I keep finding news of males acting out sexually and violently.  It seems that guys get bad news for such behavior.  The news gets degendered and reported as criminal behavior by offenders.  Men aren’t born to commit such acts, but the male socialization process conditions men for this type of acting out.  Unfortunately, a great number […]

Posted in General 1 Comment »

Obituary for Judge Stephen Karr
Judge Stephen W. Karr, died on September 28, 2007. He was born on the Island of Samos, Greece on June 20, 1919, and emigrated to the United States with his parents, William and Angeline Karr, at the age of 13 months. He graduated from the University of Michigan Literary College […]

Posted in General No Comments »

The Grand Rapids Press reports on the death of Leontyne “Tina” Partee-Elder, a lawyer with “’such a big heart.’”
Barton Deiters writes (excerpt):
As an attorney, Leontyne “Tina” Partee-Elder represented some of the most hardened criminal offenders in the system.
But the man she feared enough to seek a restraining order against was her estranged husband.
****
“She was just […]

Posted in General No Comments »

In July 2007, the Grand Rapids, Michigan community was witness to four lives lost due to domestic violence. Three murders and one suicide asked families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and the community at large to make sense of the violence around them.
Historically, we have tried to convince ourselves that domestic violence is a family problem, a […]

Posted in General No Comments »

The AP/New York Times peeks into the divorce proceedings involving the former Governor of New Jersey. The short piece illustrates common themes, including:
–judges want parents to use “common sense”
–judges want parents to facilitate age-appropriate activities
–judges want parents to minimize the potential effects of the proceedings and the parental conflict on the child
–judges focus primarily […]

Posted in General No Comments »

This was a young man drowning in lonliness, despair, and powerlessness.  He didn’t want to face another day of this misery, so he escaped in a morbid and violent hyper-masculine fantasy.  This fantasy came to fruition on a dreadful day for 32 people at Virginia Tech.  Many people are trying to make sense of this […]

Posted in General No Comments »

It was a warm, sunny evening.  I felt safely enveloped by the cozy surroundings of Empire along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  Escaping to the Leelanau Peninsula; a pilgrimage my wife Stephanie and I take often, since honeymooning there some 19 years ago.  As we walked to the lake, we noticed a group of young people […]

Posted in Something Different, General 1 Comment »

As a psychologist, I’ve done hundreds of assessments for men who batter.  When I determine after careful discernment of the data presented that a particular man has a problem with abusive behavior, one personality factor speaks loudly.  Men who batter lack empathy.  A close friend of mine who was raped once said, “If he knew what he […]

Posted in General No Comments »

Posted in General No Comments »

The 2006-2007 Officers of the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Section are:
David Sarnacki, Chair
Karen Sendelbach, Chair-elect
Carlo Martina, Treasurer
Barbara Kelly, Corresponding Secretary
Amy Yu, Recording Secretary

Posted in General No Comments »

The State Bar of Michigan will honor 13 members of the legal community at its 2006 Annual Meeting, which takes place Sept. 13-15 at the Ypsilanti Marriott at Eagle Crest. Eleven of the award recipients will be recognized at the SBM Awards Banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 13, while two will be honored by the Representative […]

Posted in General No Comments »

The Grand Rapids Press reports on Helen Brinkman and Mark Trusock advancing to November’s general election.
John Agar writes(excerpt):
Assistant Prosecutor Helen Brinkman and attorney Mark Trusock are used to putting together the best case and leaving it to a jury — or in this case, the voters — to reach the right decision.
Both candidates for the […]

Posted in General No Comments »

Kent County Family Division Referee Jon Ferrier is being honored with the State Bar of Michigan’s 2006 Champion of Justice Award. Jon is a past chairperson of the Family Law Section.
The State Bar award is given to practicing lawyers and judges of integrity and adherence to the highest principles and traditions of the legal […]

Posted in General No Comments »

The Judicial Candidate Forum for Kent County Circuit Court Candidates is this Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 7:00 PM, at the Wealthy Theatre. Each of the four candidates will field questions on their qualifications to serve as judge, and the audience will be encouraged to submit questions. Judge Gardner will be presiding over the […]

Posted in General No Comments »

20/20’s John Stossel addresses several myths of divorce (excerpt):
MYTH: Divorce hurts women much more than men, and many men abandon their kids.
TRUTH: Both men and women suffer after divorce, and lots of men want to give more to their kids.
****
[Sanford] Braver was surprised to discover that the [Lenore] Weitzman figures were wrong, the result of […]

Posted in General No Comments »

Fortune spotlights the art of listening with advice from Jacqueline Whitmore of the Protocol School of Palm Beach and her book “Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work.”
Fortune’s Anne Fisher lists 10 tips (excerpt):
1. Ask pertinent questions.
2. Practice empathic listening.
3. Listen with more than just […]

Posted in General No Comments »

I’ve been testing a free remote access service called LogMeIn. Remote access services are indispensible to a busy family law attorney who wants to avoid rushing back to the office at night or on a weekend to check office email, prepare a short document, run a child support calculation, record billable time, check a […]

Posted in Technology, General 8 Comments »

The Court of Appeals has given practitioners in Michigan a ruling regarding the so-called “100-mile” rule, MCL 722.31. The recent case is Grew v Knox II, unpublished decision per curiam of the Court of Appeals, issued Frebruary 24, 2005 (Docket No. 258339).
The “100-mile” rule, generally, provides that if parents have joint legal custody, neither […]

Posted in General 8 Comments »

Since The Grand Rapids Press featured an article on black men killing black men, people have weighed in with their analyses of the problem. They’ve presented a myriad of causes such as poor education, poverty, ineffective parenting, racism, etc., but the most common denominator, male socialization, isn’t discussed.
Gender socialization is the process in which […]

Posted in General 3 Comments »

The Grand Rapids Press notes the passing of retired Judge Stuart Hoffius, Kent County’s Chief Judge for 28 of his 29 years on the bench.
Ken Kolker writes (excerpt):
“He never said a mean word to anyone when he sentenced them,” Kolenda said. “I remember him saying, ‘This doesn’t have to be the end of your life. […]

Posted in General No Comments »