A federal court turned to historians Tuesday as it considers the constitutionality of Proposition 8, an amendment that banned same-sex marriage in California.

Harvard professor Nancy Cott told a federal court in San Francisco that child rearing was only one of several purposes of marriage, not "the central or defining purpose," the Los Angeles Times reports.

She noted that that divorce rates rose steeply in the 1960s and marriage continued to be viewed negatively in the 1970s as heterosexuals advocated "open marriages" and "swinging." But divorce rates hit a plateau in the 1980s, and marriage is now held in high esteem in the U.S., she said.

She attributed the higher status of marriage to advocacy by the Christian right and the growing clamoring of gays and lesbians to participate in it.

During cross-examination, lawyers for the Proposition 8 campaign noted that racial restrictions on marriage in the U.S. were never as "uniform" or widespread as the ban on same-sex marriage. He also asked Cott if it was possible to predict the consequences same-sex marriage would have on society.

The Massachusetts parents accused of killing their 4-year-old daughter by overdosing her with prescription drugs will be tried separately.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton said in court Wednesday that prosecutors decided to hold separate trials for Carolyn and Michael Riley after the judge ruled certain statements each of the Rileys made might incriminate the other and could not be heard. Those statements could be used in separate trials.

The judge on Monday denied a defense motion to dismiss murder charges against the Rileys. Their lawyers argued that the murder indictment should be thrown out because a new medical report from a prosecution expert acknowledges that the girl had pneumonia. The defense claims that caused her death.

The Lustick Law Firm of Bellingham has opened a new branch office in Mount Vernon.

The new branch office is at 413 West Gates Street, in the office suites once used by the Skagit Argus newspaper. The firm's local phone number is (360) 873-8882. Fax is (360) 873-8881. The standard hours of operation will be Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Mount Vernon branch attorneys will handle criminal cases (felonies and misdemeanors) and legal matters involving real estate, aviation law, military law, and family law. The office will be accepting cases in federal court and in Washington state Superior or District Court and in the various city municipal courts within Skagit, Snohomish, King, and Island counties.

Attorney Sharon Fields will serve as the acting branch manager in the Mount Vernon office, and will focus her practice on criminal and family law. Fields studied at the University of Utah where she received a bachelor's degree with honors in 1993 and a law degree in 1996.

More information about the Lustick Law Firm can be found at Lustick.com

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case later this week that some are touting as pivotal in the business of sports.

American Needle Inc. v. the NFL, a supposed David vs. Goliath-type case that could help define the NFL's antitrust status, is on the docket for Jan. 13.

It dates back to 2004, when American Needle, an Illinois-based hat maker, brought an antitrust case against NFL, claiming the league was using its monopoly power to muscle it out of its fair share of revenue for caps it made bearing NFL logos. The NFL won the case at the trial and appellate levels, but American Needle appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.

For now, the only way Californians can watch the trial over the constitutionality of the state's ban on same-sex marriage is to take a trip to the federal courthouse on Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco.

Just an hour before the trial got under way Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court halted for at least two days the judge's plans to allow video of the proceedings to be uploaded on a delayed basis on YouTube.

The 8-1 decision also prevented live simulcasts from being broadcast at the federal appeals court building at Seventh and Mission streets and at courthouses in Seattle, Pasadena, Portland, Ore., and Brooklyn, N.Y.

The court said it wanted until at least Wednesday to consider arguments by backers of Proposition 8, the November 2008 ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage, that camera coverage could result in threats or even violence against witnesses favoring the measure.

An appellate court tossed a $20 million award against a former jet company that secretly videotaped Michael Jackson and his attorneys during a 2003 flight.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Monday that the award was excessive and that Jeffrey Borer, former owner of the now-defunct XtraJet\, shouldn't have to pay it to attorneys Mark Geragos and Pat Harris, The Associated Press reported.

The three-judge panel sent the case back to the trial judge who ruled in favor of the attorneys in March.
Geragos, Harris and Jackson sued for invasion of privacy after being secretly videotaped when Jackson surrendered on charges of molestation.