USLegal Reporter » Domestic

Nebraska Calls Special Session Regarding Safe Haven Law

Della Sellers — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:55:43 +0000

Nebraska’s Governor, Dave Heineman, Wednesday called for a special legislative session on November 14 to revise the state’s recently passed safe haven law. Originally, the governor planned to wait until January when the legislature reconvened, but the date has been moved up due to continued abandonment by parents and guardians of pre-teens and teenagers.

The current law, which became effective in July, allows the drop-off of children at a licensed hospital without fear of prosecution, but does not limit the age of such children. As a result, around 23 teens and pre-teens have been abandoned with parents citing uncontrollable and violent behaviors. The intent of the law was to protect children who are in immediate danger of being harmed by panicked mothers. The revisions will limit the safe haven to three-day old infants.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/10/nebraska-governor-calls-special.php

Man Found Not To Be Father Can’t Recoup Child Support

Dana Altman — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:11:28 +0000

The New Jersey Supreme Court overturned two lower court decisions by declaring that a man cannot recoup child support payments he made for a son he later found out was not his own. The ruling was based on a state law that requires such challenges to be brought before the child turns 23.

The Plaintiff, identified only as Roy, didn’t find out until well after the child turned 23 that he wasn’t the biological father. He argued that the time limit of age 23 shouldn’t apply, since it was through no fault of his own that he didn’t discover the child’s true paternity. Although the two lower courts decided the biological father should owe child support, the state’s highest court disagreed.

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/07/17/support.lawsuit.ap/index.html

Massachusetts Governor Orders Registration of Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages

Dana Altman — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:42:19 +0000

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ordered the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to register 26 same-sex marriages that were prohibited from being registered under former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The out-of-state couples were married in 2004 by four Massachusetts towns and cities that defied Romney’s order not to marry out-of-state same-sex couples.

Last year the Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld a Massachusetts statute which prohibits couples from marrying in the state if the marriage would be invalid in their own state. Governor Patrick has stated that he would support the repeal of this statute. Massachusetts is currently the only state which legally recognizes same-sex marriages. Massachusetts lawmakers lobbied earlier this year for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. However, the proposed ban would not affect the legal recognition of existing same-sex marriages.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/04/massachusetts-governor-orders-out-of.php