Congress approved legislation on July 22 that aims to strip the federal courts of the ability to decide cases challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Proponents of the largely Republican-backed bill, the Marriage Protection Act of 2004 (H.R. 3313), indicate it is necessary to keep federal courts from invalidating the part of the act that says states can't be forced to recognize same-sex marriages entered into in other states. They say state courts should be the exclusive forums for challenges to the act because states have traditionally decided who shall be allowed to marry within their jurisdictions.

Although statistics tell us the rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States are going down, the number of underage parents is still high as compared with generations past. More than a few parents will find themselves having to deal with the news that their teenager will soon make them a grandparent. Some may choose to help raise that grandchild by obtaining legal custody over it. Over time, because they may be doing the bulk of (or all of) the child rearing and are probably providing the grandchild with much of its financial support, such grandparents may come to think of their grandchild as one of their own. Any interruption of that relationship could prove traumatic, both for the grandparent and for the grandchild. Many grandparents who gain custody of a grandchild -- usually with the consent of one or both of the child's parents -- believe they have acquired rights over the child that they'll retain unless they voluntarily give him/her up. This is not the case, and grandparents (or aunts, uncles, etc.) in such custodial situations must be made aware of the limited rights they acquire when they obtain mere legal custody over a child, as opposed to adopting it.

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Historically, the concept of "exclusive occupancy" during the course of a matrimonial proceeding has been based on the claims of one spouse that the other is physically violent or otherwise poses a great risk to the spouse seeking possession of the marital residence. While the children are often named as possible or actual victims as well, the concept of the children's best interests has not been associated with an order of <i>pendente lite</i> exclusive occupancy.

Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.

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The latest happenings in the world of medical malpractice.

The federal Government Accountability Office (GAO - formerly, General Accounting Office) has for several years been examining the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to determine 1) the extent to which its pre-2004 hospital accreditation process identified hospitals not complying with Medicare requirements; 2) the potential of JCAHO's new (post-2004) process for improving the detection of deficiencies in Medicare requirements; and 3) the effectiveness of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) oversight of JCAHO's hospital accreditation program. A report detailing the findings of that study, "Medicare: CMS Needs Additional Authority to Adequately Oversee Patient Safety in Hospitals," GAO-04-850, published July 20, levels some serious charges against JCAHO.

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Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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Over the past year, with the medical malpractice crisis growing to encompass an ever-increasing number of states, physicians have wanted to implement strategies to force the issues out in the open and stimulate reforms. One strategy, which many physicians considered and far fewer implemented, was conducting some form of work stoppage. The concept of a work stoppage has generated a great deal of debate among physicians, medical societies, attorneys, law enforcement officials and legislators, both on legal and ethical grounds. What is the effect of antitrust law on these movements, and how can the outcomes of prior antitrust cases help to frame the legal debate concerning a physician work stoppage? If you have physician clients who are contemplating such actions as part of their efforts toward tort reform, what should you advise them?