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Articles 1 - 23 of 23
Full-Text Articles in Law
Institutionalized Silence: The Problem Of Child Voicelessness In Divorce Proceedings, Brandon Sadowsky
Institutionalized Silence: The Problem Of Child Voicelessness In Divorce Proceedings, Brandon Sadowsky
Brandon Sadowsky
In this paper, I present the current state of child representation in divorce proceedings. I argue that children should be represented in all divorce proceedings. I then consider the best interest and client-directed models of child representation and argue that each model is supported by important intuitions: paternalism and autonomy, respectively. I try to formulate a hybrid model that satisfies both of these intuitions.
Parental Rights And The Ugly Duckling, Margaret F. Brinig, F. H. Buckley
Parental Rights And The Ugly Duckling, Margaret F. Brinig, F. H. Buckley
Margaret F Brinig
No abstract provided.
Legal Status And Effect On Children, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock
Legal Status And Effect On Children, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock
Margaret F Brinig
One of the haunting claims of each poor, unmarried mother in Edin and Kefalas' Promises I Can Keep is that at least she can guarantee she will love her child, even though she cannot promise to make a lifelong commitment to a mate. That love, each young mother says, will be a sustaining gift both to her and the child. Similarly, in work done by sociologists McLanahan and Garfinkel to counteract the claim that it was not single parenting that made children's prospects dim, but poverty, sociologists have found that many of the bad effects of single parenting go away …
Finite Horizons: The American Family, Margaret F. Brinig
Finite Horizons: The American Family, Margaret F. Brinig
Margaret F Brinig
No abstract provided.
How Much Does Legal Status Matter? Adoptions By Kin Caregivers, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock
How Much Does Legal Status Matter? Adoptions By Kin Caregivers, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock
Margaret F Brinig
No abstract provided.
Children's Beliefs And Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig
Children's Beliefs And Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig
Margaret F Brinig
In a recent series of opinions authored by Justice Stevens, the Court has recognized that children may have independent religious rights, and that these may be in conflict with their parents'. The questions for this piece are whether considering children's rights independently is a good thing whether it is warranted by children's actual religious preferences and whether children's religious activities actually do anything measurable for the children.
I do not advocate that the Supreme Court become more involved with family law than it has been since the substantive due process days of Meyer and Pierce. I am also not one …
Due Date: Enforcing Surrogacy Promises In The Best Interest Of The Child, Browne C. Lewis
Due Date: Enforcing Surrogacy Promises In The Best Interest Of The Child, Browne C. Lewis
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
Professor Lewis argues that the courts should apply contract principles and not family law principles to resolve surrogacy disputes. Since children are unique, Professor Lewis argues, courts should presume that the contract should be specifically enforced. As a result, the intended mother should be adjudicated the legal mother. However, Professor Lewis further argues the the surrogate should be able to present evidence of changed circumstances to rebut the presumption of specific performance and permit the court to determine maternity based upon the best interests of the child.
Transracial Foster Care And Adoption: Issues And Realities, Fern L. Johnson, Stacie Mickelson, Mariana Lopez Davila
Transracial Foster Care And Adoption: Issues And Realities, Fern L. Johnson, Stacie Mickelson, Mariana Lopez Davila
New England Journal of Public Policy
The article places transracial foster care and adoption into a broader perspective that highlights social and cultural factors and the reasons for controversy about this adoption option. The first section describes the demographics of children in the foster care system. This is followed by an overview of requirements for approval as foster and adoptive parents in Massachusetts and information about the laws governing transracial adoption. The controversy over transracial adoption is laid out by explaining the race-blind and race-matching positions. Policy priorities are outlined that take into account the main points of controversy. The final section focuses on growth in …
The Exploratory Study Of Custody And Visitation Rights For Children In Same-Sex Families, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.
The Exploratory Study Of Custody And Visitation Rights For Children In Same-Sex Families, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.
Valencia T Johnson
In today’s society, same-sex marriages are being legalize in some states with certain stipulations and statutory requirements in respected states. Since there are more states legalizing same-sex marriages, the courts are facing tougher challenges in Family Law that pertains to the Custody and Visitation Rights for Children in Same-Sex Families. Due to the lack of legal and judicial interpretation of statutory laws in the Custody and Visitation Rights for Children in Same-Sex Families, further research need to be explored. In addition, the article addresses the legal and judicial authority of interpreting the law in various states. The article provide a …
Same-Sex Divorce In The United States: Protecting The Interests Of The Children, Joan Catherine Bohl
Same-Sex Divorce In The United States: Protecting The Interests Of The Children, Joan Catherine Bohl
University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review
In light of recent political, legal, and legislative developments, the status of same-sex couples across the United States has become increasingly complex. This article focuses on the issue of same-sex divorce in a mobile society. When a same-sex couple moves from a state recognizing same-sex marriage—or from Canada—to a state that does not expressly recognize same-sex marriage, dissolution of that marriage can become a byzantine problem much more complex than a state’s “official” position on same-sex marriage. Relevant factors can range from the state’s legislative and executive pronouncements affecting homosexual citizens in areas such as pension benefits and health plans …
A Barrier To Child Welfare Reform: The Supreme Court’S Flexible Approach To Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 60(B)(5) And Granting Relief To States In Institutional Reform Litigation, Rachel Dunnington
Seattle University Law Review
In a recent decision, Horne v. Flores, the Court demanded a broader and more flexible application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (Rule) 60(b)(5). In doing so, the Court opened the door for states to seek relief from court-enforced agreements like consent decrees. This decision undermines the use of institutional reform litigation as a means of fixing the child welfare system and thus deals a further blow to the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. This Note will discuss Horne’s impact on consent decrees stemming from institutional reform litigation in child welfare. Part II will explore the history of Rule 60 as …
Forgotten Fathers, Daniel L. Hatcher
Forgotten Fathers, Daniel L. Hatcher
All Faculty Scholarship
Poor fathers like John are largely forgotten, written off as a subset of the unworthy poor. These fathers struggle with poverty – often with near hopelessness – within multiple systems in which they are either entangled or overlooked, such as child-support and welfare programs, family courts, the criminal justice system, housing programs, and the healthcare, education, and foster-care systems. For these impoverished fathers, the “end of men” is often not simply a question for purposes of discussion but a fact that is all too real. In the instances in which poor fathers are not forgotten, they are targeted as causes …
Seen But Not Heard: Advocating For Children In New York State, Sarah L. Marx
Seen But Not Heard: Advocating For Children In New York State, Sarah L. Marx
Touro Law Review
On November 1, 2008, the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution affirming their commitment towards establishing a civil right to counsel in New York State. One of the issues identified is a child's right to representation not only in criminal, but also civil proceedings. Unlike other litigant groups, children have a statutorily established right to council in civil proceedings. However, as the white paper, adopted by the New State Bar Association, details, there are gaps in children 's advocacy throughout New York State. While significant steps towards improvement have recently taken place, there is still …
Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl: Two-And-A-Half Ways To Destroy Indian Law, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug
Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl: Two-And-A-Half Ways To Destroy Indian Law, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug
Michigan Law Review First Impressions
In December 2011, Judge Malphrus of the South Carolina family court ordered Matt and Melanie Capobianco to relinquish custody of Veronica, their two-year-old, adopted daughter, to her biological father, Dusten Brown. A federal statute known as the Indian Child Welfare Act ("ICWA") mandated Veronica's return. However, the court's decision to return Veronica pursuant to this law incited national outrage and strident calls for the Act's repeal. While this outrage was misplaced, it may nonetheless have influenced the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the appeal. The case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is emotionally complicated, but it is not …
Family History: Inside And Out, Kerry Abrams
Family History: Inside And Out, Kerry Abrams
Michigan Law Review
The twenty-first century has seen the dawn of a new era of the family, an era that has its roots in the twentieth. Many of the social and scientific phenomena of our time - same-sex couples, in vitro fertilization, single-parent families, international adoption - have inspired changes in the law. Legal change has encompassed both constitutional doctrine and statutory innovations, from landmark Supreme Court decisions articulating a right to procreate (or not), a liberty interest in the care, custody, and control of one's children, and even a right to marry, to state no-fault divorce statutes that have fundamentally changed the …
Joint Custody As A Parenting Alternative, Billy G. Mills, Steven P. Belzer
Joint Custody As A Parenting Alternative, Billy G. Mills, Steven P. Belzer
Pepperdine Law Review
Joint custody of children has been a recently accepted alternative to the traditional child custody/visitation orders that usually follow dissolution proceedings. In 1980, California became one of the first states to provide, by statute, a presumption in favor of an award of joint custody to the parents. The authors present the legislative history of this joint custody statute and synthesize the various views that have been expressed on the subject of joint custody. Also presented is a discussion of the legislative intent behind the statute and whether the current law is the most effective means of protecting the best interests …
Bringing Up Baby: Adoption, Marriage, And The Best Interests Of The Child, Robin Fretwell Wilson, W. Bradford Wilcox
Bringing Up Baby: Adoption, Marriage, And The Best Interests Of The Child, Robin Fretwell Wilson, W. Bradford Wilcox
Robin Fretwell Wilson
In the piece, Professor Brad Wilcox and I ask who should care for children when their biological parents cannot? This is a question of potentially explosive dimensions under new definitions of legal parentage proposed in this volume of the WILLIAM & MARY BILL OF RIGHTS JOURNAL. This question is also important today for evaluating state adoption laws. A significant number of states bar consideration of a prospective adopter’s marital or non-marital status. We believe these laws miss an important opportunity to maximize the best interests of each child being placed. In this piece, we take an exclusively child-centered approach, drawing …
Surrender And Subordination: Birth Mothers And Adoption Law Reform, Elizabeth J. Samuels
Surrender And Subordination: Birth Mothers And Adoption Law Reform, Elizabeth J. Samuels
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
For more than thirty years, adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are birth mothers who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life. The birth mother advocates say that …
Revisiting The Meaning Of Marriage: Immigration For Same-Sex Spouses In A Post-Windsor World, Scott Titshaw
Revisiting The Meaning Of Marriage: Immigration For Same-Sex Spouses In A Post-Windsor World, Scott Titshaw
Scott Titshaw
When the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of DOMA in United States v. Windsor, it eliminated a categorical barrier to immigration for thousands of LGBT families. Yet Windsor was not an immigration case, and the Court’s opinion did not address at least three resulting immigration questions: What if a same-sex couple legally marries in one jurisdiction but resides in a state that does not recognize the marriage? What if the couple is in a legally-recognized “civil union” or “registered partnership”? Will children born to spouses or registered partners in same-sex couples be recognized as “born in wedlock” for immigration …
Filial Support Laws In The Modern Era: Domestic And International Comparison Of Enforcement Practices For Laws Requiring Adult Children To Support Indigent Parents, Katherine C. Pearson
Filial Support Laws In The Modern Era: Domestic And International Comparison Of Enforcement Practices For Laws Requiring Adult Children To Support Indigent Parents, Katherine C. Pearson
Journal Articles
Family responsibility and support laws have a long but mixed history. When first enacted, policy makers used such laws to declare an official policy that family members should support each other, rather than draw upon public resources. This article tracks modern developments with filial support laws that purport to obligate adult children to financially assist their parents, if indigent or needy. The author diagrams filial support laws that have survived in the 21st Century and compares core components in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and post-Soviet Union Ukraine. While the laws are often similar in wording and declared intent, …
An Empirical Analysis Of The Use Of The Intent Test To Determine Parentage In Assisted Reproductive Technology Cases, Mary P. Byrn, Lisa Giddings
An Empirical Analysis Of The Use Of The Intent Test To Determine Parentage In Assisted Reproductive Technology Cases, Mary P. Byrn, Lisa Giddings
Faculty Scholarship
States have been slow to adopt model acts regarding assisted reproductive technology (ART), or to draft ART legislation of their own, leaving most parents of ART children without a clear path to obtain legal parentage. As a result, when a child conceived via ART is born, the adults involved must turn to the courts to make a determination as to legal parentage. These courts have used a variety of approaches to determine legal parentage in ART cases, which along with the inherent discretion involved in judicial decisions absent clear precedent or statute has led to unpredictable, and sometimes inequitable, findings …
Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer
Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer
Faculty Publications
Family law scholars have devoted much attention to equality among groups of adults and some attention to equality between groups of children. There has been little exploration, however, of the notion of equality between adults and children. In this Article, I first explain what it means at a basic, theoretical level to speak of such equality. I then identify some practical implications. Finally, I consider why there is great resistance to many practical implications of children's equality, even among those who would consider themselves advocates for child welfare.
What Is Parenthood?: Contemporary Debates About The Family Introduction, Linda C. Mcclain, Daniel Cere
What Is Parenthood?: Contemporary Debates About The Family Introduction, Linda C. Mcclain, Daniel Cere
Faculty Scholarship
Extraordinary changes in patterns of family life – and family law – have dramatically altered the boundaries of parenthood and opened up numerous questions about debates. What is parenthood and why does it matter? How should society define, regulate, and support it? Despite this uncertainty, the intense focus on the definition and future of marriage diverts attention from parenthood. Demographic reports suggesting a shift away from marriage and toward alternative family forms also keep marriage in constant public view, obscuring the fact that disagreements about marriage are often grounded in deeper, conflicting convictions about parenthood. This book (as the posted …