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Archive for October, 2009

Choosing A Divorce Attorney

Make sure your lawyer has extensive experience in family law.

The first step to move forward with your divorce action is to obtain an attorney. For many, divorce represents the first time they have used the services of an attorney. For others who have a family attorney, the initial reaction is to call on an attorney you have used in the past. Regardless of your background, special attention must be paid to your choice of a divorce attorney.

Also, you must be prepared to answer the inquiries of your attorney. For both you and your spouse the attorney will want to know name, address, phone numbers, social security number, employer and work history, income, investments, retirement plans, health insurance, physical description, date and place of birth, parents’ names, date and place of marriage, details of previous marriages, among other information.

Unless you and your spouse already have a solid agreement on the basic division of your property and there will not be a custody fight over any children, you should be careful to find an attorney with substantial experience in the field of family law. While it is not necessary to find an attorney whose exclusive practice is family law, it is important to hire an attorney who is experienced in this area of law and who is familiar with the custom and judges in your locality. This experience is necessary because many areas in divorce law allow a court considerable discretion in issuing rulings. Accordingly, it is important to have an attorney who has experience with the approach taken by a particular judge.
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Stephanie Pratt, one of the stars of “The Hills,” was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence early Sunday morning in Hollywood.

Police said Pratt, 23, was arrested at around 3:45 a.m. outside a nightclub in Los Angeles and taken into custody, with bail set at $5,000, according to Sergeant Mark Cohan of the Los Angeles Police Department. Before her arrest, Pratt was reportedly out with some fellow “Hills” stars at Empire, celebrating Holly Montag’s 26th birthday.

Pratt was released with a ticket later Sunday morning and was not required to post bail but will return for a court hearing, according to a spokesperson at the Van Nuys Division, where Pratt was held.

Shortly before heading out to the club, Pratt tweeted, “It’s my sissy @hollymontags bday party! Just finished dinner and going to Empire but I’m pretty tired aka yes i am the party pooper ”

Cohan said that he did not know the circumstances of the arrest and could not say whether Pratt was pulled over for another violation or if the stop was DUI-related.

Pratt was arrested in Hawaii in May of 2006, along with Hannah Owens-Bender, daughter of the director of ABC’s “Lost,” for second-degree theft and drug violations.

Pratt has spoken in the past about her struggles with bulimia and self-esteem issues, as well as her battles with substance abuse.

The Kansas Supreme Court is being asked by the Douglas County District Attorney’s office to consider a driving under the influence case, saying that the matter could have statewide consequences.

The issue is whether an Intoxilyzer reading of .08 within two hours of driving is sufficient evidence to get a DUI conviction.

The case stems from the Aug. 19, 2007 arrest of Paul Finch. A sheriff’s deputy stopped Finch for weaving in and out of his lane, according to court records.

He was taken to the county jail where he submitted to a breath test. The Intoxilyzer 5000 measured his breath to have .080 grams of alcohol content.

Finch’s atorney argued the .08 reading was insufficient to find him guilty of DUI beyond a reasonable doubt. State District Court Judge Robert Fairchild agreed, granting a motion to acquit. Finch pleaded guilty to a remaining charge of failure to maintain a lane.

In his argument to the Kansas Supreme Court, Assistant District Attorney Mark Simpson says the DUI law is clear — a person who is driving and has an alcohol concentration of .08 is violating the law.

But Janine Cox, with the Kansas Appellate Defender Office, argues that in test trials in the week before Finch’s arrest, the Intoxilyzer machine showed inconsistencies between the first and second tests. While the inconsistencies were small, they were enough to support an acquittal, she said.

She also argued that resolving this case was not crucial to the uniform administration of the law statewide, but only applied to Finch’s case.

Arguments in the case will be heard Wednesday by the state Supreme Court.