Lawyers for James Brown Question Marital State

The late soul singer James Brown's lawyer said Tuesday the fact that the woman who'd been described as the late singer's wife was locked out of his South Carolina home after his death is "not a reflection on her as an individual." Instead, the lawyer said that Brown and Tomi Rae Hynie were in fact not legally married and that she was locked out for estate legal reasons.

Brown's attorney contends that Hynie was already married to another man in 2001 when she married Brown, making her marriage to Brown null. He said she later annulled the previous marriage, but she and Brown never remarried. However, Hynie told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she believes Brown's representatives are trying to discredit her so Brown's estate doesn't have to be shared with her. Link to article http://www.theindychannel.com/entertainment/10611217/detail.html

Court Says Christmas Card is Enough

An Ohio Court of Appeals held this past week that, even though a father's sole contact with his child during the year was a Christmas card and a gift card, this was sufficient contact to require the father's consent to the child's step-father's petition to adopt the child.

For the full opinion see http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/12/2006/2006-ohio-6705.pdf

China Tightens Adoption Rules

China is planning to issue new, tighter restrictions on foreign adoptions of Chinese children. The restrictions prohibit adoptions by parents who are unmarried, obese or who are older than 50.

The new regulations are to take effect May 1, 2007 and are anticipated to slow the rapid rise in applications by foreign parents to adopt Chinese babies. Chinese officials report that applications had begun to exceed the number of available babies, and that the new rules were partly intended to address that imbalance.

Few Aiding Children in Deportation Proceedings

The New York Times published an article late last week that takes a startling look at children in deportation proceedings. Often, these children are here without a mother, father or other relative who can act as their guardian. They have little English skills and little information as to whether they want to fight deportation or even what deportation is. Most don't have attorneys.

A look at America's immigration courts show a system where many children lack legal representation, where judges find themselves having to explain the law to a 12 year-old through a translator, and where the government itself has no real measure of the problem.

There is a larger issue. Advocates worry about child trafficking, smuggling and abuse because these children do not know how to ask for help or know what resources are available to them to address these problems. This is a growing problem that needs to be addressed to ensure that children, whether here legally or not, have their interests represented.

To see the complete article visit

Few Aiding Children in Deportation Proceedings

The New York Times published an article late last week that takes a startling look at children in deportation proceedings. Often, these children are here without a mother, father or other relative who can act as their guardian. They have little English skills and little information as to whether they want to fight deportation or even what deportation is. Most don't have attorneys.

A look at America's immigration courts show a system where many children lack legal representation, where judges find themselves having to explain the law to a 12 year-old through a translator, and where the government itself has no real measure of the problem.

There is a larger issue. Advocates worry about child trafficking, smuggling and abuse because these children do not know how to ask for help or know what resources are available to them to address these problems. This is a growing problem that needs to be addressed to ensure that children, whether here legally or not, have their interests represented.

To see the complete article visit