Law Commons^™

Parental Alienation In Family Court: Attacking Expert Testimony, John E.B. Myers, Jean Mercer

Child and Family Law Journal

In child custody litigation, when a parent raises the possibility of child abuse, the accused parent may respond that the parent wo has raised the possibility of abuse is alienating the child in an effort to gain an unfair advantage in court. The parent accused of abuse may offer expert testimony on parental alienation. A voluminous and contentious social science literature exists on parental alienation. Family law attorneys often lack ready access to social science literature. The purpose of this article is to give family law attorneys information from the parental alienation literature that can be used to cross-examine experts …

Covid-“14-17”: A Case For Florida Teens To Choose The Covid Vaccine Without Requiring Parental Consent, Kait Ramsay

Child and Family Law Journal

The novel COVID-19 pandemic has created a huge disruption to almost everyone, forcing many individuals to adapt to entirely new ways of life. In the United States, COVID safety protocols and restrictions, such as mask and vaccine mandates, have been met with huge political polarization and resistance.[1] Even as COVID variants have kept infections in a perpetual cycle of rising and falling, Florida has lifted mask mandates for businesses and schools, and its governor has been one of the largest vocal opponents to requiring vaccines for school attendance.[2] Furthermore, with the passing of Florida’s Parental Consent for Health …

Hopefully Enduring: How North Carolina’S Divorce Laws Violate The First Amendment, Maren H. Lowrey

Child and Family Law Journal

The phrase “til death do us part” is both poetic and aspirational. It is the ubiquitous vow Americans make to one another when they marry[1] and embark on what is “hopefully enduring.”[2] But life does not always meet the aspirational marks we set and that is most true in the context of marriage and divorce. Each state enjoys nearly exclusive control over this intimate relationship, which results in different regulatory schemes across the United States.[3] Changes in Supreme Court jurisprudence over time ensured state regulation of marriage did not run afoul of the Constitution.[4] These decisions …

Juvenile Life Without Parole: Exposing The Parallels Between Juvenile Offenders And Those Who Sentence Them, Autumn Fortenberry

Honors Theses

This thesis will discuss Juvenile Life Without Parole sentencing (JLWOP) from three perspectives: (1) the evolving standard of decency as developed through relevant U.S. Supreme Court cases; (2) the cognitive and psychosocial development of adolescents that creates reduced culpability in juvenile offenders; and (3) the justifications and implications of punishment as-applied to juvenile offenders. In my fourth chapter, I argue that JLWOP sentencing disregards the humanity and transformable nature of juvenile offenders. I will then draw a parallel between the implications of a juvenile offender's underdeveloped cognitive functions on their decision-making processes and the implications of a trial judge's underdeveloped …

2021 Annual Report, University Of Maine School Of Law

Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic Annual Report

• Program Overview 3
• General Practice Clinic 5
• Prisoner Assistance Clinic 6
• Juvenile Justice Clinic 7
• Refugee and Human Rights Clinic 10
• Protection from Abuse Program 12
• Clinic Staffing 13

Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Reforming The Role Of The School Resource Officer, Olivia Seksinsky

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

A School Resource Officer (“SRO”) is a law enforcement officer employed

by local law enforcement agencies to provide security to public schools. As

a result of fatal and highly publicized school shootings such as Columbine

and Parkland, SROs have become a fixed aspect of many school communities.

There are tens of thousands of SROs patrolling the halls of Virginia’s

public elementary and secondary schools every year. Despite their intended

purpose to keep students safe and prevent crime, SROs too often contribute

to the school-to-prison pipeline. When SROs are brought into the classroom

to address “disruptive” behaviors, students are at an …

Symposium Transcript

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Mother Of Exiles Is Abandoning Her Children: The Systemic Failure To Protect Unaccompanied Minors Arriving At Our Borders, Rosa M. Peterson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Unaccompanied minors arrive at the United States border every day. Many brought by the hope of finding a life lived without fear, a luxury many United States citizens take for granted. Their truths become the barriers and shackles which keep them in detention centers and unaccompanied minor facilities throughout the United States; children find their very words wielded as weapons against them in immigration court. Words often spoken to therapists in perceived confidence, during counseling sessions. This practice is a systemic failure to protect unaccompanied minors arriving at our borders who are seeking protection and help. The United States …

The Decrease In Crime Violence And Re-Offence Rates Of Juveniles Involved In Musical Theater Arts Programs In The United States, Alexia Williams

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Theoretical Proposal

Reformation Within The Nation: Adapting The Nordic Rehabilitation And Reintegration Model To Positively Recondition The United States Criminal Justice System, Jessica Cornell

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

An analytical and statistical based comparison of criminal sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation and reintegration in the United States of America to those of the five countries which follows those of the Nordic Criminal Justice System.

Second Chances: Why Michigan Should Categorically Prohibit The Sentence Of Juvenile Life Without Parole, Richard Zhao

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The United States is the only country in the world that sentences children to die in prison. This practice, known as juvenile life without parole (JLWOP), is condemned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet twenty-five states still permit the sentence, and Michigan houses one of the nation’s largest JLWOP populations. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ban on some forms of JLWOP, more must be done to further limit the use of this sentence. The current JLWOP sentencing scheme is untenable, imposes a significant financial burden on taxpayers, and perpetuates racial inequality. This Note explores …

Juvenile Solitary Confinement And The Eighth Amendment, Taylor R. Graves

Honors Thesis

This literature review examines the practice of juvenile solitary confinement, applies the United States Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, argues that the practice should be declared unconstitutional as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, and calls for a categorical ban. The Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment states, “nor [shall] cruel and unusual punishments [be] inflicted.” U.S. Const. amend. VIII. Juvenile solitary confinement is cruel and unusual, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, because juveniles are different. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that juveniles should not be held to the same standards of …

Navigating A Potentially Changing Landscape In Child Welfare Appellate Review, Carolyn Altman, Robert Rodatus, Amanda Trimble

Mercer Law Review

Recently, the Georgia Supreme Court, in reversing the Georgia Court of Appeals decision as to a legitimation petition, held that the evidence was sufficient, by the appropriate standard of proof, for the trial court to deny the putative father’s petition to establish his legal rights to a child. This supreme court opinion, in reviewing the analysis of the court of appeals, illustrated an approach of the court of appeals in some child welfare cases to state a standard of review that defers to the trial court as trier of fact; but then, in de facto deference, to the rights of …

No Child Left Behind Bars: Applying The Principles Of Strict Scrutiny When Sentencing Juveniles Tried As Adults, Max Chu

William & Mary Law Review

The Commonwealth of Virginia was the first in the nation to pass legislation that provides judges with the discretion to veer away from the mandatory minimum sentence and to impose trauma-informed and age-appropriate sentences for juvenile offenders convicted of felonies and tried as adults. Although Virginia’s new law, House Bill 744 (HB 744), is a pioneering step in the right direction, this Note argues that the law may now provide judges with too much discretion. In other words, HB 744 alone, without more guidance, does not go far enough to protect the rights of juvenile offenders.

Therefore, this Note proposes …

Children’S Online Privacy: An Overview Of How Young People Use Social Media And How Lawmakers Seek To Better Protect And Empower Families Online, Zackary Blanton, Mark Gnatowski, Madison Jenkins, Rachel Kagan, Anabelle Roy, Libby Shaw, Bri Wendol, Monica Wilson-Reid

Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic

The goal of this white paper is to provide an overview of current and pending children’s online privacy legislation and a summary of online social media platforms commonly used by children and teens.

Trauma: Community Of Color Exposure To The Criminal Justice System As An Adverse Childhood Experience, André Douglas Pond Cummings, Todd J. Clark, Caleb Gregory Conrad, Amy Dunn Johnson

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unshackled: Stories Of Redemption Among Serious Youth Offenders, Julie E. Mcconnell

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In a series of decisions concerning child defendants, the United States Supreme

Court has embraced the understanding, based on adolescent brain

development, that the legal system must recognize children are different than

adults concerning criminal culpability and sentencing. That recognition, culminating

in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, led to the opportunity

for thousands of individuals across the country, initially sentenced

to death-in-prison sentences when they were minors, to gain a meaningful

opportunity for release. These cases permanently banned mandatory life sentences

for children. In Virginia, the legislature now allows reconsideration

of these cases through hearings before the parole …

Excessive Sanctions & Evolving Standards Of Decency: The Mitigating Nature Of Sexual Trauma For Juvenile Survivors Who Murder, Ingrid Hofeldt

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Bars To Bridges: Culturally Responsive Education Advocacy, Micaella Flores, Christine Otto

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

We'll explore tangible ways to advocate for BIPOC students who've experienced educational disruptions. We’ll discuss the methods and model The Bars to Bridges Program uses to successfully transition justice involved youth into their academic settings and maintain engagement in education.

Kelemahan Pelaksanaan Kebijakan Kriminal Terhadap Cyberbullying Anak Di Indonesia, Wenggedes Frensh

Indonesia Criminal Law Review

Advances in technology can create globalization that causes the world to be borderless. The rapid developing technology is information and communication technology. The development of information and communication technology is followed by the development of the internet which creates a cyberspace where crime is called cybercrime. One of the developing cybercrime is cyberbullying. In Indonesia, there are still weaknesses in the implementation of criminal policies against cyberbullying, so it is necessary to know the weaknesses in the cyberbullying criminal policies in Indonesia. The research method used is normative legal research (normative juridical) and empirical legal research (empirical juridical). The research …

An Ngo Input For The Special Rapporteur For The Human Rights Of Migrants To The Office Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights Report On Human Rights Violations At International Borders: Trends, Prevention, And Accountability, Katherine Kaufka Walts, Sarah J. Diaz, Abigail Mitchell

Center for the Human Rights of Children

The Center for the Human Rights of Children, in collaboration with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (“Young Center”) submits this input in response to the call for submissions made by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to inform the forthcoming report to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council regarding the United States’ current border management policies that aim to prevent migration atthe southern border. This input will focus on United States’ push back methods, namely the recently reimplemented Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) otherwise known as “Remain …

A Lineage Of Family Separation, Anita Sinha

Brooklyn Law Review

Family separation is a practice rooted in US history. In order to comprehensively examine the most recent execution of separating children from their parents under the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, we need to follow and understand this history. That is what this Article does. Examining the separation histories of enslaved, Indigenous, and immigrant families, it offers critical context of a reoccurring practice that has had devastating effects largely on communities of color, and across generations. By contextualizing the separation of migrant families crossing the US-Mexico border under zero tolerance, this Article identifies narratives that consistently rely on xenophobia and …

How To Improve Legal Representation Of Children In America's Child Welfare System, Donald Duquette

Law & Economics Working Papers

From 2009 to 2016 the University of Michigan Law School served as the National Quality Improvement Center on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System (QIC-ChildRep). This article provides the final recommendations of this project. These recommendations have not yet been published in the academic literature. This article first summarizes the research findings of the QIC-ChildRep project. Then it sets out QIC-ChildRep recommendations for: 1) Training and supervision of lawyers; 2) State statutes and rules governing lawyers for children; 3) State organizational structure to support child representation; 4) Strategies for recruiting lawyers in this specialty; 5) Caseload size; …

Negotiations In Juvenile Dependency: Addressing Power, Race, And Class Inequities, Akila Shenoy

UC Irvine Law Review

A primary goal of the juvenile-dependency system is the preservation of the family, yet this goal is undermined by the gross disparity in bargaining power that exists between parties and that disproportionately affects poor families of color. This Note argues that the systemic power imbalance within the dependency system that disadvantages parents and is exacerbated by racial and class bias can be ameliorated by incorporating objective criteria into proceedings, moving from an adversarial to problem-solving approach in negotiations, requiring cultural competency that acknowledges disproportionality and its sources, and expanding access to mediation. This Note proceeds in five parts. Part I …

Girls, Assaulted, I. India Thusi

Northwestern University Law Review

Girls who are incarcerated share a common trait: They have often experienced multiple forms of sexual assault, at the hands of those close to them and at the hands of the state. The #MeToo movement has exposed how powerful people and institutions have facilitated pervasive sexual violence. However, there has been little attention paid to the ways that incarceration perpetuates sexual exploitation. This Article focuses on incarcerated girls and argues that the state routinely sexually assaults girls by mandating invasive, nonconsensual searches. Unwanted touching and display of private parts are common features of life before and after incarceration—from the sexual …

Extraordinary (Circumstances) Injustice, Melissa Capalbo

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The box . . . . It’s a small room, so you really don’t move
around a lot. You wake up, and there’s a toilet right next to
your head. You look out the window and you see birds fly-
ing, and that only leads your mind into wanting freedom
more. And since it’s a small room, it makes you think cra-
zy. . . .Right now, I’m five-foot-seven. I grew. I came here
when I was five feet tall.

This is Rikers Island. The 19-year-old boy who shared his story is certainly not alone. Thousands of youth from …

Table Of Contents, Children's Legal Rights Journal

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

An Early Intervention Approach To Reducing Evictions And Improving Child Welfare, David A. Dana

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Juvenile (In) Justice: Reaffirming Idea's Application In The Juvenile Correctional Context, Jillian Morrison

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Extreme Religion, Extreme Beliefs: Comparing The Role Of Children's Rights In Extremist Religions Versus Extremist Cults (Qanon), Elizabeth Newland

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.