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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Child Protection Pretense: States' Continued Consignment Of Newborn Babies To Unfit Parents, James G. Dwyer Sep 2019

The Child Protection Pretense: States' Continued Consignment Of Newborn Babies To Unfit Parents, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.


Parental Entitlement And Corporal Punishment, James G. Dwyer Sep 2019

Parental Entitlement And Corporal Punishment, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.


No Place For Children: Addressing Urban Blight And Its Impact On Children Through Child Protection Law, Domestic Relations Law, And "Adult-Only" Residential Zoning, James G. Dwyer Sep 2019

No Place For Children: Addressing Urban Blight And Its Impact On Children Through Child Protection Law, Domestic Relations Law, And "Adult-Only" Residential Zoning, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.


Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer Sep 2019

Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

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.


A Taxonomy Of Children's Existing Rights In State Decision Making About Their Relationships, James G. Dwyer Sep 2019

A Taxonomy Of Children's Existing Rights In State Decision Making About Their Relationships, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.


Properly Accounting For Domestic Violence In Child Custody Cases: An Evidence-Based Analysis And Reform Proposal, Debra Pogrund Stark, Jessica M. Choplin, Sarah Elizabeth Wellard May 2019

Properly Accounting For Domestic Violence In Child Custody Cases: An Evidence-Based Analysis And Reform Proposal, Debra Pogrund Stark, Jessica M. Choplin, Sarah Elizabeth Wellard

Debra Pogrund Stark

Promoting the best interests of children and protecting their safety and well-being in the context of a divorce or parentage case where domestic violence has been alleged has become highly politicized and highly gendered. There are claims by fathers’ rights groups that mothers often falsely accuse fathers of domestic violence to alienate the fathers from their children and to improve their financial position. They also claim that children do better when fathers are equally involved in their children’s lives, but that judges favor mothers over fathers in custody cases. As a consequence, fathers’ rights groups have engaged in a nationwide …


Adultery: Trust And Children, Margaret F. Brinig Mar 2017

Adultery: Trust And Children, Margaret F. Brinig

Margaret F Brinig

Deborah Rhode writes that while adultery is admittedly not good, it should not be criminal. She argues that it should not generate a tort action either, because the original purposes for which the torts of alienation of affections and criminal conversation come from a time with quite different views about marriage and gender, while no-fault and speedy divorce today give adequate remedies to the wronged spouse. Further, adultery should not affect employment (as a politician or in the military) unless it directly impacts job performance.

My own reluctance to disengage adultery and law stems from the seriousness of adultery. First, …


The One-Size-Fits-All Family, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock Sep 2016

The One-Size-Fits-All Family, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock

Margaret F Brinig

Family policy and the law based on it assume universals. That is, if marriage improves the welfare of the majority of couples and their children, it is worth pushing as a policy initiative. Further, laws will be written (or kept on the books) that privilege marriage over other family forms. Similarly, research that tells us that divorce harms children except following the relatively small number of highly conflicted marriages, spawns efforts to preserve troubled marriages or even to roll back liberal or relatively inexpensive divorce laws. With yet another example, since adopted children mostly do better than children left either …


Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig Aug 2016

Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig

Margaret F Brinig

To the extent that family law is governed by statute, all families are treated as though they are the same. This is of course consistent with the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution as well as those of the states. However, in our pluralistic society, all families are not alike. At birth, some children are born to wealthy, married parents who will always put the children’s interests first and will never engage in domestic violence. Many laws benefit these children, while, according to some academics, they either further disadvantage other children or at best ignore their needs. This Article …


Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2014

Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Mothers who are the victims of domestic violence face unique challenges in their quest for safety. The legal response to domestic violence requires that mothers respond to abuse in specific state-sanctioned manners. However, when mothers respond accordingly, such as by reporting abuse and leaving the abusive relationship, their safety and the safety of their children is not guaranteed. Moreover, by responding in state-sanctioned manners, mothers risk a host of negative consequences including increased threat to their immediate and long-term safety, the loss of their children, undesired financial, health, and social consequences, and criminal prosecution. On the other hand, when mothers …


Holistic Pregnancy: Rejecting The Theory Of The Adversarial Mother, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2014

Holistic Pregnancy: Rejecting The Theory Of The Adversarial Mother, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

In its zealous effort to protect the lives and health of unborn children, the law frequently views the expecting mother with suspicion. In its most extreme form, the law regards the potential mother as a potential murderess. This perspective does not reflect the nature of pregnancy, it undermines the autonomy of loving mothers, and it is detrimental to children. Regardless of whether there is any conflict between mother and fetus, the State presumes the mother to be a threat to her fetus and subjugates her rights as a result. The State interferes with the mother’s autonomy, bodily integrity, parental rights, …


Keeping Kids Out Of The System: Creative Legal Practice As A Community Child Protection Strategy, Leigh S. Goodmark Jul 2014

Keeping Kids Out Of The System: Creative Legal Practice As A Community Child Protection Strategy, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.


“Are We There Yet?” Immigration Reform For The Best Interest Of Children Left Behind, Lynne Marie Kohm, Keila Molina Jan 2014

“Are We There Yet?” Immigration Reform For The Best Interest Of Children Left Behind, Lynne Marie Kohm, Keila Molina

Lynne Marie Kohm

This article illustrates several important concerns that are at work for immigrating families and their children, while presenting options for federal and state government action to implement public policies for the protection of the best interests of children whose families are involved in immigration proceedings, particularly when children are left behind by deported parents. Part I considers the intersection of family law with federal immigration law and policy and its impact on the lives of children. Part II details the dilemma of a lack of federal planning for children left behind after parents are detained or deported; these are incredibly …


The Exploratory Study Of Custody And Visitation Rights For Children In Same-Sex Families, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr. Dec 2013

The Exploratory Study Of Custody And Visitation Rights For Children In Same-Sex Families, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.

Dr. Valencia T Johnson, PhD, EdD, Hon. D.Div, LLM, MS, BS

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 …


Institutionalized Silence: The Problem Of Child Voicelessness In Divorce Proceedings, Brandon Sadowsky Dec 2013

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 Oct 2013

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 Oct 2013

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 Oct 2013

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 Oct 2013

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 Oct 2013

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 …


The Exploratory Study Of Custody And Visitation Rights For Children In Same-Sex Families, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr. Sep 2013

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 …


Bringing Up Baby: Adoption, Marriage, And The Best Interests Of The Child, Robin Fretwell Wilson, W. Bradford Wilcox Jan 2013

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 …


Revisiting The Meaning Of Marriage: Immigration For Same-Sex Spouses In A Post-Windsor World, Scott Titshaw Jan 2013

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 …


Towards Determining Legal Parentage By Agreement In Israel, Yehezkel Margalit Jul 2012

Towards Determining Legal Parentage By Agreement In Israel, Yehezkel Margalit

Hezi Margalit

In Israel as in other parts of the world, families, parenthood, and relations between parents and children have changed dramatically over the past few decades. So, too, developments in modern medicine have enhanced the ability to separate sexuality from fertility and parenthood. Many researchers feel that the legal system has not kept pace with these changes, and that traditional models of familial relationships no longer provide adequate tools for dealing with them. In order to bridge the gap between a desired social status and current law, a growing number of parents seek to regulate the status, rights, and obligations of …


Determining Legal Parenthood By Agreement As A Possible Solution To The Challenges Of The New Era, Yehezkel Margalit Jul 2012

Determining Legal Parenthood By Agreement As A Possible Solution To The Challenges Of The New Era, Yehezkel Margalit

Hezi Margalit

Over the past decades, we witnessed changes in the matrimonial and parenting institutions. Medical innovations have further created ethical-legal dilemmas. It is, therefore, essential to create a theory and framework that will determine ways to deal with the resulting dilemma in a fully developed manner. This paper surveys the current, conflicting shifts in family structure and the definition of legal parenthood. In it, I deal with the importance and various aspects of defining legal parenthood. I will also focus on the singularity of this dilemma as it is increasingly apparent in the various fertility treatments. I present the sociological-legal roots …


Assessing Public Health Strategies For Advancing Child Protection: Human Trafficking As A Case Study, Jonathan Todres Dec 2011

Assessing Public Health Strategies For Advancing Child Protection: Human Trafficking As A Case Study, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

Ensuring the well-being of all children is one of the great challenges of our time. Despite concerted efforts in the United States to protect children, research reveals that millions of children suffer harm each year. Frequently, when policymakers and child advocates speak of “child protection,” they focus primarily on abuse and neglect in the home. Often, child protection does not contemplate violence against children in the community. The inside/outside-the-home divide is somewhat of a false dichotomy, however, as the two realms are interrelated. Children who suffer abuse and neglect in the home are frequently at heightened risk of exploitation outside …


Identifying Sperm And Egg Donors: Opening Pandora’S Box, Mary Kate Kearney Sep 2011

Identifying Sperm And Egg Donors: Opening Pandora’S Box, Mary Kate Kearney

Mary Kate Kearney

No abstract provided.


Children And Family Law: A Practitioner's Resource Guide, Jennifer Stevenson Prilliman Jul 2011

Children And Family Law: A Practitioner's Resource Guide, Jennifer Stevenson Prilliman

Jennifer S. Prilliman

No abstract provided.


The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)'S Merciful Reforms In The Conduct Of War: The Prohibited Acts, Muhammad Munir Dr. Dec 2010

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)'S Merciful Reforms In The Conduct Of War: The Prohibited Acts, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

This paper argues that Islam introduced far reaching reforms to warfare; that the conduct of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his successors does not to allow the burning and drowning of enemy to death. Destroying buildings, cutting down trees, committing perfidy, breaching the trust of the enemy, the killing of women, children, servants, old, infirm, sick, wounded, priests, peasants, prisoners of warand envoys is strictly against the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or his successors. The destruction of harvest, livestock and forests, looting, plundering and corruption from the war booty and indiscipline are prohibited as …


Sorry Ma'am, Your Baby Is An Alien: Outdated Immigration Rules And Assisted Reproductive Technology, Scott Titshaw Jan 2010

Sorry Ma'am, Your Baby Is An Alien: Outdated Immigration Rules And Assisted Reproductive Technology, Scott Titshaw

Scott Titshaw

The growing use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and legal recognition of same-sex relationships are raising questions regarding the recognition of parent-child relationships. State and foreign family law have been wrestling with these issues for decades, but U.S. immigration law is lagging far behind. So far, guidance exists on only one ART related issue under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA): whether a U.S. citizen transmits her citizenship to a child born abroad. Unfortunately, that guidance is contradictory. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) requires genetic kinship for citizenship transmission. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals focuses on the parents’ …