Search Court Records
REPORTING DECISIONS THROUGH FEBRUARY 3, 2006
PENNSYLVANIA STATE COURT DECISIONS
1. CAUSES OF ACTION
1.1. Civil Remedies For Violations of State Constitutional Rights
► Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ♦ Jones v. City
of Philadelphia No. 795 C.D. 2004 (January 25, 2006)
Holding: A city or other local government is not liable for
monetary damages under Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania
Constitution for a claim of excessive force. Of note is the en
banc Court's finding that the plaintiff failed to show that his
rights against governmental use of excessive force were not
sufficiently protected by the Fourth Amendment. Judge
Smith-Ribner filed a dissenting opinion, in which she was joined
by Judge
Click here to read more from this article
...
Forget Divorce Court -- As More Courts and Attorneys Embrace Mediation, Most Florida Divorces Never Make it to Court
When divorce attorney Howard Iken, The Divorce Center of
Tampa Bay speaks with new clients, the first thing they talk
about is "going to court." The reality is they will probably
never see the inside of a courtroom. The reason -- the
overwhelming majority settle at mediation.
Conjure up an image of divorce. The average person visualizes
people sitting in a courtroom, giving testimony, with a judge at
a bench presiding over everything. The reality of most divorces
is dramatically different. Forget high profile, exciting
confrontations in courtrooms built 50 years ago. The vast
majority of divorces in Florida are relatively boring exchanges
of paperwork and telephone calls. The extensive paperwork and
telephone calls all lead to one event -- mediation. With 95% of
cases settling at mediation, going to court is largely becoming
something obsolete.
In Florida, and in many states in the U.S., mediation is
becoming a mandatory step. And mediation appears to work. Howard
Iken, managing partner at The Divorce Center of
Tampa Bay, a divorce law practice in the Tampa Bay region,
observes over 95% of divorce cases settle by the time they get
to mediation. Of the 10% that do not settle by mediation,
approximately 9% settle some time before final trial. The bottom
line is that approximately 1 out of 100 divorce cases go through
the colorful confrontation that many people visualize. 99 out of
100 cases never make it to court.
The evidence that mediation works is overwhelming. Mediation
programs have sprung up all over Florida. In most if not all
Florida Counties, mediation is a mandatory step in all divorce
cases. Attorneys seem to embrace mediation. One potent indicator
of this is their pricing arrangement. Many attorneys now quote
fees that will take each client though mediation. Because of the
unsually high settlement rate, that fee normally takes care of
the entire case
Between the time a spouse files for divorce and the period most
cases settle, the legal action consists of very boring
paperwork, financial disclosure, punctuated by the occasional
phone call. The process rarely varies and the paperwork in each
case is similar if not the exact same. One spouse sends a
petition, the other sends an answer. Each spouse exchanges
financial affidavits, tax returns, paycheck stubs, and other
types of documentation. The attorneys act as paperwork mills,
churning and spinning out pounds of identical documents into the
postal system. Other than copies of documents filed with the
court, judges rarely get involved at this stage. All of the
documents, legal pleadings, notices, and forms, are oriented
toward getting to mediation, the final event in many divorces.
If the parties settle at mediation, and the statistics show most
do, one spouse will never see the inside of a courtroom. The
other spouse usually attends a short, 10 minute hearing that is
only a formality. A judge reviews the documents and signs off on
the divorce.
"Hurry up and then wait," divorce attorney Howard Iken tells his
clients. Most cases consist of tons of paperwork creation
followed by a long wait. The long wait is normally to allow the
opposing party time to create and send a similar pile of
paperwork. The routine sets the stage for mediation. The process
seems to work. The benefit: thousands of dollars in attorney
fees are saved. Money that could pay for rebuilt lives is not
diverted to the bank accounts of each attorney. Cases are
brought to an early end. And each party to the divorce ends up
having little or no contact with the court.
About the author:
Howard Iken is the founder and managing attorney. He represents
divorce clients in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, New Port
Richey, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando County, Florida. For more
information, call his toll free number at 1-888-4My-Divorce
(1-888-469-3486). Get a free education on divorce issues by
visiting The Divorce
Center of Tampa Bay
The "arraignment" process involves:
Being brought before a Judge in the courtroom
Receiving the " criminal complaint" with the crimes charged and the factual basis to each charge
The District Attorney requesting bail or releasing you on your own recognizance (called "ROR")
Pleading guilty or not guilty
The process starts when the court officer brings you from the cell in the back of the courtroom and into the courtroom before the Judge.
If you were unable to contact your family, friends or an attorney when you were arrested then most likely the court will have a Legal Aid attorney appear for you. Legal Aid
Click here to read more from this article
...
Howard Iken
Tucker County West Virginia court records
Sometimes people do stupid things, but someone who disobeys a court order is one of the craziest things one can do. In divorce court and family custody matters sometimes lawyers try to convince the judge that because of all the pressure of a divorce his client has acted in an unrational way, unfortunately judges rarely fell compassion when their orders are disregarded.
Divorce attorneys and their clients often use the same tall tales to ignoring court orders. One excuse is the other party also did it or the court's order was based on inaccurate information. These excuses rarely work.
One of the
Click here to read more from this article
...
In the United States, personal injury claims are given a statute limitation of two (2) years before the claim is outlawed. Within this period, one must obtain a lawyer and file a case before going to trial in court.Most people find this quite a hassle. Hiring a lawyer takes not only a lot of money, but also demands a considerable amount of time and energy to set up meetings and, of course, show up in court. Because of this, many clients resort to "settlements", or dealing with the case before going to trial. Of course, this doesn't mean settlement happens
Click here to read more from this article
...
