In less than a handful of years, equal rights have been achieved for same-sex couples, brought about mainly by two U.S. Supreme Court cases: Windsor and Obergefell.In United States v. Windsor (2013) the Court decided that certain parts of the Defense of Marriage Act...
Year: 2015
There’s a Hit & Run Even Without a Hit
A recent New Jersey Appeals Court case said that contact between a defendant driver's vehicle and the victim is not a necessary element of the second-degree crime of leaving the scene of a fatal accident under New Jersey Law.The case, State v. Sene, involved an...
Medicinal Marijuana and New Jersey Schools
As more states adopt laws permitting the consumption of marijuana for medicinal purposes (or, as with Colorado, consumption for general purposes), a touchy question emerges-will the law apply to minors who suffer from debilitating illnesses? And further, will the...
Inherited Retirement Funds Are Not Protected in a Bankruptcy
Question: If you inherit an individual retirement account (IRA) but then declare bankruptcy, what happens to that IRA?Answer: In a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case, Clark v. Rameker, a daughter inherited an IRA from her mother but then declared bankruptcy. Under federal...
Elder Abuse and the Domestic Violence Act
When most people think of domestic abuse, 2 things usually come to mind: abuse between spouses and abuse of children. Senior citizens, though, from those who are independent to those in assisted care, are especially vulnerable to being trapped in a cycle of abuse....
Wills and Financial Exploitation
Question: What happens when someone not related to a person who's passed away and who is not a beneficiary to her will improperly influences her to change its terms?Answer: In the case of In re Stockdale, the New Jersey Supreme Court answered the question of whether...
A Primer on Prenups
While defining love can be complex and is unique to each couple, most can agree that a prenuptial agreement, otherwise known as a prenup, isn't the most romantic gesture. Prenups allow couples to define the terms of their marriage before it starts and decide what...
Both Sides Lose in Religious Discrimination Claim
Two Muslim truck drivers were fired for refusing to ship alcohol because of their religious beliefs. They sued their employer, Star Transport, Inc. and ultimately were successful in a big win for the federal government's Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which...
DWI Violations and Mandatory Interlock Devices
Everyone knows that driving under the influence is a serious offense in New Jersey. The message is in commercials, on billboards, and taught in driver's ed. courses - yet many drivers don't get it.About 26.9% of all traffic fatalities in New Jersey are caused by drunk...
Labor Board Flexes Its Muscles and Changes Joint-Employer Standard
This past summer, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made a major change in a decades-old standard used to decide whether a "joint-employer" situation exists on the job. The new standard will no longer require that a joint employer both possess the authority to...