Emily Perkins

Jason Torres

Ruby J Murray

Paul D Carter

G. Willow Wilson

Majok Tulba

Patti Miller

COUNTRY GIRL A memoirby Edna O'Brien

All That I Am is a superb translation of history drawing extensively on personal accounts and published material.

Tim Winton ponders place, status and the mining boom, while discussing his new novel Eyrie.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed a judgment of non-paternity. Held that the family court should have ordered genetic testing to determine whether a man was the father of a child born to another man's wife.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed an order terminating a mother's parental rights. Held that this was the rare case where the juvenile court erred in determining that termination was best for the children.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a former husband was entitled to an attorney fee award when he prevailed in his former wife's lawsuit alleging that he siphoned some of the marriage's community assets. Fee awards were authorized under a stipulated divorce judgment if the parties ended up back in court.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that an interspousal transaction was not a transmutation of the husband's community interest in certain real property. The document he signed left ambiguous what his intent was. Reversed.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed an award of sanctions in the form of attorney fees in a marital dissolution proceeding. Addressed a procedural issue related to bringing a motion for sanctions in this context.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed rulings in a custody dispute between parents of a toddler who was born with heroin in her system.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed monetary sanctions against a family law attorney for disclosing information contained in a confidential child custody evaluation report. However, reversed the order for sanctions against the client.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution proceeding, resolved issues involving child and spousal support awards, division of assets and other matters.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a case where a creditor sought to collect a judgment, held that California's Uniform Voidable Transactions Act may apply to a fraudulent agreement between spouses to prevent collection of the debt. The debtor's premarital agreement here said that each spouse's earnings and other property acquired during marriage would not become community property.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed an order establishing a limited conservatorship of the person in a case involving a woman with autism spectrum disorder who objected to the conservatorship and to the appointment of her mother and elder sister as conservators.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a party had appealed nonappealable orders. Dismissed the appeal, in relevant part, in a dispute between the first and second wives of a deceased man regarding ownership of certain assets.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a spousal support obligation did not terminate upon an ex-spouse's remarriage because the couple had agreed in writing that the relevant provision of the California Family Code would not apply. Recommended that a particular form on which the couple had left a box unchecked, leading to this result, be revised. Reversed a postjudgment order.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed a child custody order on the basis that it was not supported by the evidence. The order would have changed primary physical custody from the mother in California to the father in Arkansas.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed the issuance of mutual restraining orders in a case where a divorced, elderly couple had been involved in a series of incidents. The husband had appealed from the restraining orders.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution case, held that a particular piece of real estate was community property. Reversed the judgment below.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution action, addressed how to apportion certain stock appreciation. The issue involved stock in a business that the husband started prior to marriage.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that four divorced men could not proceed with their lawsuit accusing Israeli government officials and others of misconduct in connection with their divorce proceedings and child support orders. Affirmed a dismissal based partly on lack of subject matter jurisdiction and partly on failure to state a claim.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a domestic violence restraining order could not constitutionally prohibit a husband from posting anything about his divorce case on Facebook. Directed that the provision be stricken from the restraining order as an invalid restraint on speech.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed orders that terminated a dependency case and awarded sole legal and physical custody to the father in Louisiana.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a father who paid child support did not have to reimburse his ex-wife's new partner for expending funds to care for the child. Affirmed a ruling after a bench trial.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a father was not entitled to an adjustment in the child support arrears that accrued during his incarceration in federal prison. Vacated the decision below and remanded for further proceedings in this family court matter.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that a deceased man's ex-wife was entitled to a specified portion of his 401(k) retirement account balance. Affirmed a summary judgment ruling, in a dispute between his ex-wife and his widow.

(United States Second Circuit) - Finding that a plaintiff had standing to sue in seeking adequate payment for foster parents and that plaintiff had a right to adequate payments.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that the trial court used an incorrect legal standard in denying a domestic violence restraining order. Reversed and remanded, clarifying how technical violations of an earlier restraining order should be treated.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor's ex-wives were not entitled to notice of his bankruptcy proceeding to assert claims for child support arrears, under the circumstances here. Affirmed the lower court rulings.

(California Court of Appeal) - Appellate court reversed the judgment terminating the parental rights of the mother. The mother suffered from addiction and agreed to let ex-husband assume full custody until she was able to get clean and sober. When the mother sought to regain custody, suit was filed against mother claiming she abandoned children. Appellate court said that there had to be an intent to abandon and there was not under these facts.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a California family court lacked jurisdiction to modify a North Carolina child custody and child support order. Reversed the decision below.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed an order requiring a woman to pay $10,000 in sanctions to her ex-husband in a marital dissolution proceeding.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed an order terminating a mother and father's parental rights to an eight-year-old child. Remanded with directions that the juvenile court conduct a new hearing.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that the family court erroneously denied a wife's request for a domestic violence restraining order against her husband. The restraining order could have been entered even though a criminal protective order was already in place.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution action, upheld a ruling that a premarital agreement was enforceable and waived spousal support to either party. The parties had retained a private judge to resolve the issue.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution action, addressed whether a doctor appointed by the court to prepare a child custody evaluation report must repay all of the fees the parties had paid him pursuant to his appointment. Finding his report deficient, the trial judge had given it no weight.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a marital dissolution proceeding, addressed whether a written instrument severing a joint tenancy in real property was effective. Affirmed the decision below.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a child support matter, addressed whether the father should be ordered to pay for childcare costs so that the mother (the custodial parent) could attend a college program to obtain a paralegal certification. Reversed and remanded with directions to reconsider the mother's request.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed the issuance of a mutual restraining order against a husband. He was the one who had petitioned for the domestic violence restraining order, and his wife had not filed a separate request for one.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed. Defendant is a divorced spouse who holds an interest in property that Plaintiff obtained a judgment lien against the other spouse’s interest. Plaintiff argued that Defendant’s interest was subordinate to Plaintiff’s interest. The trial court held that Defendant’s interest vested upon the entry of the judgment of divorce and that Plaintiff could execute only against the other spouse’s interest.

(Supreme Court of California) - Affirmed. The Appeals court held that the current policy of the California Department of Social Services treating court-ordered child support as income and using the same funds twice as income for both the paying household and the receiving household does not violate the Welfare and Institutions Code section 11005.5.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - District court dismissal of lawsuit for lack of standing affirmed, where plaintiff could not show injury was traceable to Defendant. Plaintiff filed suit in federal district court claiming the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act invalid on constitutional grounds. Lawsuit named as Defendant the psychiatrist who testified, in a previous case, that Plaintiff was trying to turn children against the other parent and recommended sole custody be given to other parent.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed in part, vacated in part, remanded. The District Court erred in granting a petition to have a child returned to his habitual home of Italy under the Hague Convention. Although it was affirmed that Italy was the child's habitual residence if repatriating him would expose the child to a grave risk of harm the district court isn't necessarily bound to return him.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed. The juvenile court granted visitation to the ex-boyfriend of the mother. The mother sought to block such visitation, but the juvenile court found that it was in the best interests of the child. The appeals court found no abuse of discretion.