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2000

Family Law

Journal

Custody

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Law

Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische Jan 2000

Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In 1996, the New York State Legislature mandated that rial courts consider the effect of domestic violence in child custody and visitation disputes. In 1998, the legislature amended the law to provide that, under most circumstances, a person convicted of murdering a child's parent shall be denied custody and visitation. The amendment was in response to a growing national trend to give greater attention to the serious effect domestic violence has on children. While the law now conveys the seriousness with which the legislature view domestic violence, many problems inherent in resolving custody and visitation disputes involving domestic violence still …


The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson Jan 2000

The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

A law guardian for a child has an extremely difficult job, one that arguably requires a higher degree of diligence than that of an attorney representing a competent adult. Yet, under New York law, the role of the law guardian for a child involved in a custody is not clearly defined. When domestic violence is involved, the law guardian's role becomes crucial. The role of the law guardian for a child in a custody case involving domestic violence has been expanded as a result of the enactment of chapter 85 of the 1996 Laws of New York. This article outlines …


Women, Children And Domestic Violence: Current Tensions And Emerging Issues Jan 2000

Women, Children And Domestic Violence: Current Tensions And Emerging Issues

Fordham Urban Law Journal

A symposium in which the conference speakers give a clear and disturbing picture of how we ascribe a kind of omnipotence to mothers vis-a-vis their children. If children are hurt, it is assumed that those at fault must be the mothers, and they are likely to be blamed even when it is the father who strikes the blows, lands the punchers or terrifies the child. Somehow, we imagine they should have been able to snatch the children out of harms way. The answer to this problem ultimately lies in making sure the ways victims of domestic violence think about their …


Charging Battered Mothers With "Failure To Protect": Still Blaming The Victim Jan 2000

Charging Battered Mothers With "Failure To Protect": Still Blaming The Victim

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Domestic violence harms children and families. In the past several years, efforts to recognize this harm have led to the passage of new state laws that allow for concurrent criminal and family court jurisdiction in domestic violence cases, mandate arrest in domestic violence situations and require courts to consider domestic violence as a factor in custody decisions. Unfortunately, the heightened awareness of the harm domestic violence causes children has also resulted in a punitive policy towards battered women in the child welfare system. Increasingly in New York City, abuse and neglect proceedings are brought against battered mothers. Their children are …


Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser Jan 2000

Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Many new laws and policies are emerging in the area of domestic violence. In 1994, the Legislature passed the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act- a complete overhaul of laws dealing with domestic violence in both the civil and criminal arean. The Legislature declared that domestic violence is now a crime. It is unfortunate that batterers are not always consider criminals when they seek custody of their children. If convicted of a stranger crime, courts are known to accord weight to the batterer's criminal history. When the victim is the child's mother, it seems to be another story. All …


The Uccjea: What Is It And How Does It Affect Battered Women In Child-Custody Disputes, Joan Zorza Jan 2000

The Uccjea: What Is It And How Does It Affect Battered Women In Child-Custody Disputes, Joan Zorza

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA") is the revised version The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act ("UCCJA"), which states are now being asked to adopt immediately in its stead. The UCCJA was the original model act for states to determine when they have jurisdiction to decide a custody case and when they must give full faith and credit to the custody decrees of other states. When the National Conference of Commission on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL") wrote the UCCJA in 1968, it sought to correct two major problems of its day: child abductions by family members and jurisdiction …