Law Commons^™

When Is A Battered Woman Not A Battered Woman? When She Fights Back, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh Goodmark

Over the past thirty years, the public, media, and the legal system have coalesced around a stereotypical image of the victim of domestic violence. Before the birth of the battered women’s movement, the assumption was that domestic violence happened to “them”—poor African American women who lived in slums. Advocacy by the battered women’s movement around the idea that domestic violence is endemic in all races, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic brackets, coupled with the introduction of “battered woman syndrome” and its reliance on the theory of learned helplessness to explain why battered women remained in abusive relationships, changed the portrait of …

Childsoldiers,Slavery, And The Trafficking Of Children, Susan W. Tiefenbrun

Susan W Tiefenbrun

Despite a proliferation of international human rights treaties, labor laws, and humanitarian laws that should provide children with special protection from abduction into child soldiering, the trafficking of children and their use as soldiers is increasing. This paper will examine the relationship of human trafficking, slavery, and child soldiering. Part I will examine the root causes of the development and expansion of child soldiers. Part II will examine the international and domestic laws that protect against the use of children as soldiers. Part III will examine two literary representations of the use of child soldiers and the significant insights such …

From State Of California V. Scott Peterson To State Of Utah V. Mark Hacking- Will More States Adopt Fetal Protection Laws? , April J. Walker

April J. Walker

No abstract provided.

The Illusion Of Transformative Conflict Resolution: Mediating Domestic Violence In Nicaragua, Leticia M. Saucedo, Raquel Aldana

Leticia M. Saucedo

In this article, we examine the implementation of mediation in domestic violence cases in Nicaragua as a case study of the transnational movement of alternative conflict resolution through rule-of-law reforms across the world. Unlike scholarship about mediation in the United States, the effects of mediation’s global implementation are undertheorized. This article examines the importation of U.S. style mediation and its implementation in domestic violence situations in developing countries such as Nicaragua where traditional legal systems are weaker than those institutionalized in the United States. In particular, we evaluate mediation as applied in Mulukukú, an isolated community in the rural north …

Streedhana And Mehr, Krishna Kumari Areti

Krishna Kumari Areti prof

Streedhana is the exclusive property of woman under Hindu Law. Mehr, which is also known as Dower, is also the exclusive property of woman under Islamic Law. But, both are very different and at the same time not different as both reflect the position of women in Indian society. Both are in monetary form and given at the time of or during the time of marriage or in connection with the marriage.

The Perils Of Marriage As Transcendent Ontology: National Pride At Work V. Governor Of Michigan, William B. Turner

William B Turner

National Pride at Work v. Governor of Michigan provides a unique opportunity to watch as courts struggle to define “marriage.” This is not a suit seeking recognition of same-sex marriages. It presents the question of whether an amendment to the Michigan state constitution prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriages or any “union” that is “similar” to marriage also prohibits public employers in the state from conferring benefits on the same-sex partners of their employees. The trial and appeals courts came to exactly opposite conclusions, and their respective positions nicely demarcate the options in what promises to be an ongoing debate in …

Butterfly Effects From The Life Of A Little Girl: A Book Review Essay Of Equal Justice: The Courage Of Ada Sipuel, Alfreda S. Daimond

Alfreda S. Diamond

The book review essay critiques Equal Justice: The Courage of Ada Lois Sipuel written by William Bernhardt and Kim Henry. It offers a short essay on the butterfly effects that one life had on the Civil Rights Movement and the quest for equal educational opportunity under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Reproductive Rights Of Tibetan Women In The Light Of International Women 'S Rights, Lhakpa Chodon

Lhakpa Chodon

While the world debates the legitimacy and morality of abortions, women in Tibet are subjected to involuntary and forced abortions and sterilization. The Chinese Family Planning Policies implemented in Tibet raises a serious question as to the reproductive rights of women, cultural and religious rights. Does these policies witholds the water in international women's instruments or human rights?

The Future Of Women In The Legal Profession: Recognizing The Challenges Ahead By Reviewing Current Trends, Maria P. Lopez

Maria Pabon Lopez

In 2004, the Indiana Supreme Court Race and Gender Commission undertook a large survey of lawyers’ perceptions about women in the legal profession in order to assess which areas of gender bias have improved and which areas could stand improvement. This article takes the data from this survey and interprets its significance for women in the profession and for the justice system overall. The article compares the findings from the 2004 study of Indiana lawyers to the findings of a similar earlier Indiana study (conducted in 1990) and draws conclusions regarding the overall occurrence of gender bias in Indiana along …

Like A Virgin? Virginity Testing As Hiv/Aids Prevention: Human Rights Universalism And Cultural Relativism Revisited, Erika R. George

Erika R. George

I explore the tensions between gender equality, personal autonomy and evolving cultural practices when a traditional practice that arguably violates universal international human rights and domestic constitutional norms also enjoys strong support—as is the case with virginity testing in South Africa. The practice of virginity testing has reemerged, advanced not only as a return to tradition but also as an HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. I examine the debates about virginity testing and its recent prohibition by the government in order to more fully consider the limitations of liberalism as the foundation for human rights when operating within a pluralistic cultural context …

Breastfeeding In The Workplace: Accommodating Women And Benefiting Employers, Melissa Martin

Melissa Martin

This article argues that accommodating women by facilitating breastfeeding in the workplace also benefits employers. It states that current legislation designed to protect women’s employment rights simply does not cover breastfeeding. It argues for a law protecting women’s right to breastfeed at work because it benefits the women, their children, and ultimately the employers.

Gender Matters: Making The Case For Trans Inclusion, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The transgender communities are producing an important and nuanced critique of our gender system. For community members, the project is self-constitutive and, therefore, has an immediacy that also marks the efforts of other marginalized groups who have attempted to make sense of the world through description, interrogation, and, ultimately, a program for transformation. The transgender project also has universalizing elements because, existing within the gender system, each one of us embodies a particular gender articulation. It is through this articulation that we define ourselves in relation to the gender we were assigned at birth, the gender we choose, the gender …

No Chance To Prove Themselves: The Rights Of Mentally Disabled Parents Under The Americans With Disabilities Act And State Law, Dale S. Margolin

Dale S Margolin

This article explores the relationship between state child welfare laws that terminate parental rights and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The article begins by analyzing the application of the ADA to termination of parental rights proceedings against parents with mental disabilities. It then surveys state child welfare laws, focusing on the treatment of parents under New York State law. The article concludes by advocating for a change to reflect the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act in state laws and in practice.

Community Notification And The Perils Of Mandatory Juvenile Sex Offender Registration: The Dangers Faced By Children And Their Families, Joanna S. Markman

Joanna S. Markman

The impetus for the creation of a separate juvenile justice system, as will be explained below, was the acknowledgment that children are not adults, and as such, do not have the capacity for rationale thoughts as do adults. Moreover, the juvenile justice system was derived to create a structure whereby rehabilitation would be the ultimate objective in devising juvenile punishment or, as it is referred to in the language of juvenile law, disposition.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to garner sympathy for the plight of the sexual offender. This Article is not designed to do so. Moreover, while it …

Intercountry Adoption And Poverty: A Human Rights Analysis, David M. Smolin

David M. Smolin

This Article explores the question of whether intercountry adoption is an effective, appropriate, or ethical response to poverty in developing nations. As a matter of methodology, this fundamental question of adoption ethics is explored through the lens of international human rights law. This Article specifically argues that, where the birth parents live under or near the international poverty standard of $1 per day, family preservation assistance must be provided or offered as a condition precedent for accepting a relinquishment that would make the child eligible for intercountry adoption.

The Personal Is Political--And Economic: Rethinking Domestic Violence, Deborah M. Weissman

Deborah M. Weissman

This Article seeks to expand the scope of the domestic violence discourse within the context of the theory and practice of legal strategies. The intent is to shift the analytical parameters beyond the criminal justice system to include the political economy of everyday experiences of households. Such a paradigm shift examines the conditions of the private sphere as a function of the circumstances of public realms. It considers domestic violence by linking it to the structural transformations of the U.S. economy during recent years. It assesses domestic violence from the perspective of the daily life of men and women who …

Weighty Speech: Addressing Body Size In The Classroom, Yofi Tirosh

Yofi Tirosh

The politics of body size has been the topic of intriguing feminist work. Although in my view this issue is still undertheorized, I have long sought for a way to bring what does exist in the literature into my academic activities. The opportunity arose when, as a graduate student at the University of Michigan in 2001, I taught an undergraduate mini-course in the women's studies program, which I named Weight as a Cultural Question.

This essay discusses two pedagogical challenges I faced while teaching a class. Both questions deal with the extent to which it is productive to talk about …

Making The Argument That Stalking Is Gendered, Caroline A. Forell

Caroline A Forell

This piece describes the author's experience writing an appellate brief and giving oral argument on the issue of whether gender can be considered regarding the perception of the purported victim in a stalking case in assessing the reasonableness of her alarm.

Some Dumb Girl Syndrome: Challenging And Subverting Destructive Stereotypes Of Female Attorneys, Ann Bartow

Ann Bartow

This Essay considers ways in which female attorneys confront sexism and stereotyping in the legal profession and in life, and strongly endorses embracing feminism, and wearing comfortable shoes.

The Political Economy Of Violence: Toward An Understanding Of The Gender-Based Murders Of Ciudad Juarez, Deborah M. Weissman

Deborah M. Weissman

This article provides an interpretive account of the political economy of violence localized in Cd. Juarez, Mexico. It examines the socioeconomic conditions attending decades during a period of rapid transformation to an export economy as the environment in which violence against women has assumed endemic proportions. The serial murders of women have been alternately problematized as deeds of criminal deviants, as a reactionary gendered responses to women replacing men in the wage labor force, and as the failure of the state to exercise local authority. This article argues for a more comprehensive analysis that includes the above theories without bracketing …

The Meaning Of Equality: Sexual Harassment, Stalking, And Provocation In Canada, Australia, And The United States, Caroline A. Forell

Caroline A Forell

Sexual harassment, stalking, and the criminal defense of provocation are three areas of law where the majority of injured parties are women and the majority of perpetrators are men. I examine how, in Canada, Australia, and the United States, two visions of gender equality, formal and substantive, have influenced the development of these areas.

Effective Assistance Of Counsel For Battered Women Defendants, Sarah M. Buel

SARAH M BUEL

That so many battered women defendants receive ineffective legal assistance ought to compel introspection and remedial action within the legal profession. A review of cases in which courts found the conduct of counsel unacceptable reveals an astonishing degree of incompetence, with catastrophic consequences for battered defendants. The problem is characterized by attorneys' failure to present defense theories linked to the abuse endured by battered women defendants and is further compounded by judges who refuse to apply the law. A battered woman defendant's case outcome is not so much predicated on the specific facts of her situation as on whom she …

Science, Identity, And The Construction Of The Gay Political Narrative, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

This Article contends that the current debate over gay civil rights is, at base, a dispute over the nature of same-sex desire. Pro-gay forces advocate an ethnic or identity model of homosexuality based on the conviction that sexual orientation is an immutable, unchosen, and benign characteristic. The assertion that, in essence, gays are "born that way," has produced a gay political narrative that rests on claims of shared identity (i.e., homosexuals are a blameless minority) and arguments of equivalence (i.e., as a blameless minority, homosexuals deserve equal treatment and protection against discrimination). The pro-family counter-narrative is based on a behavioral …

Rights Of Inequality: Rawlsian Justice, Equal Opportunity, And The Status Of The Family, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Is the family subject to principles of justice? In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls includes the (monogamous) family along with the market and the government as among the "basic institutions of society" to which principles of justice apply. Justice, he famously insists, is primary in politics as truth is in science: the only excuse for tolerating injustice is that no lesser injustice is possible. The point of the present paper is that Rawls doesn't actually mean this. When it comes to the family, and in particular its impact on fair equal opportunity (the first part of the the Difference …

Homosexuality As Contagion: From The Well Of Loneliness To The Boy Scouts, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

In the political arena, there are currently two central and competing views of homosexuality. Pro-family organizations, working from a contagion model of homosexuality, contend that homosexuality is an immoral, unhealthy, and freely chosen vice. Many pro-gay organizations espouse an identity model of homosexuality under which sexual orientation is an immutable, unchosen, and benign characteristic. Both pro-family and pro-gay organizations believe that to define homosexuality is to control its legal and political status. This sometimes bitter debate regarding the nature of same-sex desire might seem like an exceedingly contemporary development. However, the ex-gay media blitz of 2000 represents only the latest …

Same-Sex Domestic Violence, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

Same-sex domestic violence is a difficult topic. The LGBT communities have been reluctant to discuss same-sex domestic violence for fear of validating negative stereotypes and detracting from the push for legal recognition of such relationships. The relative silence on this issue continues despite the fact that individuals in same-sex relationships are more likely to be abused by their partners than beaten in an act of anti-gay violence. and despite legislative efforts to restrict domestic violence laws to cover only different-sex couples. The political downside of discussing same-sex domestic violence is obvious. Anti-gay organizations invoke same-sex domestic violence to bolster their …