Governor Brownback signed — or at least released news that he had signed — a group of bills today, including a group of family law related bills:

#HB2534, which is known as “Caylee’s Law,” criminalizes the failure to report the death or disappearance of child. http://t.co/Ytn2ZZV3 This bill is a fast reaction to the verdict finding that Casey Anthony was not guilty in the death of her daughter, Caylee Anthony. The bill gained steam in state legislatures across the United States after the high-profile Casey Anthony trial, when Anthony was found “not guilty” for her death after not reporting her two-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony had been missing for 31-days.

#SB79, the “American Laws for Americans Act,” which is also known as the “anti-sharia” law. We are now protected from Kansas courts imposing upon us Sharia law – or from Sharia being imposed on Kansas courts – or on any other kind or type or manner of law from any other law from a foreign jurisdiction being “imposed upon us,” including any law from any system that does not afford the parties the same rights and immunities as the U.S. Constitution. http://t.co/dPCQjlR7 Not that we were in danger of happening before. (See “Public Policy” in the Conflict of Laws, 56 Colum. L. Rev. 969 (1956) http://bit.ly/LBm252). Of course, we in family law now get to argue about whether all types and kinds of laws from other countries might or should be invalidated in our own particular clients’ cases because of this law. The legislature never fails to insert interesting issues into our already complex (or not) cases dealing with immigrant clients.

#HB2613, which allows the court to extend protection orders in certain cases for up to the lifetime of the accused abuser. http://t.co/i19cBpmy

Many other bills were also signed by the Governor. But none others that directly effect Family Law. A Capital-Journal article tells the tale: http://t.co/QsvmlhUX