Background: From 2008 to 2022, Steven Randall Marler and his wife fostered dozens of children and legally adopted eight of them. In 2023, a third girl in the household reported sexual abuse, triggering an investigation that led to seventeen charges. After an eleven-day jury trial in Natrona County District Court, Marler was convicted of fourteen counts:…
Held: Affirmed. A unanimous Wyoming Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Jarosh, rejected all five assignments of error. On Rule 404(b), the court held that the punishment evidence—the spankings, forced exercise, and food deprivation—was properly admitted to show Marler’s motive and plan to induce compliance and maintain a “culture of silence” that enabled the sexual abuse. The court also rejected…
Background: In September 2023, Dayton attorney Christine Baker mistakenly sent two Zelle payments totaling $550 from her law practice's operating account to a Charles Schwab account belonging to a stranger in Illinois, Zachary Reynolds, rather than to her own joint account with her husband. Upon discovering the error, Baker launched an aggressive multi-platform campaign against Reynolds…
Held: The Supreme Court of Ohio overruled all nine of Baker's objections and adopted the Board's findings that she violated Prof.Cond.R. 3.1 (frivolous claims), 8.4(c) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), 8.4(d) (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice), and 8.4(h) (conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law). The court found that Baker's civil filings lacked any legitimate legal foundation and…
Background: Arizona law requires the Secretary of State to publish an Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) every odd-numbered year. Drafted in consultation with county election officials and submitted to the Governor and Attorney General for approval by October 1, the EPM must be issued by December 31. Once issued, the EPM carries the force of law and…
Held: The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously held that the EPM is not subject to APA rulemaking requirements. Writing for all seven justices, Justice Montgomery first acknowledged that the EPM meets the APA's definition of "rules" and that the Secretary qualifies as a covered "agency" — concessions the Secretary himself made. The Court then rejected each of the Secretary's five claimed irreconcilable…
Background: Marc Knapp was elected to the Orphans' Court for Anne Arundel County in November 2022 alongside colleagues David Duba and Vickie Gipson, who was subsequently appointed Chief Judge by the Governor. Unlike most multi-judge jurisdictions in Maryland, Anne Arundel County requires at least two of the three Orphans' Court judges to concur before the court…
Held: The Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed the Commission's findings and ordered Judge Knapp removed from office. The Court found no abuse of discretion in the Commission Chair's denial of consolidation, crediting her reasoned determination that any efficiency gained would be outweighed by the risk of confusion and prejudice to Chief Judge Gipson's separate rights. On the evidentiary question, the Court…
Background: Four natural gas distribution companies won competitive tenders issued by the State of Israel to obtain exclusive regional licenses for establishing and operating natural gas distribution networks. Under their licenses, the companies committed to build the networks and connect consumers across their designated regions. Work began on network deployment, but significant delays ensued. Multiple contractual…
Held: The Supreme Court (Judges Daphna Barak-Erez, Alex Stein, and Gila Kanfi-Steinitz) declined to rule on the merits of the petitions but adopted a structured procedural approach. The court acknowledged the tension between two principles: (1) maintaining the integrity of tender rules and equal treatment, and (2) recognizing that extraordinary circumstances—particularly the October 2023 war—warrant special consideration. Rather than overriding the…
Background: Trudie Elizabeth James, resident of 53 Lonsdale Drive, Enfield, challenged a planning permission (ref: 25/03926/HOU) granted on 5 February 2026 by the London Borough of Enfield to construct part single/part two-storey side and rear extensions, a front porch, and loft conversion at the adjacent property, 51 Lonsdale Drive. James's primary concern was the loss of…
Held: The court heard argument on whether to grant permission for judicial review and whether to grant interim relief. The claimant contended that the council's weighted average calculation was methodologically flawed under BRE guidance (para. 2.2.8) for two reasons: (1) the conservatory windows were not part of the same open-plan room as W1, and (2) at least some conservatory windows exceeded…
Background: Plattsmouth Boat Club (PBC) is a private, members-only nonprofit corporation that owns recreational property on the west bank of the Missouri River in Cass County, Nebraska. Before 2019, the only road access to the PBC property was Dock Road, which ran east from Main Street through the City of Plattsmouth's adjacent public boat ramp and…
Held: The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the district court on de novo review. The central question was whether the segment of Dock Road that PBC sought to have repaired qualified as a "public street" under § 16-610. The court held it did not. The City's records contained no evidence that the extension of Dock Road past the public boat ramp to…
Background: In 2022, the State charged Terry Allan Ross with two counts of child abuse against his son, A.R., a young boy. The first count alleged Ross knowingly impeded A.R.'s breathing by twisting his shirt around his neck, in violation of K.S.A. 21-5602(a)(3)(C). The second count alleged Ross knowingly tortured, cruelly beat, or cruelly struck A.R.…
Held: The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals in full and remanded with directions to bind Ross over on both counts. On count one, the court held there was sufficient probable cause to believe Ross violated K.S.A. 21-5602(a)(3)(C): A.R.'s accounts of being unable to breathe, the physical evidence of neck injuries, the nurse's medical testimony, and Ross's own statement…
Background: Brendan Keane was the defendant in a Circuit Court defamation action brought by Peadar and Jimí Mac Fhlannchadha. That case was heard over six days and decided on 19 September 2025, with judgment for the Mac Fhlannchadhas, who recovered €20,000 and €15,000 respectively in compensatory damages, plus €5,000 each in aggravated damages. The court issued…
Held: Justice Quinn rejected Clarke's application to dismiss on all three grounds. First, on res judicata and the Henderson v Henderson rule, the court found that Clarke had failed to establish either doctrine. The prior Circuit Court decisions about the translation issue were interlocutory rulings (explicitly reserving the matter for trial), not final judgments on the merits. Critically, those earlier proceedings…
Background: The respondent was convicted of child sexual offences spanning from 2002 to 2019, beginning with indecent treatment of children under 16 in 2002, followed by similar offences against a child under 12 in 2004 while already subject to an intensive corrections order. Most recently, in 2019 following trial, he was convicted of rape and indecent…
Held: Justice Treston found the respondent was indeed a serious danger to the community in the absence of a Division 3 order, satisfying the threshold test under s 13(3) of the Act. However, the court rejected the Attorney-General's primary submission for indefinite detention. Instead, the court ordered the respondent's release from custody subject to a 10-year supervision order (expiring 16 July…
Background: Cassandra Constantino and Zsolt Orban married in February 1997 and had two children, both of whom reached majority before the proceedings concluded. Constantino filed for divorce in December 2020 citing irreconcilable differences. Trial commenced in February 2022, and the parties later reached a marital settlement agreement (MSA) that resolved most issues but left two unresolved:…
Held: The Supreme Court affirmed the Family Court in all respects. On transmutation, the Court held that the record was devoid of any evidence that Constantino objectively manifested an intent to convert her inherited Brazilian property into marital property. The Court found that she kept all income from those properties separate, paid related costs from separate funds, and never commingled or…
Background: The State Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters filed a complaint against certified court reporter Susan Johnson and sought her immediate interim suspension from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Board's request was made pursuant to Rule 6(c) of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings of the State Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters, 20…
Held: The Oklahoma Supreme Court granted the Board's request and ordered Johnson's immediate interim suspension as a certified shorthand reporter. The Court reviewed the request and attached exhibits — including Johnson's own initial response and the Board's complaint — and concluded that the showing was sufficient to warrant suspension pending a full hearing.