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New Jersey’s first same-sex marriage ceremonies took place just after midnight Monday, making New Jersey the 14th state to recognize gay marriage. Just hours after those historic same-sex nuptials, New Jersey’s Republican Gov. Chris Christie announced that his administration would withdraw its legal challenge to gay marriage in the Garden State. Last month, a judge ruled that the state must allow same-sex marriage, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v....

James Nichols, a registered sex offender in North Carolina, has protected rights to worship or attend church. A judge ruled that a law limiting NC registered sex offenders’ ability to worship or go to church is unconstitutional. The Associated Press reports that Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour said two parts of a North Carolina general statute aimed at protecting children from child molesters are unconstitutionally vague and overly broad. In addition, the statute infringes on constitutionally protected rights – specifically, the right to worship....

Tightened restrictions on the documentation required for travel were implemented today by the government, reported CNN. However, the start of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative’s anticipated border ID requirements didn’t exactly rock border crossings. Actually, according to the AP, they didn’t appear to even put a crimp in regular traffic. The AP reported: The port director for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) even called it a “nonevent”. Well, that said, travelers are probably still well-advised to travel with the proper documentation, to avoid any actual “event”....

When a minor commits a crime, there’s often a tug-of-war that occurs in society. On one end, people believe criminals should be held accountable for their crimes, especially heinous ones. On the other end, because of their biologically underdeveloped brains, we generally assign less culpability to and have greater hope for the rehabilitation of juveniles. In 1998, a 15-year-old shot dozens of people, killing four. Now, twenty years later, the state supreme court has affirmed the sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life, though not everyone agrees with that outcome....

Retailers have filed a new swipe fee lawsuit against the Federal Reserve, arguing that the cap took into account bank expenses that could not be considered under the law. The retailers’ suit comes after the Federal Reserve capped swipe fees at 21 cents earlier this year. The central bank originally proposed swipe fees should be capped at 12 cents before changing their mind. Swipe fees averaged at 44 cents per transaction before the Federal Reserve’s new rules....

Dispensary owners are not shutting down their businesses without a fight and collecting signatures to block L.A.’s new medical marijuana laws. A group of dispensary owners and patients are gathering signatures to force a voter referendum on the new medical marijuana laws. The new ordinance, which likely takes effect in May, caps the number of pot shops to 70 and forces hundreds of others to close. Recently, the city officials propose fees for medical marijuana dispensaries....

At long last, summer weather is upon us. Barbecues, swimming pools, and farmer’s tans are beckoning. And not to rain on your summertime parade, but it’s important to remember that accidents and injuries can happen anywhere, even when you’re just planning on a relaxing day at the beach. So, whether you’re headed to Malibu, Cape Cod, or any of the beaches in between, we hope it’ll be a blissful visit. But just in case, let’s review some summer beach injuries and related liability issues....

Ah, love at work. Perhaps it’s inevitable, given the amount of time we spend in the office. But coworker relationships can give small business owners fits. First of all, there’s the sexual harassment concern, especially if one of those employees in the relationship is a manager. Second, what if the relationship goes south? Will it blow up your entire office? Naturally, many employers are tempted to ban intraoffice relationships entirely. But they may not be all bad....

The term “living will” can be confusing. Is it a will or a set of instructions? What does a living will cover? Do you need an attorney to write a living will? These are all common queries when it comes to understanding what living wills are all about. Here are important characteristics about what a living will is, and what it is not. Related Resources: A living will is not actually a will....

Whether you’re just getting your first summer job, or you’re 20 years in to the workforce, you’re probably missing those summer days when work was the furthest thing from your mind. It’s no fun working when it feels like the rest of the world is playing. And whether you have questions about how much you can get paid for working a summer job, or how long you can get paid time off during the summer months, we’ve got some answers for you....

For a simple act of love and kindness, the law surrounding adoption can be fairly complicated. State adoption laws can vary, international adoption laws can seem impenetrable, and that’s before you even get into the rights of birth parents. Deciding to expand your family through adoption can be a beautiful one, but one that is also fraught with legal questions. Here are five of the biggest if you’re considering adoption:...

Closing up the sad, weird story of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, aka “Clark Rockefeller”, CNN reports that Gerhartsreiter has been convicted of kidnapping his own daughter and of assaulting a social worker, to boot. Further, he has been sentenced to between four and five years in prison. The kidnapping plot was allegedly hatched after Gerhartsreiter lost custody of his daughter, Reigh, to his former wife, Sandra Boss. The defense had countered that not only did Gerhartsreiter lose custody, but also apparently, his mind....

If you’re being sued for no reason or innocent of criminal charges, you want a jury to find in your favor on the merits of the case, not what you happen to be wearing. Then again, if you listen to what criminal defense lawyer Harvey Slovis has to say, you’d be silly not to consider your courtroom attire. “Glasses soften their appearance so that they don’t look capable of committing a violent crime,” Slovis told the New York Daily News back in 2011....

President Trump has already shown an animosity to Obama-era business regulations. That animosity looks like it could extend to federal overtime rules rewritten by the Obama administration. Those new rules have been on hold since November of last year, and may never go into effect now that Trump is in charge. Under Obama, the Department of Labor proposed extending overtime benefits (time-and-a-half pay for any work over 40 hours per week) to employees making up to $47,000 per year....

Facebook users may be convinced that they “own” whatever content they post to Facebook, but the legal reality is a little bit different. If you read Facebook’s legal terms of service, you’ll find that “[y]ou own all of the content and information you post on Facebook,” but with some very specific and important caveats. So what does it mean to legally “own” your Facebook posts? Your Words and Information While Facebook may say that you “own” your posts, it turns out that much of the legal impact of your ownership boils down to your privacy settings....

Sometimes the cruelty with which people treat children and animals is beyond comprehension, and all you can do is shake your head in disbelief. In a sad case out of Oregon, a woman is being accused of cooking her Chihuahua in the oven. She’s been arrested, charged with animal abuse, and could spend years in jail. Thought Ex-Boyfriend Was Inside Dog On March 19, police officers discovered the horrible scene. The home smelled like burnt hair and flesh, and the dog was dead when they arrived....

The topic of bullying sees no shortage of press coverage, whether the site of bullying be the schoolyard or the Internet. However, one phenomenon that has not been as widely addressed has been that of workplace bullying. First off, there’s probably a number of people wondering just what that might be. There is apparently no single formal definition for workplace bullying, but it can probably be fairly described as the repeated use of aggressive or unreasonable behavior (which can include verbal, physical, and psychological forms) against a co-worker....

The New York Times reports that La Salle University has agreed to pay $7.5 million dollars in settlement compensation to football player Preston Plevretes who suffered a severe football brain injury back in October 2005. The lawsuit alleges that the university was negligent in its assessment of the player’s injuries. Mr. Plevretes suffered from a concussion during a practice session. He was given the go ahead to play in a subsequent game with Duquesne....

You know you might need a divorce lawyer, but how do you go about finding the one that’s right for you? Google? Phone a friend? Your cousin the real estate attorney? And even if you’ve got the name of a divorce lawyer, how do you find out if she’s qualified and if you can work well together? You and your divorce attorney need to be on the same page. So here are five questions to ask during your initial consultation to see if you’ve found the best divorce lawyer for you....

Consumers often face a choice in supporting a small business or larger corporation for products and services. And while small businesses know they are evaluated on price, customer service, reliability, and quality; they may not realize that the tech-savvy public is also evaluating how businesses secure customer service in making consumer decisions. Sloppy handling of valuable personal and identifying information can be devastating to a small business. It can lead to personal identification theft of customers, can open the company up to liability, and can damage goodwill within the community that a small business works hard to build....