Justice Department Aide Monica Goodling Resigns

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Monica M. Goodling, one of the key aides who took part in planning the firings of eight US Attorneys who was formerly on voluntary leave from her post as special counsel to the US Attorney General, submitted her resignation without cause Friday. Goodling's resignation, effective Saturday, is the third by a Department of Justice official involved in the controversy. On Tuesday, Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee that she would not speak to the committee about her role in the firings, and stated through her lawyer, John Dowd, that she would seek protection under the Fifth Amendment if the committee issued her a subpoena.

Documents and records released by the DOJ in late March show that Goodling participated in multiple meetings planning the firings over a period of 12 months. Goodling was also involved in a April 6, 2006 telephone conversation with Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM). Domenici had complained to the Bush administration concerning the speed of former Albuquerque US Attorney David Iglesias' investigation of local Democrats before the November 2006 elections. Dowd characterized any questioning of his client a "perjury trap" while citing the recent conviction of Lewis Libby in the CIA leak case.

On Monday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chair of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, rejected attempts by the Bush administration to move up the date that US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to testify. In March, Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Gonzales, who had resigned, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the prosecutors were fired for political reasons rather than for poor performance as the Justice Department has claimed.

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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.

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New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read