Reversing a trial court, a Texas appellate panel has ruled that the judge lacked the power to divorce a same-sex couple who married in another state. Although same-sex marriages are prohibited in Texas, District Judge Tena Callahan found that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution required the state to grant a same-sex couple married elsewhere a divorce on equal protection grounds. However, the the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas said the state the lacked the jurisdiction to grant a divorce under such circumstances, reports the Dallas Morning News. Attorney Peter Schulte of Dallas represents one of the…

A historic 'Don't Tread on Me' flag dates back to the American Revolution, but is now associated with the modern-day Tea Party movement. So an Arizona man is having a tough time convincing his homeowner association that he should be allowed to fly the historic military flag, reports the New York Times. An Arizona law allows unit owners to fly the American flag, the state flag, military flags and flags for Indian nations. However, it doesn't expressly include the Don't Tread on Me banner, which is known as the Gadsden flag. Hence, the Avalon Village Community Association is threatening to…

A 22-year-old burglary suspect is in custody after threats to kill a judge led to the evacuation yesterday of the courthouse at which he was to be sentenced. Steven Martinez hasn't been charged in connection with the threats yesterday afternoon, but Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano says he expects related charges to be filed, reports the New Mexican. An individual called 911 at about 1:20 p.m. yesterday and threatened to kill an unspecified judge at the courthouse. Another call was placed about 20 minutes later to District Judge Michael Vigil, who is overseeing the burglary case against Martinez, and…

Louisville, Ky., lawyer Scott Zoppoth started getting some strange phone calls last week. People from the area of Olympia, Wash., and the state of Maine were calling with a question: What’s the problem with my credit or debit card? The callers told Zoppoth, the managing partner and owner of The Zoppoth Law Firm, that they were receiving automated calls telling them of a problem and asking for credit or debit card information. When they looked at their caller ID, the phone number from Zoppoth’s firm showed up. Zoppoth called AT&T and learned that his phone number was apparently being used…

A blogger who went on a hunger strike to protest the lack of transparency in law schools has ended her hunger strike after 24 days because of health concerns. Zenovia Evans, who originally used the name Ethan Haines at her blog UnemployedJD.com, says in a statement that her physician advised her to end the hunger strike because of medical complications and the potential for permanent damage. She has lost 16 pounds. An editor who met with Evans over the weekend confirmed that she appeared weak, fatigued and thinner, all evidence of a hunger strike that began on Aug. 5. Writing…

A lawsuit blames the New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman for failing to provide legal advice that may have prevented the embezzlement of $42 million from union benefit funds by a woman who loved expensive horses and Neiman Marcus. Trustees for three Construction Workers Local 147 funds allege the law firm should have recommended an audit and ensured proper bookkeeping in its role as counsel to the trustees and benefit funds, the New York Law Journal reports. They are seeking $42 million and punitive damages. The suit (PDF posted by Courthouse News Service) says Pryor Cashman charged fees ranging from…

The debate over whether Sarah Palin is a real feminist has one columnist acknowledging the ultimate Mama Grizzly: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Before she earned a seat on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg worked for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, winning five out of six Supreme Court cases in which she used the 14th Amendment to strike down gender distinctions in the law, a Slate column says. Slate notes a New York Times column that argues Palin succeeded as a basket-ball playing teen because of Title IX, and as Alaska’s elected governor because of extra work at home by her husband.…

A Virginia judge has blocked an attempt by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to obtain records of a global warming scientist. Cuccinelli is a global warming skeptic, and he wanted the records as part of a probe into possible fraud in taxpayer-funded research on the issue by former professor Michael Mann at the University of Virginia, the Washington Post reports. Mann's work was in the spotlight last November after he was referenced in leaked e-mails in which scientists bluntly critiqued the research. Global warming skeptics cited the e-mails as evidence of rigged data, while scientists said the words were taken…

A lawyer who gave up practice for a mobile cupcake business says her truck wouldn’t have been confiscated if she could have figured out Philadelphia’s confusing regulations. The city seized the cupcake truck owned by former lawyer Kata Carrara last week because she drove it into University City, an area of Philadelphia where she doesn’t have a permit, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Associated Press. It cost $200 to get the truck back. Carrara, also known as the “cupake lady,” told AP that the laws are just too confusing. She says she thought she was outside the zone…

The owner of a recreational vehicle dealership is proposing an unusual legal settlement that would pit himself in a push-up contest against an actor who played a werewolf. Twilight star Taylor Lautner claimed in a lawsuit filed last week that he suffered emotional distress when a $300,000 custom trailer wasn’t delivered on time to the set of his new movie, Abduction. The defendant, Brent McMahon, owner of McMahon's RV, proposed the push-up settlement in a press conference Monday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, the Orange County Register and the Associated Press. Here’s the proposal: If Lautner wins the push-up contest,…