Articles Posted in And Justice for All

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Obtaining a legally recognized name change is important to anyone seeking such action from the legal system but, for some folks, name changes are especially important. For those who seek to make name changes, the legal process in New Jersey is designed to approve most requests. Even though that’s true, it is still very important to be sure you are going about it the right way, so that you can make sure your change will be approved and approval will be achieved as efficiently and stress-free as possible. To ensure this, be sure to contact a knowledgeable Hoboken family law attorney about your situation.

One group for whom a swift and efficient name change is especially important is trans people. Recently, a group of transgender federal inmates filed a lawsuit in Texas after authorities there refused to allow the trans women to change their names legally, according to news reports. Forcing a trans person to use their “deadname” is something so traumatizing as to amount to “psychological torture,” according to the inmates’ attorney.

Obtaining full legal recognition of a new name is also a very important goal for many immigrants. While trans people seek to live their lives free of the torture inflicted by having to use their deadname, immigrants often seek a name change as part of the process of cultural assimilation, helping to enhance their lives both personally and professionally.

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The heated rhetoric around the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision allowing same-sex marriages in all 50 states is showing no signs of cooling off. Reactions to the court’s 5-4 decision range from clever analyses to officials in some states declaring they will not honor the ruling.

Same-sex couples in Hoboken and Hudson County have had the right to marry for nearly two years, and for six years before that had civil unions under New Jersey law.

While Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority that the history of marriage is “one of both continuity and change,” the dissenters clung to what they termed a more “traditional” view of marriage. Only Justice Clarence Thomas specifically mentioned God. But the justices voting in the minority seemed to cling to a Judeo-Christian view of marriage as a religious institution.

June 27, is Helen Keller day, and I just happened to watch “A Miracle Worker” on TV, which is a great, great movie about how Helen Keller was taught to understand the world by her teacher Ann Sullivan.  Well, the part of Helen Keller was played by Patty Duke and she played such a great part that I looked her up on good ol’ Google and come across another true family tale. 

‘A family law attorney sees and hears a lot of what might be called “ inconvenient truths”  but increasingly our culture, is more and more accepting of the truth.  What was scandalous years ago, is pretty much accepted, except for of course some people who don’t understand that there is no standard, average perfect family, and how  it’s the imperfections that we must all come to love and accept.

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Sean Astin’s Childhood With Patty Duke

In The Lord of the Rings he cheated death, fought enemies and helped bring a gold ring to its destruction. But before taking on the role as Frodo’s trusted sidekick, Sean Astin survived a struggle of a far more personal sort.

 

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Just helped out a new business woman in Jersey City /Hoboken with a dog training business, Steph is great with Dogs and Roxy is already doing all sorts of polite things !!!!! The world needs good dogs, give Steph a try, especially those barking dogs in your apartment.

http://goodkarmatraining.com/

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They say you learn new things everyday.  Well as a long time Hoboken resident and Attorney I thought I knew about most things the City Government did.    But there is always something new to learn and that is the wonderful and much needed Hoboken311, which is a website that provides a lot of information about Hoboken Laws and regulations and, which was new to me, you can give detailed requests to the City about problems that need to be corrected.  Me, I complained about a broken sidewalk near my office.  Here is a screenshot of my request:

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I will update this Blog about the response to this request, but I think it is just great that at lease there is a process in place to deal with Citizen requests and suggestions.  Check it out.

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http://narrative.ly/2012/11/fortunate-one/

Photos by Sophie Butcher

Fortunate One

A writer turned PR director turned stockbroker finds her calling among a deck of tarot cards.

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A Paperless office is great when the Power is on !!!!

  • Not so great when the Power is off.
  • But the Power is back and we are open and ready for business.
  • For all my clients, all your files and papers and documents and emails were not touched by the Storm.  Everything is safe  We moved and protected them. 
  • Our Computer  servers were also protected and we are getting fully online this Sunday Nov. 4th.  Please call the office at 201 656-1000 if we don’t answer just leave a message.  Email is working.
  • We also are implementing a new Text to Office service, since it is clear that Texting is the way most people communicate.   We will be the first Law office that I know of that will have a Text Number for the office.   That should be up and running next week.

Now on to some Legal Advice for all.

  • At this point it is too early to know the exact process and procedure for people trying to recover money for all their damages.
  • Frankly, for most people and most damages, lawyers will probably be more of a problem than a means for a solution.  I have received  many calls already about property damage and my advice is this:
  • Use that Cell Phone Camera and take pictures and more pictures.
  • Take close-ups and far away shots.
  • Use your camera to take pictures of any relevant receipts or things you are replacing or fixing.
  • Make sure the photos are dated.
  • Use some system to take voice notes, like even calling yourself to document your thoughts

And now for some Spiritual Advise.

Break out the Bubbly and have a great time !!!!

Frank Marciano

(this was written short and sweet, more to follow.)

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My wife Judy and I took Roxy for walk on the Hoboken waterfront this Monday night, Labor Day. It was an unusually quiet and peaceful night. As we slowly walked from 4th and River towards the Train Station we witnessed what was apparently a nightly ritual where homeless people prepared themselves for bedtime on the streets of Hoboken. Some took out folded cardboard hidden in the bushes for sleeping

on, others alone, some with friends, prepared benches with blankets, taking out food to eat. Some laid down, some sat, mostly men, but there were some women. This was around 10:30 pm, when we saw a little woman with a cart and two small kids, 5 or 6 years old, just walking up and down the waterfront Blvd. As we watched it started to rain and the woman took out a blanket and wrapped it around and over her children’s head and bodies to protect them from the rain. The kids, as kids do, were laughing and giggling like it was a game. Taking interest, we then saw the woman slowly and meekly approach the workers closing down the outdoor cafes. We followed them and found out that she was asking for food, saying they were homeless.
What to do, what can you do? Call the police? Will they help? Is that something the Police do? My wife gently approached them and gave them all the cash we had, the mother gently refused the money but when we said it was for the children she didn’t object, but for us it felt like a futile gesture. To say it was sad and upsetting is an understatement. We didn’t have our phones with us but thought it best to get the police involved for the sake of the children. We called the police, who were very attentive, and went back outside to check up on the response. We went back to the restaurant where the mother asked for food, they said they gave them some bread, but that it happens all the time at the end of the night, people asking for food.
But they did not know where the little family went. Thinking they might be going to the Train station for shelter we slowly walked toward the Lackawanna Plaza keeping an eye out for the little cart and kids. But they were gone, poof, into the night two little kids hanging on to their homeless mother. Along the way we saw 15- 20 homeless people, half covered with blankets and cardboard, the others milling around on benches and hidden alcoves. We come upon a police car and the policeman confirmed that the Police had in fact sent out a patrolman on foot to look for the mother and kids. We walked some more, asked a few people if they saw this little family but nothing.
That’s it, no happy ending, no answer, no story arc. We did what we thought we could and should do; my wife thinks it was not enough, she’s right.
Our day to day life in Hoboken is filled with successful people and their real estate riches in our wonderful town, but to see a small community of people homeless and hungry in the shadow of the W Hotel is disconcerting. While our helplessness in this situation may be understandable it made us have a new found respect and admiration for the people and mission of The Hoboken Shelter and thank them for their thankless mission and will do more to support their mission.

bankruptcy
http://j.st/5mp
After steadily climbing for several years, the number of Americans
filing for bankruptcy is on the decline, though that is not necessarily
an indicator of an improving economy.  The number of bankruptcy filings
in June was 120,623, or an average of 5,483 a day, a drop of 6.2 percent
from May, when filings totaled 122,775, or 5,846 a day, according to a
report from Epiq Systems, which tracks bankruptcy filings.

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