A group is trying to find a legal (constitutional) way to teach about the Bible in public schools.  It is much more likely than you might think.  Link to the article… http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/01/25/week_in_review/news/thursday/news04.txt

As often happens, divorced parents will marry another person that has children.  When this happens, both spouses and their children are considered part of the same home environment for determining child custody and visitation issues.  In other words, if you marry again after your divorce, your new spouse’s actions, and the actions of his or her children, will be considered relevant for purposes of determining the “best interests” of your children for custody and visitation purposes.  So if your ex-spouse takes you back to court to try to modify custody or visitation, be prepared for your new spouse and his/her children to be under the microscope.

In this case from the Arkansas Court of Appeals last week, the court upheld the decision of the trial judge that modified a parent’s visitation based on his stepsons behavior.

http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2007a/20070207/ca06-756.pdf

Noted divorce lawyer Raoul Felder recently sat down with SuChin Pak for an interview on LX.TV.  Felder is quite colorful and provides some great stories and insight into the world of divorce law.  Included are comments about Rudy Giuliani (former client of his) and Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate.

Needless to say, Felder’s opinions and comments (and some of the specific types of things he does in his practice) are not necessarily endorsed by yours truly.  This is provided for your interest only!

Interview was video recorded and is on the site.  Its about 16 minutes.  Here’s the link… http://www.lxtv.com/

Kevin Hickey has been added as co-counsel in a class action lawsuit involving teachers and their pay in Van Buren, Arkansas.  Brian Meadors, the lead attorney for the teachers, and Mr. Hickey have worked together previously on large multi-plaintiff cases.

The case (Steven Jones, in his own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs. Van Buren School District, Case No. CV-03-441) is set for trial next week (February 22nd and 23rd in Crawford County).

Here’s a link to an article in the Times Record today…  http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/02/14/news/news03.txt

More details in the coming days.

The primary factors to be considered in modifying an alimony award are the needs of one party and the ability of the other party to pay.

The court found in the following case that an alimony award needed to be lowered due to some changed circumstances of the parties.

http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2007a/20070131/ca06-111.pdf

Judges must weigh several factors when making a custody determination.  Financial responsibility of the parents, moral responsibility, home environment, other relatives that are involved in the children’s lives - all of these factors and more are considered and used to help with the determination. 

But if you think this makes the decision clear by the end of the custody hearing, think again.

The following case from Independence County, Arkansas illustrates this point.

http://courts.state.ar.us/unpublished/2007a/20070131/ca06-486.pdf