Law and Justice

Archive for October, 2010

Trial Marriage – Alternative urban white-collar love

Trial marriage, with the only difference is that most couples do not apply for marriage registration, the lack of a “by a passed hand,” “trial marriage” concept, first by a U.S. judge in this century put forward by At that time.

Caused uproar in the community. The early 80s, that with the sharp rise in divorce rates and the Western concept of freedom with the flow into China, a number of trendy men and women has become a “guinea pig.” Since it is a trial marriage, the reasons for each test and the mentality is different, and its consequences are joy unspeakable.

I personally support the trial marriage, because the trial marriage can have many benefits, although many people think that this is unethical behavior before marriage, that marriage is to break the routine before the manifestation of that trial marriage is to enjoy the happiness and joy of marriage rather than responsible for it.

Before trial marriage, provided that they have to Give Love, after all, the results of trial marriage, not can be happy, can be together, not into the marriage hall, trial marriages can try a lot of contradictions, but that a better understanding of each other.

A: Learn habits

Trial marriage can understand each other’s habits, to understand each other’s living habits, habits that two people are the same. If you can accept his minor defects, after all, love, many small problems, you will not find, will not understand. Trial marriage during the day, every moment together, in addition to work during the life of trivial things, you need two people with experience who might be washing dishes and fight for today, life is life, not a time to love, every day romantic, romantic. Men’s socks, throw again today, the laundry, these little things, will quarrel. Adjust everything before marriage, marriage can be a very good distribution, do not do this fight, because the trial marriage, you can understand each other, a rare ailment, are aware of, and are accepted.

Second: is harmonious sexual life

Now many divorce cases, many of them are sexual disharmony in the end. Sexual life in marriage, from the very important role. Most couples feel that their sex life will be the existence of a certain defect or lack of sex life plays a great role in marriage, you can adjust the two people’s feelings, the emotional life, sexual life, can play a role in polish . There are many people, because sexual disorders, to look for the third, or affair. The trial marriage before marriage, where you can play the role of harmony, even harmony, and now the pain is better than after the pain is good, divorce is not every woman wants.

Third: Is there a concept of marriage

Marriage is a lifetime thing, and he is to live to two people, we must first learn to Gu, followed by the thoughtful, caring people, not the day after a person is when two people supporting a family, and these, in the process of trial marriage can reflect, the woman afraid of marrying the wrong husband, trial marriage on the way, to reflect, to know whether a person has the concept of marriage is a good way. Trial marriage can be better maintained after the women’s families, after adjustments, and after the marriage more secure.

Four: the other side is responsible for

Trial marriage is a kind of responsibility, the courage to trial marriage a woman, no matter how open the woman, or a conservative side, in front of every marriage concerns. During the trial marriage, if the other party to leave you, a sense he is irresponsible, while telling myself that this is not a candidate after her husband, do not think, trial marriage, a girl is a disadvantage, in fact, it is responsible for their own .

Give Love will love, do not think this is a long time to break the moral, in fact, it is responsible for their own, ready to get married, you trial marriage yet? Trial marriage is not avant-garde, is responsible for their own future marriage

Week 1

History

Monday, Day 1

The Alphabet

In circa 2000 BC, the Egyptian pharaohs realized they had a problem. With each military victory over their neighbors, they captured and enslaved more prisoners of war. But the Egyptians could not pass down written orders to these slaves as they could not read hieroglyphics.

Early writing systems, such as Egyptian hieroglyphics, were extremely cumbersome and difficult to learn. These systems had thousands of characters, with each symbol representing an idea or word. Memorizing them could take years. Only a handful of Egyptians could actually read and write their complicated script.

Linguists believe that almost all modern alphabets are derived from the simplified version of hieroglyphics devised by the Egyptians four thousand years ago to communicate with their slaves. The development of an alphabet, the writing system used throughout the Western world, changed the way the ancients communicated.

In the simplified version, each character represented only a sound. This innovation cut back the number of characters from a few thousand to a few dozen, making it far easier to learn and use the characters. The complicated hieroglyphic language was eventually forgotten, and scholars were not able to translate the characters until the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799.

The alphabet was extremely successful. When the Egyptian slaves eventually migrated back to their home countries, they took the writing system with them. The alphabet spread across the Near East, becoming the foundation for many writing systems in the area, including Hebrew and Arabic. The Phoenicians, an ancient civilization of seaborne traders, spread the alphabet to the tribes they encountered along the Mediterranean coast. The Greek and Roman alphabets, in turn, were based on the ancient Phoenician script. Today most Western languages, including English, use the Roman alphabet.

Additional Facts

Several letters in modern-day English are direct descendents of ancient Egyptian characters. For instance, the letter B derives from the Egyptian character for the word house.

The most recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains 171,476 words in current usage, among the most of any language.

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Literature

Tuesday, Day 2

Ulysses

James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) is widely regarded as the greatest novel written in English in the twentieth century. It retells Homer’s Odyssey in the context of a single day — June 16, 1904 — in Dublin, Ireland, recasting Homer’s great hero Odysseus in the unlikely guise of Leopold Bloom, an aging, cuckolded ad salesman who spends the day running errands and making various business appointments before he returns home at long last.

Though Bloom seems unassuming and ordinary, he emerges as a heroic figure, displaying compassion, forgiveness, and generosity toward virtually everyone in the odd cast of characters he meets. In his mundane and often unnoticed deeds, he practices an everyday heroism that is perhaps the only heroism possible in the modern world. And despite the fact that he always feels like an outsider — he is a Jew in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland — Bloom remains optimistic and dismisses his insecurities.

Ulysses is celebrated for its incredibly rich portraits of characters, its mind-boggling array of allusions to other literary and cultural works, and its many innovations with language. Throughout the course of the novel, Joyce flirts with literary genres and forms ranging from drama to advertising copy to Old English. The novel is perhaps most famous for its extensive use of stream-of-consciousness narrative — Joyce’s attempt to render the inner thoughts of his characters exactly as they occur, with no effort to impose order or organization. This technique became a hallmark of modernist literature and influenced countless other writers, such as Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, who also experimented with it in their works.

Not surprisingly, Ulysses poses a difficult journey for the reader, especially its famous last chapter, which recounts the thoughts of Bloom’s wife, Molly. Molly’s reverie goes on for more than 24,000 words yet is divided into only eight mammoth sentences. Despite the challenge it poses, the chapter shows Joyce at his most lyrical, especially in the final lines, which reaffirm Molly’s love for her husband despite her infidelity:

and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

Additional Fact

Ulysses was banned for obscenity in the United States for nearly twelve years because of its (mostly indirect) sexual imagery.

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Visual Arts

Wednesday, Day 3

Lascaux Cave Paintings

The cave paintings at Lascaux are among the earliest known works of art. They were discovered in 1940 near the village of Montignac in central France when four boys stumbled into a cave. Inside they found a series of rooms with nearly 1,500 paintings of animals that were between 15,000 and 17,000 years old.

There are several theories regarding the function of the paintings. A natural feature of the cave may have suggested the shape of an animal to a prehistoric observer who then added highlights to relay his vision to others. Since many of the paintings are located in inaccessible parts of the cave, they may have been used for magical practices. Possibly, prehistoric people believed that the act of drawing animals, especially with a high degree of accuracy, would bring the beasts under their control or increase their numbers in times of scarcity.

The animals are outlined or portrayed in silhouette. They are often shown in what is called twisted perspective, that is, with their heads in profile but their horns facing front. Many of the images include dots, linear patterns, and other designs that may carry symbolic meaning.

The most magnificent chamber of the cave, known as the Great Hall of the Bulls, contains a painted narrative. From left to right, the pictures depict the chase and capture of a bison herd.

As soon as the paintings had been examined and identified as Paleolithic, the caves were opened to the public in 1948. By 1955, however, it became increasingly evident that exposure to as many as 1,200 visitors per day was taking its toll on the works inside. Although protective measures were taken, the site closed in 1963. In order to satisfy public demand, a life-sized replica of the cave was completed in 1983, only 200 meters from the original.

Additional Facts

The cave painters were conscious of visual perspective; they painted figures high on the wall, styled so that they would not appear distorted to the viewer below.

The only human figure depicted in the cave appears in the Shaft of the Dead Man. The fact that it is drawn more crudely than the animals suggest that they did not think it was endowed with magical properties.

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Science

Thursday, Day 4

Cloning

In 1997, a baby sheep named Dolly introduced the world to reproductive cloning. She was a clone because she and her mother shared the same nuclear DNA; in other words, their cells carried the same genetic material. They were like identical twins reared generations apart.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland created Dolly by a process called nuclear transfer. Taking the genetic material from an adult donor cell, they transferred it into an unfertilized egg whose genetic material had been removed. In Dolly’s case, the donor cell came from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset ewe. The researchers then gave the egg an electric shock, and it began dividing into an embryo.

One of the reasons Dolly’s creation was so astounding was that it proved to the scientific community that a cell taken from a specialized part of the body could be used to create a whole new organism. Before Dolly, almost all scientists believed that once a cell became specialized it could only produce other specialized cells: A heart cell could only make heart cells, and a liver cell could only make liver cells. But Dolly was made entirely from a cell extracted from her mother’s mammary gland, proving that specialized cells could be completely reprogrammed.

In many ways, Dolly was not like her mother. For example, her telomeres were too short. Telomeres are thin strands of protein that cap off the ends of chromosomes, the structures that carry genes. Although no one is sure exactly what telomeres do, they seem to help protect and repair our cells. As we age, our telomeres get shorter and shorter. Dolly received her mother’s six-year-old telomeres, so from birth, Dolly’s telomeres were shorter than the average lamb her age. Although Dolly appeared to be mostly normal, she was put to sleep in 2004 at the age of six, after suffering from lung cancer and crippling arthritis. The average Finn Dorset sheep lives to age eleven or twelve.

Additional Facts

Since 1997, cattle, mice, goats, and pigs have been successfully cloned using nuclear transfer.

The success rate for cloning is very low in all species. Published studies report that about 1 percent of reconstructed embryos survive birth. But since unsuccessful attempts largely go unreported, the actual number might be much lower.

Before she died, Dolly was the mother of six lambs, all bred the old-fashioned way.

A group of Korean researchers claimed to have cloned a human embryo in 1998, but their experiment was terminated at the 4-cell stage, so there was no evidence of their success.

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Music

Friday, Day 5

The Basics

Music is organized sound that can be replicated through imitation or notation. Music is distinct from noise in that the sounds of a door creaking open or fingernails on a blackboard are irregular and disorganized. The sound waves that map these noises are complex and cannot be heard as identifiable pitches.

Some of the basic ways that we analyze musical sounds are:

Pitch: How high or how low a sound is to the ear. Pitch is measured technically by the frequency of a sound wave, or how often waves repeat themselves. In western music there are twelve unique pitches (C, C-sharp or D-flat, D, D-sharp or E-flat, E, F, F-sharp or G-flat, G, G-sharp or A-flat, A, A-sharp or B-flat, and B). The pitches followed by sharps or flats are called accidentals, and they are most easily described as the black keys on the piano keyboard. They are located musically, one half step between the two pitches on either side of them. For example, D-sharp and E-flat have the same pitch. When referring to pitches in the context of notated, or written music, they are called notes.

Scale: A stepwise arrangement of pitches (for example, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) that often serves as the basis for a melody. A piece, or a portion of a piece, will often use only notes found in a particular scale. Western music primarily uses the major scale or the minor scale, in one form or another. To most people, the major scale, because of its particular arrangement of pitches, has the quality of sounding “bright,” “happy,” or “positive.” A minor scale, likewise, is usually described as “dark,” “sad,” or “pessimistic.”

Key: An arrangement or system of pitches, usually based on one of the major or minor scales, that is meant to serve as a reference point and a guiding force of a melody. The tonic of a key is often the starting and ending point for a piece written in a particular key — so if a piece is in E major, then the pitch E will serve as the piece’s tonal center.

Additional Facts

All of these basic elements can be notated on the staff, which is a repeating of five parallel horizontal lines. Often it is divided into measures to indicate metric divisions in the piece and marked at the beginning of each staff of the page with a clef to indicate reference points for identifying pitches.

When a piece strays from its basic key, this is called modulation. Keys are indicated in written music by a key signature at the beginning of each staff.

There are hundreds of scales used in the world’s many different musical cultures. In India, music played on the sitar and other instruments chooses pitches from a collection of twenty-two possibilities, with the distances between scale steps sometimes larger and sometimes smaller than those used in Western music. This can make differences between pitches extremely subtle and demands a high virtuosity from Indian classical musicians.

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Philosophy

Saturday, Day 6

Appearance and Reality

Throughout its history, one of the great themes of philosophy has been the distinction between appearance and reality. This distinction was central to the thought of the earliest philosophers, called the Presocratics, because they lived before Socrates.

The Presocratics believed that the ultimate nature of reality was vastly different from the way it ordinarily appeared to them. For instance, one philosopher named Thales held that appearances notwithstanding, all reality was ultimately composed of water; Heraclitus thought the world was built from fire. Further, Heraclitus maintained that everything was constantly in motion. Another thinker, Parmenides, insisted that nothing actually moved and that all apparent motion was an illusion.

The Presocratics took seriously the possibility that all of reality was ultimately made up of some more fundamental substance. And they suspected that uncritical, everyday observation tends to present us with a misleading picture of the world. For these reasons, their thinking is often considered a precursor to modern science as well as philosophy.

Many later philosophers — including Plato, Spinoza, and Leibniz — followed in this tradition and presented alternative models of reality, which they claimed were closer to the truth than ordinary, commonsense views of the world.

Additional Facts

The distinction between appearance and reality is also central to the venerable philosophical tradition known as skepticism.

Immanuel Kant also addressed the difference between appearance and reality. He distinguished between things we experience and what he called a “thing-in-itself.”

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Religion

Sunday, Day 7

Torah

The Torah is the name generally given to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses. Christians refer to these books as the Old Testament. The word Torah can also refer to the entire breadth of Jewish law encompassing several texts as well as oral traditions.

The Five Books of Moses are the basis for the 613 laws that govern the Jewish faith, and they are the foundation for the world’s three great monotheistic faiths — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are as follows:

Genesis: Tells the story of creation as well as the history of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their families

Exodus: Recounts the exodus from Egypt to Canaan, including Moses receiving the Ten Commandments

Leviticus: Contains the rules and practices of worship

Numbers: Relates the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness

Deuteronomy: Consists of speeches made by Moses at the end of his life that recount Israelite history and ethical teachings

The five books are traditionally believed to have been given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Alternative theories claim the beginning of the Torah was given on Mount Sinai but that the revelation continued throughout Moses’s life.

Historically, archaeologists have argued that the Torah was written sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. Proponents of the Documentary Hypothesis, which according to Orthodox Jews is heretical, claim that the original five books came from four sources, eventually compiled into one by a fifth author or redactor. The arguments in favor of this theory are the multiple names used for God, varying styles of writing. and the repetition of stories.

From the beginning, the Torah was accompanied by an oral tradition, which was necessary for its complete understanding. Although it was thought to be blasphemous to write the oral tradition down, the necessity for doing so eventually became apparent, leading to the creation of the Mishna. Later, as rabbis discussed and debated these two texts, the Talmud was written in order to compile their arguments.

The Jewish tradition uses the text of the Torah to derive innumerable laws and customs. Rabbinic scholars have spent entire lifetimes parsing every word for meaning.

Additional Facts

Torah scrolls written in Hebrew by hand, contain 304,805 letters and may take more than a year to produce by hand. If a single mistake is made, the entire scroll becomes invalid.

Reprinted from: The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim © 2006 TID Volumes, LLC. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling at (800) 848-4735.

Getting a component of suspense is definitely an essential component of any contest. Suspense heightens the pressure for that contestants — and it raises the stakes for that audience.

But within the situation of vocalist Jackie Evancho and also the ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges, issues just haven’t been extremely suspenseful. The judges clearly cherished the 10-year-old opera vocalist from the primary 2nd that they noticed her.

Tonight was no various. Although there had been another outstanding acts appearing around the display — for example efficiency group Fighting Gravity, and vocalists Alice Tan Ridley and Nathan Kenyon — all eyes had been basically on Ms. Evancho through the second that she stepped out on stage.

As soon as once more, Jackie stunned the judges and also the crowd, executing a thrilling model of “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli. And as we pointed out prior to, there wasn’t that a lot suspense about regardless of whether the judges would adore the tune. The only query was how a lot they’d adore the tune.

The reply to that query was: very a great deal.

Sharon Osbourne stated that Jackie was “blessed” and informed her that she had been born “with an incredible present.” She promised Jackie that her existence can be filled with adventures, simply because her vocal expertise was heading to take her all more than the globe.

Meanwhile, Howie Mandel stated this to Jackie: “You are like an angel from an additional planet. !.! I’ve by no means witnessed some thing similar to this, and heard some thing similar to this. !.! There aren’t even phrases to describe [it[]|], but I’m so pleased I could be right here, witness it, and hear it.” Wow. Higher reward certainly.

Piers Morgan was much more succinct and towards the level with his reward. He merely known as Jackie Evancho a “superstar.”

It’s tough to assure something in existence, and also the voters of America nonetheless need to make their choice. However it appears just about assured that Jackie will probably be shifting along towards the finals of ‘America’s Acquired Expertise.’ See? There’s that lack of suspense once more.

Incoming search terms:

You do not need to suffer a sure major to enter law school. Law schools usu are also interested in liberal arts backgrounds. You really generally need to have large spread of classes like math, business, social sciences, and figures.

First, begin preparing yourself for the law school admission process because soon because practicable. This implies working on your grades from the first day of undergraduate college with the understanding that they are also one of the primary components of your law college application. You actually must also begin preparing for the Law College Admission Check, or LSAT, years during advance. If you really do not suffer year, begin getting ready at the moment. The LSAT isn’t designed to test your knowledge so much because it’s very designed to check your mastery of the reasoning systems needed to perform well. With enough practice, you actually is able to learn to excel on the LSAT regardless of your intellect or general test-taking ability. Preparation will definitely help you really purchase into a prestigious law college.

There are also thousands of applicants to law schools all over the world each year. The majority of the candidates fall between the ages of 22 through twenty-five, a few between 26 and 29, and a little percent between the ages of 30 to 34 years old. Way more than 84,000 candidates during 2007 alone into America’s law schools; it is very safe to mention that lots of individuals also are selecting law because their desired career. A enormous an element of going into law is choosing the right law school which is a selection that varies for each future law student. Hence, how do you choose the right law college?

The first law college demand for really all law students is that they obtain an undergraduate bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university before attending law school. In connection with obtaining this degree, the graduate must submit a transcript to their prospective law college therefore that the school is able to guage the student’s grade particular point average (“GPA”).

There also are other subjective requirements that may be considered by a law college in making an admissions selection, such as diversity difficulties and familial relationships with the college, but such matters also are not required to be considered for admission.

First, if you actually need to be a lawyer someday there also are sure steps that you actually wish to beginning taking steps straight now. For starters, you will wish to maximize your undergraduate GPA and your Last history. The Last is the official law college admissions check used by the overwhelming majority of law schools during the United States. It is very administered by the Law School Admissions Council.

If you really also are worried that your Last score was bad or low or average…Don’t fret. Law schools wish you, you may simply want to shop around and find the right single.

As a component of their setting test, the state bar association is going to do a comprehensive background test. This is going to include pulling your criminal record, credit record, and way more. You may even have to list each address at which you actually suffer lived any time during your life.

Does this sound like an oxymoron? It certainly seems impossible, yet if you are in a situation where you feel like your marriage cannot be salvaged then you cannot even fathom how anything could keep your marriage together. Consider making an appointment with a divorce lawyer as a final effort to fix the state of your relationship.

The word “divorce” certainly feels like a bad word as it exits your mouth. It also has a ring of finality to it. Having a meeting with a divorce attorney feels even more final, as if there is no turning back at that point. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The reality is that there is always the opportunity to turn back and not go through with a divorce. In fact, most states have a specific waiting period before a divorce can be deemed final, and therefore, legal with the hope that at least some couples with withdraw their divorce petitions and work things out. Visiting a MN divorce law firm may be the very thing your marriage needs to get back on track.

First, when you go to a MN divorce law firm and sit down with a divorce attorney, the reality begins to sink in. It is no longer a threat, but something that may and probably will actually happen, which means that you are beginning to truly imagine your life without your partner. It may cause you to think back to your happier times and all the reasons why you fell in love with your spouse in the first place. You may have some recent bad memories, but you probably also have months and years of many wonderful memories together. Those tend to flood back when you are preparing to say your final goodbyes to your relationship. Think about those memories, what made them so special and whether or not you really want to give that all up. This appointment with the attorney may very well put things into perspective for you.

When you are at the MN divorce law firm meeting with a divorce attorney, you should talk about why you are there. What are the reasons that you are considering filing for divorce? There are many reasons why marriages end in divorce, such as infidelity, arguments due to finances, or differences in how to rear your children, to name a few. As you sit there, you must again decide if the strain in your marriage is important enough to break up your relationship forever. This may be the first time you start to think about ways you might be able to work together on repairing your relationship and forgiving each other for past bad behavior.

Divorce attorneys see all sorts of relationship problems every day as their office deals with separation, divorce and custody issues throughout the day. This also gives these attorneys some insight on relationships that may or may not make it in the long run. Many a MN divorce law firm has a large number of marriage and family therapists to whom they can refer you to see if marriage counseling may help resolve your differences. This is always a good step to take before making the final decision to get a divorce. This little nudge with a marriage counseling referral may be exactly what you and your spouse needed to work through your problems.

Marriage is hard and it takes work. A married couple will not always see eye to eye on things and sometimes not handle situations in the best way. But the institution of marriage is important, especially when there are children involved. Couples should be willing to do anything to make their marriage work. As off the wall as it sounds, a visit to a MN divorce law firm may be just the thing to put it all into perspective and remind you why you fell in love and got married in the first place.

Brown Family Law is a MN divorce law Firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our Attorneys represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.

By hiring a Virginia criminal lawyer you will have someone on your side who has the expertise and knowledge of criminal law to handle your case with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome.  It is important to note though that not every criminal lawyer will have the necessary expertise to handle your particular case as criminal law involves many different sections and categories which deal with different types of case.

When you begin looking for a Virginia criminal lawyer to represent you, you will need to understand the nature of the charges against you and the area of criminal law into which they fall.  Once you have determined this you will be able to look for lawyers who specialize in your particular case.

Anyone who is charged with a criminal offense such as abduction, murder, violence, theft and rape will need to look for a criminal lawyer who specializes in these cases.  Once you make contact with a criminal lawyer they will arrange to meet with you to discuss your case and to discover more details about it.  From the information you provide they will be able to advise on the possible outcome of your case, a possible defense strategy and how to proceed further.  Once you make a decision to hire a lawyer they will set to work to research your case and put your defense together.  This will entail finding evidence, researching the law as it relates to your case and submitting papers to the court ahead of your trial.

The role of a Virginia criminal lawyer includes the following steps:

Investigate the case
Obtain warrants for search purposes
Prepare an arrest complaint
Measure inadequacy or assertion
Attend bail or plea hearings
Conduct defense arguments at trial

If you are arrested and charged with a criminal offense in Virginia then you need to find a Virginia criminal lawyer as soon as possible.  Note you need to find a lawyer who practices within the state in which the offense took place and where it will be heard in court.  This is important because each state will set their own laws with regard to criminal matters and although federal law may also play a part, only a lawyer who practices within the state in question will have the knowledge of local laws and procedures in relation to your case.

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Professor

PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW

 EDUCATIONAL LAWS & POLICIES

PARENT’S RIGHTS

 INTRODUCTION

             Parents are an essential partner in the education of their children.  While constitutional law does not necessarily outline parental rights regarding education, Texas statutory law does.  In fact, in 1995 the Texas Legislature amended the Texas Education Code to include parent rights and responsibilities.  According to Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code §4.001, “Parents will be full partners with educators in the education of their children (Walsh, Kemerer, & Maniotis, 2007).  The state cannot require all students to attend public schools, thus enabling the parents to right to choose where their children will be educated.  Parents may send their children to public, private, or home schools. 

            For the purpose of this report, we will present the case that relates to granting parents the right to choose which institution of learning their children will attend.  The findings are intended to be informative and beneficial in understanding the precedent set forth for parent rights and responsibilities regarding the education of their wards.

Case One

United States Supreme Court

PIERCE

 v.

SOCIETY OF SISTERS

268 U.S. 510

LITIGANTS

Plaintiffs-Appellants: Walter Pierce, Governor of Oregon

                                    Isaac H. Van Winkle, Attorney General of Oregon

Defendant-Appellee: Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary

                                    Hill Military Academy

BACKGROUND

            On November 7, 1922, the voters in Oregon passed an initiative to amend the Compulsory Education Act.  The amendment was aimed at creating a common American culture by eliminating any dogmas that may negatively influence the established norms of American society.  All children between the ages of eight and sixteen were required to attend public school.  Children who were mentally disabled, lived three miles from the nearest road and had already completed the eighth grade were excluded from attending school.  To enforce the law parents who did not send their children to public school were fined and faced 30 days in jail.   The initiative also targeted parochial schools, specifically Catholic schools, because the thought was that such parochial schools hindered assimilation.  Since the Society of Sisters worked with mainly orphaned and disadvantaged children they challenged the fairness of the Act.

FACTS

            The Society of Sisters was an Oregon corporation, organized in 1880, with power to care for orphans, educate and instruct the youth, establish and maintain academies or schools, and acquire necessary real and personal property. The Society’s bill alleges that the enactment conflicts with the right of parents to choose schools where their children will receive appropriate mental and religious training, the right of the child to influence the parents’ choice of a school, the right of schools and teachers therein to engage in a useful business or profession, and is accordingly repugnant to the Constitution and void. And, further, that, unless enforcement of the measure is enjoined the corporation’s business and property will suffer irreparable injury.

DECISION

 JUSTICE McREYNOLDS delivered the opinion of the Court.

The challenged Act, effective September 1, 1926, requires every parent, guardian or other person having control or charge or custody of a child between eight and sixteen years to send him “to a public school for the period of time a public school shall be held during the current year” in the district where the child resides, and failure so to do is declared a misdemeanor. The manifest purpose is to compel general attendance at public schools by normal children, between eight and sixteen, who have not completed the eighth grade. And without doubt enforcement of the statute would seriously impair, perhaps destroy, the profitable features of appellees’ business and greatly diminish the value of their property.

The Society’s bill alleges that the enactment conflicts with the right of parents to choose schools where their children will receive appropriate mental and religious training, the right of the child to influence the parents’ choice of a school, the right of schools and teachers therein to engage in a useful business or profession, and is accordingly repugnant to the Constitution and void. And, further, that, unless enforcement of the measure is enjoined the corporation’s business and property will suffer irreparable injury.

No question is raised concerning the power of the State reasonably to regulate all schools, to inspect, supervise and examine them, their teachers and pupils; to require that all children of proper age attend some school, that teachers shall be of good moral character and patriotic disposition, that certain studies plainly essential to good citizenship must be taught, and that nothing be taught which is manifestly inimical to the public welfare.

DICTA

Under the doctrine of Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, we think it entirely plain that the Act of 1922 unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control: as often heretofore pointed out, rights guaranteed by the Constitution may not be abridged by legislation which has no reasonable relation to some purpose within the competency of the State. The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.

IMPLICATIONS

            The Society’s suit against Pierce was successful in establishing that the parents and guardians of students had a right to choose their children’s educational setting.  The ruling set the precedent for parents’ right to choose privately run schools and relieved parents from being forced, through penalties, to have their children educated in public schools.

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There are a number of different issues that arise as part of divorce proceedings. No divorce can or will be finalized by the family court until all the relevant issues are finally resolved, whether by way of a settlement agreement or through a trial. Most divorce cases do not make it to trial, unless each and every issue is highly contested. If you are one of those people, be aware that such a divorce will end up costing a lot of money in attorney’s fees and costs. Most divorces are resolved through a settlement agreement, often called a Marital Settlement Agreement. Your Twin Cities law firm will help guide your case to a settlement that is reasonable and relatively satisfactory to all parties and which addresses each and every applicable issue.

One of the issues that are dealt with in divorce proceedings is the division of property and financial assets, and then their distribution. As your Twin Cities law firm will inform you, you and your spouse will need to document any and all assets you held together during the marriage that is not legally deemed separate property. Separate property is any property that was brought into the marriage, or was received by gift or inheritance during the marriage. Any other property that was “earned” or purchased during the marriage or towards which marital earnings were paid will be subject to a 50-50 division. Bank accounts, 401(k) and profit sharing assets, car values, personal property values, such as your furniture and electronics in your home, and the value of your home if you own your home are all assets that will likely need to be divided. Of course, you cannot cut up the TV or the house.

As such, the value of each asset is determined and then divided such that each side retains items that represent 50% of that value. With homes, typically one spouse keeps the home and the other spouse retains other assets that equal the value of the home. When that is not possible or desirable, the family home is sold with each spouse receiving one half of the proceeds. The spouses will also have to share 50% each in the marital debt that accumulated during the marriage. Spousal support will also typically be awarded in a divorce to the lower earning spouse. In addition, the lower earning spouse can sometimes get the higher earning spouse to pay all or a portion of their Twin Cities law firm attorney’s fees.

Aside from property division and spousal support, a major issue that comes up in divorce is custody of any children from the marriage. This is always the most sensitive issue in a divorce. This is something that you will need to heavily lean on your Twin Cities law firm, who can not only advise you on your rights and how the courts typically address custody, visitation and child support, but can also provide you with the emotional support you will likely need. The courts will always rule in favor of what is in the best interests of the child. If that means they live with mom and visit with dad, then that will happen. They will often look to see what type of custody and visitation has been taking place since the couple have separated as well as who has been the primary caregiver to the children. The age of the children is also a factor. The custodial parent will usually receive some child support with the amount being dependent upon the amount of time the custodial parent has the children and the difference between the incomes of the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent.

As you can see, there are many aspects to a divorce that require the expertise and guidance of a Twin Cities law firm specializing in this area of the law. It is always wise to hire an attorney to handle your divorce, but this is especially so when there are children involved. Children become such an emotionally charged issue in a divorce and your attorney will best be able to help work through it and do what is best for your children in the end.

Brown Family Law is a Twin Cities Law Firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our Lawyers represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.