NJ Supreme Court chews over case of inflatable rat

Court Alerts

The New Jersey Supreme Court is expected to decide whether a 10-foot inflatable rodent has rights.


The pink-eyed giant rat appears at union protests around the state. The case has pitted a local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers against a central New Jersey town, and a ruling is expected Thursday.

Lawrence Township fined the union for using the rat in a 2005 protest. The township says the union violated an ordinance against balloons and other inflatable signs.

Union lawyers argue the law violates their right to free expression and suppresses protest.

The township claims the union's use of the rat is a form of commercial speech and is less deserving of First Amendment protections.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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