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Kerry divorce records already available
AP ^ | 7/1/04 | Jennifer Peter

Posted on 07/01/2004 5:43:54 PM PDT by The Bandit

BOSTON -- When Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry dismissed calls that he make his divorce records public, he apparently didn't know many of them already are.

In 1988 Kerry and his first wife, Julia Thorne, were granted a "no-fault" divorce after 18 years of marriage. They cited the generic grounds of "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage," according to divorce records.

The only portion of the records that are sealed involve the couple's financial information, including salary, assets and debts, which are impounded in all divorce cases, Assistant Norfolk Probate Registrar John Jenney said.

Kerry has denounced inquiries about whether his divorce records should be unsealed, a question that has been raised frequently since Illinois Republican candidate Jack Ryan dropped out of the U.S. Senate race last week. His unsealed divorce and child custody records revealed allegations that he tried to pressure his former wife, television actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, to have sex in public at clubs.

Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said when Kerry said he wouldn't make his divorce records public "he was probably thinking about the pieces that are sealed."

After nearly six years of separation, Kerry and Thorne filed jointly for a divorce on June 24, 1988. Norfolk Probate Court Judge James Sweeney approved the divorce on July 25, 1988.

A separation agreement, which included custody and alimony arrangements, was presented to the judge, but it is not included in the public file. It is within the judge's discretion to allow the attorneys in the case to hold them in their own files, which they did in this case.

According to Jenney, separation agreements do not contain the grounds for divorce but the nitty-gritty of the financial arrangement between the two parties.

On June 9, 1995, Kerry and Thorne submitted an application to impound "all pleadings and other papers filed with the Court" in connection with their divorce. Norfolk Probate Court Judge John Cronin denied the request the same day.

Massachusetts became a no-fault state in 1978, meaning that parties do not have to provide a reason for the divorce unless one side contests it.

Kerry and Thorne married on May 23, 1970. They had two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Kerry married Teresa Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz, in May 1995.

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: divorce; divorcerecords; juliathorne; kerry; records

1 posted on 07/01/2004 5:43:55 PM PDT by The Bandit
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To: The Bandit
I think the Pre-Nup with Te-Reh-za is the real story not getting reported. I mean jeez, his own wife wont even trust him with her money!

Hail to the King Baby.

2 posted on 07/01/2004 5:49:09 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: The Bandit

Did Kerry get alimony?


3 posted on 07/01/2004 5:50:47 PM PDT by Dante3
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To: The Bandit

It sounds like AP's Jennifer Peter is running interference for the Kerry camp. 'The records, well most of them, are already available...'


4 posted on 07/01/2004 5:52:54 PM PDT by TomGuy (After 30 years in the Senate, all Kerry has to run on is 4 months of service in Viet Nam.)
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To: The Bandit
"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage,"

The yacht she bought him wasn't big enough.

5 posted on 07/01/2004 5:53:38 PM PDT by Paul Atreides (Didn't your father tell you that unnecessary excerpting will make you go blind?)
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To: The Bandit

"Many of them already are"?

That seems to be the Kerry mantra. Many of his military records are available too--those he choses to show on his web site. The rest are sealed.

We still don't even know whether or not he has received the annulment he requested. I presume that he has not, because if he had he would have made it selectively public.


6 posted on 07/01/2004 5:57:03 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Dante3

"Did Kerry get alimony?


Beter question....was he married in the Catholic Church the first time? Did he get a church annulment? If not, why is he remarried and receive Communion?


7 posted on 07/01/2004 5:58:39 PM PDT by AngieGOP (I never met a woman who became a stripper because she played with Barbie dolls as a kid)
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To: The Bandit

http://images.google.com/images?q=Jeri%20Lynn%20Ryan&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi


8 posted on 07/01/2004 5:59:33 PM PDT by perfect stranger
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To: The Bandit

The annulment records are the ones I would like to see, You can get a divorce because you no longer like one another, Annullment is another story you have to have a reason, such as not consumating the marriage, or someone told a big lie.


9 posted on 07/01/2004 6:12:54 PM PDT by sgtbono2002 (I aint wrong, I aint sorry , and I am probably going to do it again.)
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To: TomGuy

An AP reporter, Karen Gullo, did the same for the Clintons.


10 posted on 07/01/2004 6:13:29 PM PDT by billhilly (If you're lurking here from DU, I trust this post will make you sick)
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To: sgtbono2002

Catholic annulments are easy to get, particularly if you can afford a nice donation. The reason can be as simple as one of the parties didn't "have an honest intention" in marrying.
I have no doubt that Kerry got one in the Boston diocese, and the records won't show anything interesting.


11 posted on 07/01/2004 7:02:57 PM PDT by speekinout
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To: The Bandit

I said yesterday, I would rather the records weren't opened. Since there is probably nothing of substance in them, there is more political traction to be gained if they are left sealed. People will wonder why Jack Ryans political career was destroyed because his were opened and Kerry gets a pass. The perception of bias by the courts is a negative to JF'nK in my opinion. And it doesn't take a genius to spot it.


12 posted on 07/01/2004 7:30:04 PM PDT by thepatriot1
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To: The Bandit

Poor Julia. After 18 years she was bored nearly to death. Doctors revived her with repeated showings of Saturday Night Live's first year...especially the one with Paul Simon in the turkey costume.


13 posted on 07/02/2004 8:54:01 PM PDT by Deb (Democrats HATE America...there's no other explanation.)
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