car
An Albertville grandmother was arrested for leaving her grandchild in a locked car in the parking lot of the Boaz branch of Wal-Mart while she went shopping on Memorial Day weekend. Other shoppers called the police, reporting that there was a child “in distress.” When police arrived, they found the car doors locked and… Read More »
Understanding Field Sobriety Tests
If a police officer sees a car driving erratically and suspects that the driver may be under the influence of alcohol or another drug, the officer may stop the car and request the driver to take a series of field sobriety tests. What is a field sobriety test? The National Highway and Traffic Safety… Read More »
Alabama’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
Many people are aware of the case of George Zimmerman, who was recently acquitted for shooting Trayvon Martin in Florida in self-defense after a long and very public trial. We had a similar situation here in Jefferson County in May. While a young man was killed, in our local case the defendant did not… Read More »
Your Right to Remain Silent
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution states that no one “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” For 50 years, police have been required to provide what are called Miranda warnings telling you that you have the right to remain silent and that anything that you say… Read More »
Divorce and Your Transition to Single Motherhood
The dream of countless little girls is to grow up to have a fantasy wedding to Prince Charming, build a family, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, some women grow up to discover that Prince Charming is not the man he seemed to be. Divorce can come as a welcome relief from a stressful,… Read More »
Who Can Receive Benefits in a Wrongful Death Case?
Natalie Baine was a promising young student at the University of Alabama when she was killed in an accident earlier this year. She was a passenger in a truck which cut in front of a bus in an attempt to get onto I-65. The bus hit the truck, and as a result, a third… Read More »
