Governor Rell Appoints 10 Superior Court Judges

Administrator | March 30, 2010

In what has become a heated political debate, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced the appointment last week of 10 prospective Superior Court judges. At a cost of $250,000 per judge, legislators are questioning whether or not the appointments were prudent in light of the State’s budget deficit.
“We need to get our budget [...]

Connecticut Judiciary Committee Passes Sexting Bill

Administrator | March 29, 2010

I’m sorry for the lack of posts last week but I was away on vacation. Other than the post on the Health Care Reform Bill being signed into law by President Obama, I was busy relaxing. So much for that.
Today, it was back to work. Do you have any idea [...]

Obama Signs Health Care Reform Into Law Today

Administrator | March 23, 2010

President Barack Obama today signed into law the long-awaited health care reform bill known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
As Vice-President Joe Biden so eloquently said, “This is a big f***ing deal.”

Why I Prefer the Collaborative Divorce Process Over the Traditional Litigated Divorce

Administrator | March 17, 2010

In the last two weeks, I have participated as an attorney in 2 traditional court-based divorces and 2 collaborative divorces. For what it’s worth, I wholeheartedly prefer the latter process to the former. Why? It’s simple: collaborative divorce is all about respect, dignity and civility.
Everyone knows at least one [...]

Protect Your Elderly Loved Ones BEFORE It’s Too Late

Administrator | March 16, 2010

I was reminded this week that it’s better to be proactive than reactive. Especially when it comes to your elderly loved ones, friends or neighbors. Often, as people age, they entrust their personal affairs to a family member or close friend whom they believe they can trust. Sometimes they sign a Power [...]

The Death Penalty: A Mini History Lesson

Administrator | March 12, 2010

After reading a Hartford Courant article about Dr. William Petit’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee on the death penalty, I got to wondering about the history of capital punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes as early as [...]

Who Thinks Up These Laws? More Importantly, Why?

Administrator | March 11, 2010

My colleague and fellow blogger, Attorney Adrian Baron, celebrated his 1-year anniversary as author of The Nutmeg Lawyer this week. Congratulations, Adrian!

At the end of his post, Will Connecticut Residents Finally Be Able To Buy Alcohol On Sunday? he lists some arcane (and quite amusing) Connecticut laws. Inspired by his research, [...]

If A Physician Aids a Terminally Ill Patient in Dying, Is It Assisted-Suicide or Not?

Administrator | March 9, 2010

Under current Connecticut law, “A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when … he intentionally causes or aids another person, other than by force, duress or deception, to commit suicide.” Two Fairfield County doctors who have been asked by their terminally ill patients to prescribe medications to help them die peacefully, [...]

It’s All About the Timing

Administrator | March 3, 2010

I was purging the office file cabinets of closed cases today and one of the files jogged my memory about a case I participated in a few years ago. As an attorney, it is always important to maintain professional decorum in court. In other words, spontaneous laughter by a lawyer listening to a [...]

Eliminating the Statute of Limitations on Child Sex Abuse

Administrator | March 1, 2010

Under current law, a victim of childhood sexual abuse has until age 48 to file a civil lawsuit against the offender. Given the nature of the crimes and the emotional difficulties so many victims face in trying to come to terms with what happened to them, any statute of limitations on such crimes seems [...]