
Hawaii allows same-sex marriages:
A recent decision from the Hawaii Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a State statute which prevented same-sex parties from obtaining a marriage license. The Court held that the statute in question was not justified by compelling State interests, and that the State failed to reach its burden of proving the benefits of the institution of traditional marriage to the community, and the adverse effects which same-sex marriage would have on the institution of traditional marriage and the community.
Custody denied to maker of false abuse allegations:
A recent decision (Cucinello v. Cucinello) from the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld a trial court's award of custody to a father where the mother, among other things, had been proven to have "needlessly subjected the child to an investigation by Children's Protective Services, thus placing her own interests above those of the child."
Prior New York decisions had also held that a parent's actions in fabricating abuse claims shall be weighed against that parent when determinations of custody are made.
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