The filing requirements for divorce and the legal separation are significantly and materially different. The divorce filing requires proof that: Parties have mutually and voluntarily lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of six months before filing of the action or Parties to the marriage have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year prior to filing of the action. The filing requirement for the legal separation is less rigorous and it requires only that: Parties to the marriage have mutually and voluntarily lived separate and apart without cohabitation; or Both parties to the
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Monthly Archives October 2017
REVERSAL DUE TO ERRONEOUS JUROR DISQUALIFICATION
The DC Court of Appeals in Mason v. U.S., decided on September 28, 2017, drastically reversed a set of convictions based on trial error in disqualifying a potential juror. Appellant Mason challenged his convictions for tampering with evidence, destruction of property, obstruction of justice, and unlawful entry contending that the trial court committed a reversible error in disqualifying a potential juror. Juror 7575-B was at the center of this ruling and analysis. During the jury voir dire, juror 7575-B was asked if black men in DC are treated fairly or unfairly by the criminal justice system, and she had responded
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