Several years ago a New York judge ordered Brian McGurk to pay his wife, Dorothy McGurk, $850 a month in lifetime alimony and gave her the marital residence because of her disability.

Recently Brian saw an entry on her blog that she was now belly dancing.  Furious, he took her back to court.

Dorothy claimed that her doctor had prescribed belly dancing as therapy for her injuries in a 1997 car accident.  The doctor however did not support that claim in court.

The judge reduced alimony to $400 a month, ordered her to pay her husband’s attorney fees of $5,000 and to give him 60% of the proceeds from the sale of the house.

As Shakira says, “Hips Don’t Lie”.

You have to have oral testimony by the plaintiff, in person, and in the courtroom, to obtain a divorce.  Family Law Section 1-203 and Rule 9-209.

That testimony has to be corroborated by someone or something other than the parties to the divorce.  Family Law Section 7-101(b).   A marriage certificate can corroborate the marriage.  A notarized written agreement signed before the complaint was filed can corroborate a mutual and voluntary separation.  Family Law Section 1-104.

But most of your testimony is corroborated by a witness.  That testimony also has to be oral and in court “unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause”.  Rule 9-209.

What is good cause?  The court has allowed me to use telephone testimony in a handful of cases where the corroborating witness was a geographically distant relative or a busy mental health professional.  In one uncontested divorce, I was permitted to corroborate adultery with the deposition transcript of the paramour, but the judge let me know he would have preferred live testimony.  If you are going to try to corroborate without a witness in the courtroom, call the judge’s clerk or secretary before the trial to make sure it will be permitted.

Related Articles:  Corroboration, You Have to Testify to Get Divorced

By Michael F. Callahan

Sometimes a party to a lawsuit is not satisfied with the trial judge’s decision.   When that happens that person might want to file an appeal.  Generally, and in all divorce cases in all three local jurisdictions, you can appeal “as of right.”  You may not win but you can appeal.

In due course, if the unsatisfied person, now called the appellant, does everything right and on time, the appellate court judges will review the trial judge’s decision.  The appellate judges give deference to the trial judge’s findings of fact because he or she saw and heard the witnesses and the appellate judges did not.  The appellate court judges do not give deference to the trial judge’s rulings regarding the law.

If they conclude the trial judge was wrong, they reverse.  Usually though, that means they remand the case back to the trial judge to conduct a further hearing, if necessary.

“I promise to send you 30 pounds a month,” said Mr. Balfour to his wife,  before he set sail for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on assignment as an English civil engineer in the early 1900’s.  Mrs Balfour’s doctor said that she should stay in England for her health rather than return to the jungle climate of Ceylon.

“I think it is better that we stay separated,” wrote Mr. Balfour, and he stopped the payments.  Mrs. Balfour obtained a divorce and alimony.  In addition, she sued him for breach of contract for the 30 pounds a month he had promised her.

The lower court held that Mr. Balfour had to continue to pay her as agreed.  The Court of Appeal unanimously reversed, finding that there was no agreement enforceable in law.

Although the judges’ reasons differed, the heart of their analysis was that married couples make agreements all the time, to pay an allowance, for example.  The court said that not all domestic agreements rise to the level of a contract enforceable by law.  Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571

According to Max Blumenthal in the Daily Beast, former Republican Congressman Chip Pickering kept a secret diary in which he wrote about his extramarital affair with Elizabeth Creekmore Byrd at the infamous C Street House in Washington, D.C.

The judge would not allow the diary to be introduced at Pickering’s divorce hearing on July 7 and placed it under seal at the Mississippi courthouse.

However, Mrs. Pickering has filed an alienation of affection suit against Byrd, and it is possible that the diary may be made public in this lawsuit.  Apparently other members of congress and residents of the C Street House are worried about what Pickering had to say about them in his diary.

The judge has be certain of the proof before a divorce can be granted in Maryland.  In fact the law requires that the testimony of the plaintiff be corroborated by other evidence.

Section 7-101 of the Family Law Article states: “A court may not enter a decree of divorce on the uncorroborated testimony of the party who is seeking the divorce.”

That’s why we ask you to bring a copy of your marriage certificate and a witness to your uncontested divorce hearing.

The marriage certificate is corroborating evidence of your marriage.  If you don’t have a copy, you can also corroborate your marriage with the testimony of a witness who was present at the wedding.

The witness can corroborate residency, custody, the date of separation and that the separation was voluntary on the part of both parties for the year prior to filing the complaint, the usual grounds for uncontested divorce in Maryland.

Voluntary separation can also be corroborated by a Separation Agreement if (1) it states that the spouses voluntarily agreed to separate, and (2) it is executed under oath (i.e., notarized) before the divorce complaint is filed.  Section 8-104 of the Family Law Article.

Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock lived in Wicomico County, Maryland, until Mrs. Woodcock left the marital residence and moved to her parent’s home in Baltimore.  She filed for alimony in Baltimore claiming that Mr. Woodcock had forced her to move out.

Upon being served with the complaint, Mr. Woodcock filed his complaint for divorce based on desertion in Wicomico County and a motion to dismiss his wife’s suit in Baltimore for lack of jurisdiction.

The Baltimore judge said that the general rule in the statute is that a suit must be filed in the county where the defendant resides.  An exception to the general rule is a suit for divorce which may be brought in the county where either party resides.  When two courts have jurisdiction over a case, the first court keeps the case and a second court cannot interfere.  Since Mrs. Woodcock filed first, she should have won.

However, Mrs. Woodcock had filed a suit for alimony, not divorce, which fell within the general rule so it should have been filed in her husband’s county.  The Baltimore judge dismissed her complaint for alimony and gave her permission to refile an amended complaint for divorce, which she did.

The husband appealed and the Maryland Court of Appeals said slow down.  Since the first case for alimony was filed in the wrong county, it didn’t count.  That meant the Wicomico court had jurisdiction over the case when the husband filed for divorce there.  And the Baltimore court couldn’t get it back by an amendment to the alimony complaint.

Woodcock v. Woodcock, 169 Md. 40; 179 A. 826 (1935)

Story #1.  A young man learns that a woman he is dating is pregnant.  Although he is not in love with her, he marries her because that is the right thing to do.  He manages to complete college and finds a job with the government.  Although he is a good provider for his family, his wife constantly berates him, argues with him, criticizes him, and withholds marital relations from him.  He tries to talk to her about their marital strife, and asks her to go to marital counseling,  but it is hopeless.  In desperation, he seeks solace elsewhere and begins a relationship with another woman.  He and the other woman are truly in love and he has a child with the other woman.  He takes on a second job to support his child from the second relationship.  He tries hard not to disrupt his marriage but after several years of trying, he cannot take it any more, and asks his wife for a divorce.  He is the father and sole support of two young children and he should not be punished for trying to do the right thing.

Story #2.  A young man learns that a woman he is dating is pregnant.  He marries her.  He then begins a life of deceit.  Although he has a child with her, he cheats on her.  He goes away on trips, seldom spends time with his wife and child, and finally impregnates another woman.  He begins a double life with his married family and his girlfriend and child on the side.  He takes money from his married family to support his girlfriend.  After several years, his wife finally discovers his infidelity and files for divorce.  This man is a liar and a coward and has dissipated his families marital assets.

If you were the judge, how would you divide assets and determine support in these two cases?  Would it be different in each case?

The interesting thing is that both scenarios are the same case.  The first is the story told by the husband’s attorney and the second is the story told by the wife’s attorney.  Which story will the judge buy into?  The judge will make a decision because that is what we pay the judges to do.  But real life is not always so black and white as the judge’s final order is.  There are always shades of gray and some truth in both stories.

Certain matters may be heard in Maryland courts by a Master instead of a Judge.  The Master then prepares written recommendations which include the Master’s findings and a proposed order.

Maryland Rule 9-208 provides a method for challenging the Master’s findings and recommendations.  Either party may file Exceptions in writing with the Clerk of the Court.  The Exceptions must set forth any asserted error with particularity.

You have only ten days from the Master’s findings and recommendations to file Exceptions.  You don’t count the day of the ruling, and if the tenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, you can file on the next business day.

A judge will hold a hearing on the Exceptions if you ask for one.  The Court will rule on the evidence presented to the Master.  The Court may also consider additional evidence if it decides to.

In uncontested divorces, the parties may forego their right to take Exceptions, by signing a Waiver, in order to expedite their decree of divorce.

I’m not sure what I would say if Katie Couric asked me to name some Supreme Court decisions.

But an older lawyer once told me if the judge asks you for a citation, and you can’t think of anything, go to the colors.

Judge:  “What’s your authority, counselor?”

Lawyer:  “Uh, Judge, I think that’s the Green case.” (or the White case or the Brown case.)

If Sarah had said the Brown case, she would have had one right.  In Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Supreme Court held that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.   And while a lawyer has to exercise candor with the court, there is no such restriction on a politician.