Court: Make records public in friars' sex cases
Court Alerts
A California appeals court ruled Thursday that psychiatric and other confidential records of Franciscan friars accused of sex abuse should be made public.
The ruling from the 2nd District Court of Appeal is significant for clergy abuse victims who have been fighting for the public disclosure of records that the Roman Catholic church kept of abusive clergy.
The ruling arose from lawsuits filed against the Franciscan Friars of California Inc. by 25 plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse at the hands of friars.
Those plaintiffs settled for $28 million in 2006, but the settlement agreement also sought the release of records on six of the friars.
The trial judge found the social interests of protecting children from molestation outweighed the privacy rights of the friars, who then appealed the decision to make their psychiatric, medical and other records public.
An attorney representing the friars said Thursday's ruling robs the church — or any other organization dealing with children — of a way to find out if abuse is taking place without threatening the suspected abuser.
Priests or other employees who are molesting children may no longer discuss their crimes with a therapist or doctor because those records could now be made public, said Robert Howie, who represents the individual friars.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.