New Jersey Governor Corzine should not legalize same-sex marriage.

AS EXPECTED from a panel stacked with same-sex activists, the Civil Union Commission issued a report last week saying that its members believe civil unions are a failure.

What is their conclusion based on? Seven substantive complaints -- from among the 2,400 same-sex couples who have entered into civil unions in New Jersey. They complain about the failure of New Jersey employers based out of state to provide benefits to partners in civil unions. Those companies say that the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act, which regulates the provision of benefits to employees, does not require them to provide expensive health benefits to same-sex couples.

Activists claim there are more complaints, including insinuations that hospitals have denied visitation – an accusation that an official from the New Jersey Hospital Association insists is absolutely false. Other additional claims are unofficial and unsubstantiated. The majority of complaints cited by the activists do not deal with rights being denied, but rather gripes about how same-sex couples have to explain themselves to other people.

The commission also says that employers in Massachusetts are more likely than those in New Jersey to voluntarily provide health benefits to same-sex couples simply because the law gives their unions the title marriage. This contention is completely anecdotal, as noted in an article last week on the New Jersey State Bar Association Web site.

A letter signed by 12 former Grand Rapids Bar Association presidents supports Servaas in his fight with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.

In the letter, the former bar presidents say, "Regardless of the reason that the judicial tenure commission has undertaken to attack Judge Servaas, it has seemingly done so in a reckless manner."

The lawyers ask the commission to reconsider the issue.

He's also moved back into a house he owns within his district, a key element in the commission's attempt to oust him. Servaas owns two homes, both in the 63^rd District, but only one is in his division of the district.  

The Pacifica City Council appointed Josh Gordon and Celeste Langille to the Pacifica Planning Commission Feb. 11.

Josh Gordon is an attorney with the San Francisco firm Morrison and Forester. He worked for a federal judge in San Francisco for one year and spent eight years with a top tier law firm in Palo Alto. He spent eight years working with autistic children in Santa Cruz.

Gordon is a member of the American Bar Association, Doctors Without Borders, Southern Poverty Law Center and the San Mateo County Bar Association.

On his application for the Planning Commission he wrote he wishes "to directly participate in the decisions affecting my community."

"I bring to the table an ability to rigorously analyze all sides of an issue, which is a product of my legal training and experience as a lawyer," he wrote.

Langille is an attorney who has represented environmental and community groups and has experience working with public agencies and officials. She is well versed in land-use laws, including CEQA, and real estate law. She has experience in document review and analysis.

She is a member of the California Bar Association and the Sierra Club.

Hawaii attorneys have asked the state Supreme Court to give them more time to develop proposed rules that will define the practice of law.

The Hawaii State Bar Association asked the court for an extension until March 28 to fine-tune its earlier proposal to change the court's rules. Only licensed attorneys can practice law in Hawaii, but what constitutes the practice of law is not clearly defined.

The association now is working with real estate professionals and certified public accountants, two of the professional groups that potentially would be affected by the rule change.

The debate started months ago when lawyers suggested clarifying the rules that define the practice of law. But critics said the suggested definition was too broad and would potentially bump into other professions such as insurance, real estate, accounting, paralegals and legal document service providers.