July 2004

I Think We All Saw This Coming

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 0 Comment

Dan Proft is not to be deterred:

“A separation agreement, which included custody and alimony arrangements, was presented to the judge, but it is not included in the public file. It is within the judge’s discretion to allow the attorneys in the case to hold them in their own files, which they did in this case.”

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From that same story, so not so fast “former repub”…the contents that are under seal were the subject of a lawsuit Ms. Thorne filed some 4 years after the divorce.

This story changes nothing, the effort moves forward…and you’ll remember from my statement that this is not about nor limited to John Kerry, he’s just the first, obvious choice.

Sorry to burst your balloon.

Regards,

dan proft

Well, it changes nothing besides the entire legal argument. If one notices Massachusetts law puts all financials under seal and custody and alimony arrangements in the hands of the participants if the judge agrees which this one does. What was sued for in the Ryan case was the testimony between parties–a clearly public issue. In this case the arrangements are specific amounts paid and specific custody rules. Big difference and in fact, I don’t believe these matters were included in the files that were unsealed. Pleadings containing specific financial information can be sealed by request of the providing party.

One can make a public policy argument about the wisdom of this policy, but it appears to be consistent within Massacusetts and with California law even and rather irrelevant to the portion of the law that led to the unsealing of the Ryan custody files.

Essentially, this looks like a legal hissy fit now. The reason the Kerry divorce was so unlikely to produce embarrassing information is that it was essentially an amicable divorce. In terms of the appeal that Kerry’s ex-wife sought in 1991 the documents all pertained to specific income changes for Kerry so most if not all of this would be precluded under the same rather narrow exception of the original.

The private anullment in the Catholic Church is said to be heated, but the Church isn’t subject to open records.

Leader Correction Watch Day 6

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

It’s a bad week over in Leader Land–six days and still no correction to Jill Stanek’s column that the Ryan custody files were sealed from the very beginning.

The House Passes an Interim Budget

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

Here.

There’s a lot more to the story of The Blagorgeous attack on Lege members, but most of that is in the Capitol Fax which is doing a bang up job on the story.

As a Democrat, every Democrat should be ready to have the Governor’s scalp on this one.

Line of the Day

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

Causing all sorts of consternation at the Illinois Leader, from the Trib in regards to Peter Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald also said his family was contemplating moving to Virginia, where they recently bought property.

“We wish Peter Fitzgerald well as he begins a new life in Virginia,” Gerwig said. “We’re thinking of sending the Virginia Republican party a bottle of aspirin. He’s their problem now.”

Leader Lawsuit Watch Day 7

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 2 Comments

Oops.

BOSTON – When Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news – web sites) dismissed calls that he make his divorce records public, he apparently didn’t know many of them already are.

In 1988 Kerry and his first wife, Julia Thorne, were granted a “no-fault” divorce after 18 years of marriage. They cited the generic grounds of “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage,” according to divorce records.

The only portion of the records that are sealed involve the couple’s financial information, including salary, assets and debts, which are impounded in all divorce cases, Assistant Norfolk Probate Registrar John Jenney said.

Kerry has denounced inquiries about whether his divorce records should be unsealed, a question that has been raised frequently since Illinois Republican candidate Jack Ryan dropped out of the U.S. Senate race last week. His unsealed divorce and child custody records revealed allegations that he tried to pressure his former wife, television actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, to have sex in public at clubs.

Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said when Kerry said he wouldn’t make his divorce records public “he was probably thinking about the pieces that are sealed.”

After nearly six years of separation, Kerry and Thorne filed jointly for a divorce on June 24, 1988. Norfolk Probate Court Judge James Sweeney approved the divorce on July 25, 1988.

A separation agreement, which included custody and alimony arrangements, was presented to the judge, but it is not included in the public file. It is within the judge’s discretion to allow the attorneys in the case to hold them in their own files, which they did in this case.

According to Jenney, separation agreements do not contain the grounds for divorce but the nitty-gritty of the financial arrangement between the two parties.

On June 9, 1995, Kerry and Thorne submitted an application to impound “all pleadings and other papers filed with the Court” in connection with their divorce. Norfolk Probate Court Judge John Cronin denied the request the same day.

Massachusetts became a no-fault state in 1978, meaning that parties do not have to provide a reason for the divorce unless one side contests it.

Kerry and Thorne married on May 23, 1970. They had two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Kerry married Teresa Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz, in May 1995.

So I looked in the wrong County. Oh well. It appears there is nothing to sue for with the separation agreement largely being an agreement and not the contested portions of divorce. Kinda takes the wind out of this deal doesn’t it.

Grim

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 5 Comments

Sort of about the Senate race, but really more about the Illinois Circular Firing Squad Team, Peter Fitzgerald breaks out of his cocoon and speaks to the press and it does about as much harm in the short run as LaHood has been doing:

From the Leader:

In town for meetings on Wednesday afternoon, retiring U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald told Illinois Leader.com that he believes the U.S. Senate seat is ?almost certainly lost? and the immediate prospects for the party are ?grim.?

But the bombshell is, he’s going to take out Gidwitz. With the help of readers I listed some of the problems Gidwitz would have the other day, but even better is this tidbit:

Today, Fitzgerald and Congressman Jerry Weller (R-11), are holding a private meeting with Joliet area mayors over the slum conditions of Evergreen Terrace complex, a low-income housing complex owned by Gidwitz. Fitzgerald has been trying to get the complex razed for a couple of years, when local residents complained to him about their living conditions.

A slum lord is who the Combine faction is considering? LOL