Gay marriage bans in South will be heard in federal court

Headline Legal News

Bans on gay marriage in three staunchly conservative Southern states were to get a hearing in a federal appeals court Friday — the latest legal battle over an issue expected to be settled by the nation's highest court.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear arguments from state attorneys from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — all of which passed bans on same-sex marriages — and from the lawyers arguing against the bans.

The cases represent what could be among the last argued in federal court before the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue. The high court on Friday was eyeing the possibility of putting gay marriage on its calendar for this term.

Gay marriage is now legal in 36 states and Washington, D.C., as bans on gay and lesbian marriages have been struck down across the nation.

The appellate court in New Orleans took the highly unusual step of consolidating appeals from the three Southern states into one session, which is expected to last about three hours Friday.

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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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