NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Matrimonial trials will soon resume in Essex County, several months after they were put on hold due to a shortage of judges.
The Star-Ledger (http://bit.ly/MLqC4d) reports County Assignment Judge Patricia Costello notified the county Bar Association on Friday that she hopes to resume the cases, which include divorce proceedings, on Sept. 1. She said that can happen because state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner has agreed to transfer three Superior Court judges to the county.
Costello suspended matrimonial trials last December, citing the judge shortage caused by an ongoing political standoff between Gov. Chris Christie and state Sen. Ronald Rice.
"Complex" civil trials - such as product liability cases - were also suspended at that time, but resumed in March after court officials employed a patchwork of temporary measures.
Information from: The Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com/starledger
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: www.myfoxny.com
Hundreds in Phoenix march against Arizona immigration law - Reuters
PHOENIX |
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A few hundred protesters, some toting placards reading "Migration is a Human Right," marched in Phoenix on Saturday to protest Arizona's two-year-old crackdown on illegal immigration.
State law SB-1070, signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010, seeks to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.
A federal judge blocked parts of the law before it took effect, but the U.S. Supreme Court late last month upheld its most controversial provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people they stop if they suspect they are in the country illegally.
"I feel like we're singled out," said Angel Diaz, 33, an artist among 200 to 300 mostly Hispanic protesters rallying in a park ahead of the protest march.
"We're being racially profiled. Pretty much I feel that our rights are being taken from us," he added. He was wearing a Mexican wrestler's mask and a broad brimmed sombrero.
Diaz, a Hispanic who said he is a U.S. citizen, said he was followed and pulled over by police in the Phoenix valley a week ago in a traffic stop that did not result in charges.
Protesters, some chanting "this is what democracy looks like" and wearing T-shirts reading "We will not comply - Down with SB 1070," set off on the one-mile (1.6 kilometer) walk to the headquarters of federal immigration police in the city.
In a mixed ruling late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state law's most controversial measure - requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone detained and suspected of being in the country illegally - but struck down three other parts.
Supporters of the crackdown argue it is needed as the federal government has failed to secure the state's porous border with Mexico.
The administration of President Barack Obama opposed the law on the grounds it pre-empted federal powers on immigration, and opponents say it is a mandate for racially profiling Hispanics, who make up almost a third of the state's population.
March organizer Carlos Garcia said demonstrators seek to pressure the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, not to partner with local police forces that implement immigration laws.
"When a police officer can ask to determine if someone has documents or not, that's when racially profiling, racism (arises)" he said. "That's what we're opposed to."
The rally and march come as a hardline Arizona sheriff and his office are on trial in federal court in Phoenix in a civil lawsuit that accuses them of racial profiling.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who styles himself as "America's toughest sheriff," is accused of singling out Hispanic citizens and immigrants in traffic stops in the Phoenix valley, a charge he denies.
Natally Cruz, 24, a Mexican undocumented immigrant, was among four people arrested by police for blocking a road outside the U.S. District Court in Phoenix last Tuesday when Arpaio testified in court.
"We want to show Arpaio that we are not afraid of him," Cruz, who was quizzed by ICE agents about her immigration status but was released, told the protest crowd.
"Many of us have been living in fear for years ... Enough is enough," she said.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Vicki Allen)
Source: www.reuters.com
Chennai to host India’s first transgender swayamvaram - Times of India
"We will have TG women who are interested in getting married to men or other sexes up on stage. Those who are interested in marrying them will have an opportunity to interact with them," says Subramaniam, founder of Sahodari Foundation, which works with transgenders.
She came up with the idea of conducting a swayamvaram as many members of the community dream of leading a family life. "But TG women have been exploited as sex workers and beggars," says Subramaniam. "Society has labelled transgenders as people who won't fit into the family system but we are ordinary people with a need for love, family and relationships."
She launched www.thirunangai.net, an exclusive matrimonial website for transgenders in August 2009. "We posted just five or six profiles and got over 1,000 responses from 45 countries in the past two years," says Subramaniam. While about 350 of them sent personal information, photographs and contact numbers, they did not want to have a public wedding ceremony.
"But we want our marriages to be conducted just like other marriages, complete with guests," she says. "While many men are attracted to TG women, they want to keep their relationship a secret." And it is this barrier that she hopes to break with the swayamvaram.
"We will begin the event by telling people why it is being organised and then introduce prospective brides." The audience will get an opportunity to ask questions. "We will be there to guide them but in the end it is up to the bride to choose her groom," says Subramaniam.
Since September 28 is a muhurtham day, or auspicious day to get married, couples can at least get engaged if they want to. "If they are Hindus, there will be a purohit to conduct the ceremony. If there are people from other religions, we can organise ceremonies later," says Subramaniam, who plans to look into the legal aspects too. "So far, no such marriage has happened but I hope it will in the future," she says. She will fix the venue soon.
People attending the event will also be counseled. "We will tell them the pros and cons. For instance, they cannot have a biological child," she says.
However, many participants, like 30-year-old Monal, are eager to get married and adopt a child. "I love children and am looking for a man who will love and support me," she says.
Subramaniam says that all the prospective brides will make good housewives. "They are eager to have a good husband and family," she says. "They will be happy to look after the elders."
She also plans to participate in the event. "I am looking for a man who is intelligent, humorous, educated, successful and, above all, one who is very bold. He shouldn't care what others say and love me totally," she says. And she promises to steal the hearts of her in-laws. "I love joint families and would like to live with them," she says.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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