American Bar Association Journal—Pricing Amy: Should Those Who Download Child Pornography Pay the Victims?

This feature article about the Marsh Law Firm's efforts to secure restitution for victims of child pornography appears in this month's American Bar Association Journal which is read by over one million attorneys and corporate counsel worldwide. Here are several excerpts from Pricing Amy: Should Those Who Download Child Pornography Pay the Victims? It’s not exactly clear when Amy’s pictures began circulating online, but court records indicate the digital images date back to as early as 1998. Amy and her lawyer are, however, fighting back. Her battle is part of a series of cases—now wending their way through the federal courts̵...

Texas Teacher Loses Job After She Has Kids Hit 6-Year-Old Class “Bully”

Guest entry by Amanda Dove Please visit Stop Bullying for more information about bullying and some measures you can use to help prevent it. Please contact the Maryland assault lawyers and Virginia assault lawyers of Price Benowitz LLP for more information. In many superhero films, villains seem to share a lot of similar characteristics: a sinister appearance, an evil laugh, and the insatiable desire to take over the world. The line between good and evil is always clearly drawn in these films, making it hard to confuse the two, but unfortunately, reality rarely works in this way. Sometimes, the people that you are meant to trust in and to look up to ...

Immigration and Child Welfare

The Applied Research Center (ARC) recently published a report on the obstacles that families encounter when they concurrently deal with immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. ARC's national investigation centered on the extent to which children living in foster care are prevented from reuniting with their parents who are detained or have been deported due to alleged immigration violations. ARC used county-level survey data from child welfare caseworkers, attorneys, and judges from 19 jurisdictions in six States for computing the national estimates used in the report. The jurisdictions represented a mix of border and nonborder regions. ...

Child Abuse Investigations: have a healthy suspicion of multiple “unsubstantiated” findings

Following a child abuse/neglect investigation, a child protective services (CPS) investigator, usually in consultation with his or her supervisor, determines if the report should be substantiated or unsubstantiated. If the report is substantiated it means that the information gathered supports a finding of child abuse or neglect. If the report is unsubstantiated it means that the information gathered does not support a finding of child abuse or neglect. Each state has its own unique scheme governing the practical application of the term “unsubstantiated” or other similar term. The resultant legal sufficiency of this term is extraordinar...

Preparing Children for Court

Participating in court proceedings may be particularly stressful for children. The Office of Court Improvement, a division of the Office of the State Courts Administrator within the Supreme Court of Florida, released an activity book specifically for children attending dependency hearings. What’s Happening In Dependency Court? aims to familiarize children with the judicial system by providing information related to the court process, legal terms, and the role of court personnel. Information is divided into easy-to-read topical areas, including the following: Why did I have to leave my home? Where will I live now? Will I get to see ...

Human Trafficking Awareness Online Training

The Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign is now offering online training about how to spot the signs of and report suspected human trafficking. The training is aimed at the general public, the Federal workforce, first responders, and airline employees and focuses on: Defining human trafficking Differentiating between human trafficking and human smuggling Recognizing populations vulnerable to human trafficking Recognizing indicators of human trafficking A glossary and additional resources also are provided. View the Human Trafficking Awareness Training on the Department of Homeland Security's ...