Supreme Court won’t hear Arizona case on custody fight over tribal kids; application of the act has led to a result that is not in the best interest of the children involved in the case, says Kaine Fisher, Rose Law Group Partner, director Family Law

By Andrew Nicla | Cronkite News  WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has refused to hear an Arizona case that pitted a non-Indian mother and Indian father against one another in a fight for custody of their children. The decision Monday lets stand lower court rulings that invoked the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law that aimed to keep …

DCS: Phoenix woman who used hemp oil on son will get foster-care license; Kaine Fisher, director Family Law Dept., comments

By Ray Stern | Phoenix New Times Arizona Department of Child Safety officials will revise a newly updated policy banning foster-care licenses for people who possess hemp oil following a parent’s plea for change. The change won’t affect the DCS’ ongoing discrimination of state-authorized medical-cannabis consumers in the foster-care program. But it will likely make a difference for Phoenix lawyer …

Expert testimony on behavior of domestic violence victims permitted, court rules; decision is just, says Kaine Fisher, Rose Law Group partner, director Family Law Dept.

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times Juries are entitled to hear from experts who can explain why domestic violence victims often forgive their attackers, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The justices rejected arguments by Mark Haskie Jr. that he did not get a fair trial because jurors heard from an expert witness who described the …

What agents should know about the rise of ‘silver splitter’ divorces; Kaine Fisher, partner and director of Family Law at Rose Law Group, comments

Agents, are you prepared to handle this new demographic? By Amber Taufen | Inman Key Takeaways Divorce rates are rising nationally for older couples, which means agents should be prepared to handle this group as they sell the property they shared and buy new, separate property. Agents should be sensitive to the challenges faced by former spouses who have not …

9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules illegal immigrant children cannot be detained without a hearing, a ‘noble’ ruling, says Rose Law Group Partner Kaine Fisher

By Josh Siegel | Washington Examiner Children who immigrate to the U.S. illegally alone must be given a court hearing before being detained, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said unanimously that unaccompanied minors, as children who migrate illegally are known, are entitled to bond hearings that determine whether they …

Arizona Court of Appeals ruling possible setback for gay rights; Rose Law Group Family Law attorney Audra Petrolle questions the ruling

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times Saying lawmakers wrote what they meant, the state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the same-sex spouse of a woman who gave birth to a child is not entitled to a presumption she is a parent. In what could be a significant setback for gay rights, the court said …

Arizona Supreme Court limits right of tribes to intercede in adoption cases; Rose Law Group Family Law attorney Audra Petrolle provides perspective

Tribal government: Decision preserves tribes’ rights to ask for court transfers in adoption cases By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times The ability of tribes to intercede in the adoption of Native American children not living on the reservation is limited and not absolute, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled today. In a unanimous decision, the justices …

How Arizona fixed its broken child welfare system in 2 years; Kaine Fisher, Rose Law Group Partner, director Family Law Dept., comments

The state attracted national attention for its failure to prevent and address child abuse and neglect. Since then, massive changes have led to massive improvements. By J.B. Wogan | Governing or much of the past decade, Arizona’s child welfare agency has been in crisis. The number of children entering the state’s foster care system grew 92 percent from 2005 to …