Law Commons^™

Family Law—The Revictimization Of Survivors Of Domestic Violence And Their Children: The Heartbreaking Unintended Consequence Of Separating Children From Their Abused Parent, Jeanne Kaiser, Caroline M. Foley

Faculty Scholarship

Massachusetts law governing child custody recognizes the damaging effect that witnessing domestic violence can have on a child. Accordingly, the law requires courts to give special attention to the effects of domestic violence on a child when determining custody. An unintended consequence of this scrutiny is that parents who have been the victims of domestic violence can lose custody, or even their parental rights, for failing to protect children from witnessing their abuse. This result can be prevented by requiring courts to apply the same level of attention to the effects of domestic violence when removing a child from an …

Early Childhood Development And The Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Early childhood development is a robust and vibrant focus of study in multiple disciplines, from economics and education to psychology and neuroscience. Abundant research from these disciplines has established that early childhood is critical for the development of cognitive abilities, language, and psychosocial skills, all of which turn, in large measure, on the parent-child relationship. And because early childhood relationships and experiences have a deep and lasting impact on a child’s life trajectory, disadvantages during early childhood replicate inequality. Working together, scholars in these disciplines are actively engaged in a national policy debate about reducing inequality through early childhood interventions. …

Hands Up At Home: Militarized Masculinity And Police Officers Who Commit Intimate Partner Abuse, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and the almost daily news stories about abusive and violent police conduct are currently prompting questions about the appropriate use of force by police officers. Moreover, the history of police brutality directed towards women is well documented. Most of that literature, however, captures the violence that police do in their public capacity, as officers of the state. This article examines the violence and abuse perpetrated by police in their private lives, against their intimate partners, although the public and private overlap significantly to the extent that the power and training provided to …

[Including But Not Limited To] Violence Against Women, Giovanna Shay

Faculty Scholarship

This Article highlights three developments in criminal justice in 2012 that marked the move toward more gender-inclusive anti-violence movements: the FBI’s adoption of a gender-neutral definition of rape; the debate regarding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); and the promulgation of new Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). These recent developments reveal a growing movement towards more gender-inclusive conceptions of rape and intimate partner violence. The change to a more gender-inclusive approach will have many implications for criminal justice policy and institutions. One critical project is to ensure that …

Look Before You Leap: Court System Triage Of Family Law Cases Involving Intimate Partner Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

Family courts are increasingly interested in matching parties with appropriate dispute resolution processes and related services. For many parties, especially those who are self-represented, triage of cases could be helpful and efficient. Nevertheless, implementation of triage in complex cases may bring unintended repercussions, and in the spirit of averting these, this Article identifies and discusses challenging issues that become apparent when triage systems are viewed through the lens of intimate partner violence.

Some questions about triage in the context of intimate partner violence were raised at the Wingspread Conference on Domestic Violence and Family Courts and explored more fully by …

Representing Children At The Intersection Of Domestic Violence And Child Protection, Annette Appell, Joshua Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Scholarship

Reflecting evolving norms surrounding the legitimacy of intimate violence, the law has made steady progress toward acknowledging that domestic violence is not a private family matter, but instead demands public assistance to help survivors of that violence protect themselves and their children. Most recently, child advocates, juvenile court judges, and domestic violence advocates have joined in a concerted effort to address the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse and neglect, coordinate responses and remedies among the various court systems, and develop methods to avoid re-victimizing mothers and children through legal process. This article traces civil remedies and barriers domestic …

The Uniform Collaborative Law Act And Intimate Partner Violence: A Roadmap For Collaborative (And Non-Collaborative) Lawyers, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the intimate partner violence provisions of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act “UCLA” and provides an analytical roadmap for collaborative lawyers. The lack of required intimate partner violence training for collaborative lawyers presents a major roadblock for implementation of the Act. Consequently, states adopting the UCLA should take immediate steps to ensure that courts and bodies regulating lawyers require ongoing training. In the meantime, to gain valuable expertise and avoid potential liability, collaborative lawyers should voluntarily seek it.

Domestic Violence And The Lawyer As Good Samaritan: What Responsibility To Become Involved?, Debra Moss Curtis

Faculty Scholarship

In the United States, "Good Samaritan" laws are designed to protect from liability--in case things go wrong--those who choose to aid an injured stranger. The idea is to "reduce bystander's hesitation to assist" those in distress. Good Samaritan laws are clearly intended to cover immediate physical harm, as they tend to include the provision of first aid and the relief of the responsibility when trained assistance arrives. In other countries, Good Samaritan laws actually may require citizens to assist people, as long as it would not cause harm to the helper. These legal requirements were famously put into play recently …

Judicial Deference Or Bad Law? Why Massachusetts Courts Will Not Impose Municipal Liability For Failure To Enforce Restraining Orders, Carolyn Grose

Faculty Scholarship

The authors take up the challenge that was thrown down by the Ford v. Town of Grafton court. The first part of this Article examines the somewhat tortured and fascinating history of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act. It then describes the arguments Catherine Ford made, how the court responded, and why it responded as it did. In Part II, Massachusetts' strong commitment to protecting and assisting victims of domestic violence is examined. A variety of legislative, executive and judicial initiatives that demonstrate commitment are described, but the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A, the restraining order statute, is emphasized. The article …

Differentiating Types Of Domestic Violence: Implications For Child Custody, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines child custody determinations through the lens of a domestic violence typology. The resulting analysis (1) reconciles competing viewpoints and contradictory evidence about domestic violence; (2) matches families with appropriate child custody court procedures and services such as parent education, mediation, supervised visitation and parent coordination; and (3) exposes serious deficiencies in current domestic violence childcustody statutes.

Domestic Violence And The Maryland Family Violence Option, Karen Czapanskiy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Yes, No, And Maybe: Informed Decision Making About Divorce Mediation In The Presence Of Domestic Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

Divorce mediation in the context of domestic violence is one of the most controversial issues in family law today. Some believe that mediation is never appropriate when domestic violence has taken place, and others believe that it is always appropriate and should be mandatory. These views can be reconciled by taking a third approach, that mediation is sometimes appropriate but that this decision must be made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the abuse survivor. The central premise of this article is that victims of domestic violence should have the opportunity to make an informed choice about which divorce …

The Silent Victims: Children And Domestic Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

Few of us would fail to intercede if we happened upon a child being physically attacked. Most of us would shield even an unknown child from witnessing a traumatic event. If we knew that a child might come to harm, such as a toddler playing in traffic, most of us would escort that child to safety. On a personal level, we are committed to the well being of our children. As a society, however, we close our ears to the cries of the children growing up in violent homes. It is now time to give them voice. New research reveals …