LAW NEWS

THE SUPREME COURT ONCE AGAIN K.0.s THE CONSTITUTION

with its June 25, 2007 ridiculous right wing religious decision in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc.

Bye bye to the First Amendement separation of church and state with this one.

Alito, Roberts, Thomas and Kennedy, who should have flunked second year Constitutional Law for rendering such a decision have decided that a taxpayer has NO STANDING to challenge government funding of faith based community groups.

Their reasoning is that taxpayers cannot challenge the executive decision to use such funds, merely the congressional, or legislative decision. The funding came from Executive Branch general appropriations.
DIG THIS: Taxpayer money is being used to fund religious based programs, but the taxpayers who provide the money, cannot challenge the constitutionality of this funding. This is the Bush legacy to American Justice folks.
In the dissenting opinion it was recognized, "When executive agencies spend identifiable sums of tax money for religious purposes, no less than when Congress authorizes the same thing taxpayers suffer injury." No kidding.

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CHANGES IN DIVORCE LAW COMING--MAYBE???

There's a bill going around now, that has a decent chance of passing, that will lessen the time required to convert a separation agreement into a divorce. Now, it has to be more than a year old. If the new bill passes, you will only need three months to convert. A step in the right direction. Another bill, seeking to have true no fault divorce in New York (the only state that still requires grounds) doesn't have much chance of passing. But the movement is on, and sooner or later, there will be a modernization of our antiquated divorce laws. Stay tuned.

For interesting commentary on issues in New York Divorce Law, why not head on over to http://nydivorcelaw.blogspot.com where you can read about and comment on the important issues facing those facing divorce in New York. Keep returning for new ideas about the law and breaking up. If you need a divorce lawyer in Nassau, Suffolk or Queens, you have come to the right place. Call today.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice is out to get drunk drivers. Used to be, if it was your first arrest and you tested less than .16 without an accident, (twice the current dwi limit) you would get a driving while ability impaired plea offer. That's a violation, not a misdemeanor.Now, the new DA has lowered the first time plea offer reading to .12 and is throwing in community service along with that. And that supposedly accurate breathalyzer? Did you know that the "warranty" on the machine (Intoxilyzer 5000) doesn't guarantee the machine's fitness for any use? What does that say? Let's be careful out there! If you've been arrested for DWI, you need experienced counsel--contact my office.

You may just want to place the old homestead on the market now, before prices go even lower, and rates creep higher. Looks like the free ride is over, and a market correction has arrived. Whether you want to buy or sell, or if you're looking for a mortgage, call me today. 516 624-0240