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November 2023
On our South Dakota State Gun Laws page, we revised What is the definition of a felony? based on 2023 legislative changes that substituted the term “correctional facility” for “penitentiary.”
On our South Dakota Crimes page, we added the crimes of aggravated battery of an infant, removal of child from state, eavesdropping, and window peeking on private property of another. We also added four related statutes to our Selected South Dakota Statutes page.
Based on 2023 legislative changes, we did the following:
- In our Maryland Divorce section:
- Deleted two questions related to limited divorce based on the October 2023 abolition of limited divorce in Maryland;
- Revised What are the grounds for divorce in Maryland? to add amended language from the statute;
- In our Maryland Custody section:
- Revised Do I have to notify the court if I want to move (relocate) with my child? to add that the judge must quickly schedule a hearing if the proposed relocation would significantly interfere with the other parent’s ability to maintain the current parenting time schedule.
- Created two new questions called If I fear the other parent may abduct my child, what can I do? and If the judge agrees that there is a risk my child will be abducted, what will the judge do?
- Added five statutes related to abduction prevention orders to our Selected Maryland Statutes page.
On our Tennessee Custody page, we revised If the other parent is convicted of a serious crime, can I file to terminate his/her parental rights? to clarify that, based on 2023 legislative changes, a substantially similar crime against a child in another state can now provide a basis for filing to terminate parental rights.
On our Tennessee Restraining Order page, we did the following based on 2023 legislative changes:
- Added financial abuse to What is the legal definition of domestic abuse?, as well as revised what other actions qualify as domestic abuse for the purposes of getting a protection order; and
- Revised What is the legal definition of stalking? to add a single instance of a harasser using an electronic tracking device to the definition of a “course of conduct” that constitutes harassment.
These changes were made in English; Spanish coming soon!
We also added six new crimes related to abuse and stalking to our Tennessee Crimes page in English and Spanish, and we added six related statutes to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.
Based on 2023 legislative changes, we did the following in English (Spanish coming soon!):
- In our Maine Custody section:
- Revised If my child was conceived from a sexual assault, can the offender’s rights be terminated? to add the considerations the judge must take if allowing parent-child contact with a sexual assault offender.
- In our Maine Protection From Abuse Orders page, we revised What is the legal definition of abuse in Maine? to add the fact that nonconsensual removal of or tampering with a condom is now a ground for getting an order.Created a new question called If my child was conceived due to nonconsensual removal of a condom, can the offender get parental rights?
- In our Maine Protection From Abuse Orders page, we revised What is the legal definition of abuse in Maine? to add the fact that nonconsensual removal of or tampering with a condom is now a ground for getting an order.
- In our Maine Suing an Abuser for Money page, added information about being able to sue someone in civil court for nonconsensual removal of a condom, misrepresentation of condom use, tampering with the condom so that it is ineffective, or purposefully using a damaged condom. We also added the related statute to out Selected Maine Statutes section.
