Author Archives: abfifer

When an Apology is not an Apology

December 19, 2023 – 4:18 pm

As part of their plea deals, lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro were required to apologize for their roles in interfering with the elections in Georgia in 2020. They both pled guilty and were sentenced in October 2023. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution used an open records request to obtain the apologies that were offered at their […]

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Stop Asking About Mental Health

November 11, 2023 – 3:02 pm

Michigan’s State Court Administrative Office took some steps recently to align mediation rules regarding parties’ mental health with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Mediators were previously encouraged to screen for mental health issues that might contribute to domestic violence, as part of the Domestic Violence Screening Protocol. For example, in assessing a party’s […]

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Mediator Testifies

November 10, 2023 – 5:12 pm

The Facts: A volunteer mediator for a community mediation center conducted a Zoom mediation in a domestic case over the issue of parenting time. Each party had an attorney, although the attorneys were not present in the mediation. The parties reached an agreement, after the father checked in by phone with his attorney. The mediator […]

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King Charles Doesn’t Fully Apologize to Kenyans

November 4, 2023 – 12:34 pm

The controversy over King Charles’s remarks in Kenya this week highlights the difference between a “full-blown” apology and a statement of regret. King Charles sounded quite sincere when he noted, “The wrongdoings of the past are the source of greatest sorrow and deepest regret” regarding colonial atrocities by British forces in Kenya in the 1950s. […]

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A Plea-Deal Apology by a Trump Lawyer

October 28, 2023 – 1:05 pm

Jenna Ellis, one of President Donald Trump’s attorneys after the November 2020 election, pled guilty this week in a Georgia court to aiding and abetting false statements and writings, a felony. In December 2020, she joined Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Ray Smith in making false allegations to the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee that thousands […]

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