NEWS
March 7, 2012
There is serious confusion about the basis (legal or otherwise) for redefining an ancient human institution (marriage) to fit the social mores of 21st century society. The conservative view is that marriage as traditionally defined is an ancient human institution that predates civil society and therefore deserves the respect of the more recently established civil institutions that may support it; the more modern view, apparently shared by the governor and by a majority of the Maryland legislature, is that the term "marriage" can be redefined by an existing legislative majority without regard to that tradition.
NEWS
By Barbara Babb and Mitchell Karpf | July 13, 2010
Unfortunately for so many in our society, family breakup is a fact of life. When a family dissolves, there is much more than furniture, houses or cars at stake — the identity of that family, including its children, is in the mix. That's why the way our legal system and our society respond to family dissolution needs to change. While people read about the travails of celebrities who commit marital infidelity, perhaps we should be upset that the huge headlines are not about the everyday families — those who often are devastated by their trek through the adversarial legal process that constitutes much of family law. The parties may emerge having disposed of a marriage but also having traumatized loved ones, exhausted their resources and diminished the well-being and self-esteem of their children and of each other.
NEWS
By Andrea F. Siegel and Andrea F. Siegel,Andrea.siegel@baltsun.com | January 29, 2010
Gov. Martin O'Malley has appointed nine lawyers, one of them the son of state Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller, to be trial judges. Named to the Circuit Court bench in Baltimore were Kendra Y. Ausby, counsel for the Courts and Judicial Affairs Division of the attorney general's office and a former assistant public defender; Videtta A. Brown, a District Court judge and former prosecutor; Charles J. Peters, a federal prosecutor and former city...
NEWS
By Andrea F. Siegel and Andrea F. Siegel,andrea.siegel@baltsun.com | July 26, 2009
Michael E. Loney took a long weekend of forced retirement when the calendar shoved him out of his judicial chambers. "I am statutorily senile," he said, referring to the state's requirement that judges retire when they reach age 70. After 19-plus years on the bench, Loney packed up his judicial chambers on the fourth floor of the Anne Arundel County Courthouse and was gone July 16. Five days later, he was back. Like many judges around the state, he is working part time in retirement - balancing golf, travel and work around the house with work at the courthouse.
NEWS
By Jacques Kelly | July 15, 2009
Monica Doherty, an attorney who worked in family law, ended her life July 1 in Largo, Fla. The Wyman Park resident was 40. Born Monica Christine Doherty in Virginia Beach, Va., and raised in Dunedin, Fla., she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville. After moving to Baltimore in 1999, she taught computer science at the Roland Park Middle School. She received a degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2005. At her death she was practicing law in Towson and worked in family law. She enjoyed travel and outdoor activities and completed the 2006 Baltimore Marathon.
NEWS
By Jacques Kelly and Jacques Kelly,Sun reporter | February 28, 2008
Elizabeth Carol Yarema, an attorney who believed in solving issues by mediation, died of a pulmonary embolism Monday at her northern Baltimore County home. She was 38. Born in Baltimore and raised in Sparks, she was a 1987 graduate of St. Paul's School for Girls, where she was yearbook editor and contributed to the school's literary magazine and newspaper. She received the Trustee Award, given to a student with "outstanding character, good citizenship, and who contributes with service to the community."