Articles & Resources

A book by M. Susan Hamilton Preface by Wayne D. Effron People dread divorce. It is a leap into the unknown. On one hand there is the personal trauma: the embarrassment of telling friends and co-workers; the heartbreak of watching your child see his world fall apart. On the other, there are the financial and legal complexities. A strange system of rules imposes itself upon the most personal decisions: how much money you must pay or receive, what property you keep, where your children will live and when you will see them. The most daunting aspect of the process is that as much as any occurrence in life, divorce involves change. For the first time in years, a person will […]

There is little to guide the Connecticut divorce practitioner who wants to secure the testimony of an out of state witness for use in a Connecticut case. There is even less to light the way when seeking to compel the testimony of a local resident in an action commenced in a foreign jurisdiction. This article will attempt to lift the cloak of mystery surrounding these procedures. Taking the Deposition of an Out-of State Witness in a Connecticut Case Deposing an Out of State Party Often a Connecticut lawyer will tell a client that it makes little difference who commences a divorce action. One reason for rethinking that statement is found in Practice Book § 13-29 — which indicates that a […]

By Wayne D. Effron and Rebecca L. Ciota The Latin phrase in limine means “on the threshold” and a motion in limine is simply a motion made “on the threshold” of trial, i.e. before trial starts, during a recess, or before a witness testifies. Colin C. Tait, Tait’s Handbook of Connecticut Evidence, §1.34.1 (3d ed. 2001). Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004) defines a Motion in Limine as “a pretrial request that certain inadmissible evidence not be referred to or offered at trial.” The astute practitioner, however, will be prepared to use the motion in limine not only as a shield, but also as a sword. Connecticut Practice Book Section 15-3 provides authority for courts to hear motions in limine […]