The decision to get divorced is often not an easy one. But what happens when you don't want a full-blown series of court cases surrounding this experience? Rather than seeking divorce advice from your friends and a DIY solution, you can turn to mediation. Like any unfamiliar legal situation, mediation can seem confusing at first. But we're here to help you learn what it takes to come prepared to your first session. Here's what you need to know. You need to agree to mediate. Mediation is one of the more amicable ways to go about a divorce. That doesn't mean it's going to be comfortable. Before you come to a mediation session, you must agree with your spouse that this is the path you want to take. It's impossible to lay every issue out on the table if you can't first agree to sit at that table together. In short, both you and your spouse must want to be involved in this process. Be prepared to put your children first. After you agree to go through mediation with your divorce ... Read More >
The Large Airy Sitting Room
Every reader of Sherlock Holmes forms in his or her imagination an image of the sitting room at 221B, where almost every story begins. The Canon provides many details of what was in the rooms rented by Holmes and Watson, but relatively few clues about the design or layout of the building at 221B Baker Street. This article reviews previous suggestions for the architectural design of 221B and explains why they simply to not conform with architectural reality or the clues provided by Dr. Watson in his writings. I suggest this possible lay out of the First Floor of 221B based on what is known about the terraced houses in Marylebone in the 1880’s and the information to be gleaned or deduced from the Canon. (Note to Americans: our first floor is the ground floor in London and our second floor is what the British call the "first floor.") These are the primary clues we can derive from Watson’s reminiscences: Dr. Watson in A Study in Scarlet described a, “single large ... Read More >
Was a Jury Verdict in a Million Dollar Child Custody Case Tossed Out Because of Politics?
I am a divorce lawyer now, but once I was a young father battling for custody of my two children. I still can feel the worry and dread such a court case creates. It seems to the parents that everything important to them in the universe is at stake. Parents in such situations feel helpless because so much rides on the lawyers and the judge and jury. No matter who "wins" or loses in a child custody case, both parents should at least leave the courthouse feeling they were treated fairly and that neither side had some sort of inside connection or political advantage. Lawyers and judges who allow it to appear that political clout is influencing a case are damaging the integrity and stability of the justice system we all work and believe in. I have spent many hours on this story and I have tried to be as accurate and fair as possible. I will publish any responses from those involved if they feel their side of the story needs to be told differently than what I have written. Greg ... Read More >
A Step Closer to the Truth about Lucrative Court Appointments – Part One
A very small, select number of attorneys make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year because they are appointed by family and juvenile court judges to be amicus attorneys representing children in private custody cases where the parties can afford to pay very large fees. The law that requires random appointment of lawyers for most positions (infamously called the "wheel") specifically does not apply to amicus attorneys or discovery masters. Each judge has the unfettered, and largely secret, ability to reward certain lawyers with these very lucrative appointments. There is no way to really track who gets these appointments, which judges make the appointments or how much the appointees are paid. Public transparency and accountability has been sorely lacking for years. Now the Harris County Family District Judges are requiring a new reporting form to bring transparency to this issue. I applaud the judges, but more is needed. In a case where wealthy parents are fighting over ... Read More >
Ted Cruz Agrees With Greg Enos!
To my surprise, I actually have something in common with Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican Huey Long of our generation whom I predict will lose in an electoral college landslide to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Senator Cruz and I both really like the 2006 British movie Amazing Grace and admire a 19th Century British Parliamentarian, William Wilberforce. A story on Politico.com last week said the following (click here to read the entire story): During one of our conversations last year, I asked Cruz about his favorite movies, and in addition to a couple of classics - The Godfather, The Princess Bride - he mentioned Amazing Grace, a 2010 [actually 2006] drama about the effort to end the British slave trade that's become popular in Tea Party circles. "The abolition movie?" I asked. "Yes, about William Wilberforce," Cruz said. "It's an incredible story about a member of Parliament who fought for his principles, and when he began, he was almost entirely alone. And conventional wisdom in ... Read More >
306th Family District Court Race Gets Nasty
The race to pick a Republican to replace the excellent Judge Jan Yarbrough in the 306th Family District Court in Galveston County has taken a nasty and scary turn. It is now a nasty race because the two leading candidates are busy calling each other "liars" (only one is correct). The race is scary because most attorneys cannot imagine how it would be if one of those candidates were to get elected. Anne Darring, Wilfried Schmitz and Jennifer Burnett are seeking the Republican nomination and there is no Democrat even running. Darring has the support of virtually all of the attorneys who have taken a public position in the race (over 70) and Schmitz has not surprisingly become the darling of the Tea Party extremists. Ms. Burnett is a nice young attorney working in the District Attorney's office with no real experience handling divorces or custody cases in the private world and she lacks the resources to compete with Schmitz and Darring. Darring has been involved in Republican ... Read More >
Revised, updated criminal complaint against Judge Denise Pratt
I have received additional information since I filed my original criminal complaint against Judge Denise Pratt of the 311th Family District Court of Harris County. Here is the link to download the most recent version of my complaint, which includes a 7th apparent example of an order signed by Judge Pratt that is backdated: Criminal Complaint - ver 3 - Nov 3 ... Read More >
J’accuse: Judge Denise Pratt Has Backdated Orders and Probably Committed the Crime of Tampering With a Public Record
Click on the following link to download the details of my criminal complaint against Judge Denise Pratt of the 311th Family District Court of Harris County: This is the entire complaint (revised as of October 27, 2013): J'accuse - Pratt - ver 2 I have filed a criminal complaint against Judge Denise Pratt of the 311th Family District Court of Harris County, who has almost certainly backdated orders and renditions in apparent violation of the Texas Penal Code provision regarding tampering with government records. If Judge Pratt has indeed committed the crime of tampering with a government record, she should be charged criminally and removed from office. A preliminary copy of this document was sent to Judge Pratt, so that in fairness she could point out errors or provide her side of the story. Judge Pratt has not responded. Every possible effort has been made to verify the facts in this document. All attorneys involved in the cases discussed below have been contacted and sent ... Read More >
A judge who backdates an order intentionally is a criminal
The Texas Penal Code, Sec. 37.10 states in part: Sec. 37.10. TAMPERING WITH GOVERNMENTAL RECORD. (a) A person commits an offense if he:(1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record; A judge who accidentally writes in the wrong date when she signs an order lacks the mens rea to have committed this crime. However, a judge who intentionally back dates an order she signs by a few months has made a "false entry" and would have committed a Class A Misdemeanor. ... Read More >
Detailed discussion of the acceptance-of-benefits doctrine which commonly arises in divorce cases when a former spouse accepts certain assets awarded in the judgment but then tries to appeal the remainder of the judgment.
An appellee bears the burden of proving that an appellant is estopped from challenging the judgment by appeal under the acceptance-of-benefits doctrine. When the doctrine applies, an appeal is rendered moot and the appeal should be dismissed. The doctrine does not apply when (1) acceptance of the benefits is because of financial duress or other economic circumstances, or (2) the reversal of the judgment on the grounds appealed cannot possibly affect an appellant’s right to the benefits accepted under the judgment. The appellant bears the burden to prove an exception applies. Here, the wife was awarded the 2005 Lexus and the husband was ordered to pay the car note on the Lexus. The wife tried to appeal the division of community property but during the appeal she sued her ex-husband in justice of the peace court claiming he had “sold her the car” but failed to pay for it. The wife’s appeal was dismissed because of the acceptance-of-benefits doctrine after a very detailed ... Read More >