Family Law Commons^™

Digging Beneath The Equality Language: The Influence Of The Fathers’ Rights Movement On Intimate Partner Violence Public Policy Debates And Family Law Reform, Kelly Alison Behre

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In 2004, a fathers’ rights group formed in West Virginia to promote “Truth, Justice, and Equality in Family Law.” They created a media campaign including billboards and radio spots warning about the dangers of false allegations of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, even offering a $10,000 award to anyone who could prove false allegations of abuse were used against a parent in a custody case. In 2007, they released a study concluding that seventy-six percent of protection order cases were unnecessary or based on false allegations, and warned that protection orders were often filed to gain leverage in …

A New Formalism For Family Law, Rebecca Aviel

William & Mary Law Review

Family law is simultaneously moving toward and away from formalist decision making. Examining family law across its various component doctrines—custody disputes, child support, jurisdiction, and parentage—reveals these two competing trends. In some of these areas, scholars and lawmakers have recognized that litigating under open-ended, amorphous standards is unpredictable and often painful, with costs that undermine the very purposes served by these legal frameworks; in these areas we are witnessing a turn toward determinate rules over judicial discretion as the preferred means of resolving disputes. In other areas, however, family law is experiencing a trend toward more flexible decision making that …

Stumbling Down The Courthouse Steps: Mediators' Perceptions Of The Stumbling Blocks To Successful Mandated Mediation In Child Custody And Visitation , Sandra J. Perry, Tanya M. Marcum, Charles R. Stoner

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Although many concerns and criticisms about the efficacy of family law mediation have been made by attorneys, judges, and psychologists, we seldom hear from the mediators themselves about how the process works. In this study, we examine the mediators' perceptions of the stumbling blocks to success in mandatory child custody mediation and make some recommendations about how the process might be improved.

A Child-Centered Response To The Elkins Family Law Task Force, Amy M. Pellman, Robert N. Jacobs, Dara K. Reiner

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In Elkins v. Superior Court, 163 P.3d 160 (Cal. 2007), California’s Supreme Court asked the Judicial Council to form a task force to make recommendations to increase “access to justice” in family court, because it was concerned about rules, policies, and procedures that put self-represented litigants at an unfair disadvantage in parentageand dissolution cases.

Neither the task force’s report in 2010 nor the legislation that the report inspired the same year addresses children’s due process rights, even though children ordinarily have no access to justice. This Article shows that due process sometimes requires the trial court to appoint counsel for …

Avoiding Another Eldorado: Balancing Parental Liberty And The Risk Of Error With Governmental Interest In The Well-Being Of Children In Complex Cases Of Child Removal, Andrew T. Erwin

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Relationships And The Full Faith And Credit Clause: Reducing America To The Lowest Common Denominator, Rena M. Lindevaldsen

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article examines the legal and policy implications that arise when a state that expressly prohibits recognition or enforcement of any rights arising from a same-sex relationship is confronted with a request to register and enforce a child custody order issued by another state that gives custody or visitation rights to a biological mother’s former same-sex partner. As more states confer marital rights to same-sex couples, this issue will occur with increasing frequency. The first reported case in the nation to address the issue, Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins, has garnered attention from the national media, including a cover story in the …

The Uses And Abuses Of Religion In Child Custody Cases: Parents Outside The Wall Of Separation, Joshua S. Press

Indiana Law Journal

Religious custody disputes such as those at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints compound in April, 2008 are very complex and are finding their way into courts with increasing regularity. This Essay argues that in responding to these religious custody disputes, courts should abstain from either analyzing a parent’s religious practices for their perceived “risks of harm” to the child, or from applying a flat rule to ensure that the custodial parent’s religious preferences take primacy. Instead, courts should employ the actual or substantial harm standard—which would only bar a parent from fully practicing her religion if …

Best Interests And Parental Presumptions: Bringing Same-Sex Custody Agreements Beyond Preclusion By The Federal Defense Of Marriage Act, Alison M. Schmieder

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Child Welfare's Paradox, Dorothy E. Roberts

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Child's Right: What Should The State Be Required To Provide To Teenagers Aging Out Of Foster Care, Katherine M. Swift

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Teenagers aging out of foster care face harms that can be traced to their lack of preparation for adulthood. This Article argues that teenagers in foster care have a substantive due process right to services not only while they are in state custody but also after they age out of care. The lower federal courts have interpreted the Supreme Court's decision in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services to mean that foster children-like prisoners and mentally retarded people held in state custody-have a substantive due process right to personal safety. What the courts have not considered is how …

The Psychological Consequences Of Judically Imposed Closets In Child Custody And Visitation Disputes Involving Gay Or Lesbian Parents, Nancy G. Maxwell, Richard Donner

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This article examines child custody and visitation cases in which courts operate under the assumption that parents who live openly as sexual minorities will harm their children. Based on this assumption, courts frequently impose restrictions on parents, requiring them to live closeted lives in order to have access to their children. Part I of this article introduces the concept of the judicially imposed closet as courts have applied it through several custody and visitation cases. Part II examines social science research concerning the psychological impact of "family secrets" on parents and children as well as research on sexual minority parenting. …

Two Mothers And Their Child: A Look At The Uncertain Status Of Nonbiological Lesbian Mothers Under Contemporary Law, Rachel E. Shoaf

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Unwed Fathers' Rights In Adoption: The Virginia Code Vs. The Uniform Adoption Act, Erin Green

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Parental Autonomy And Children's Welfare, Elizabeth S. Scott

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Breast Still Best: An Argument In Favor Of One Hiv Positive Mother's Right To Breastfeed, Monique Anikwue

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

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

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Children Of Homosexual Parents: The Voices The Courts Have Yet To Hear. , Eileen P. Huff

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Curing The "Every-Other-Weekend Syndrome": Why Visitation Should Be Considered Separate And Apart From Custody, Mark D. Matthews

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Content Analysis Of Judicial Decision-Making - How Judges Use The Primary Caretaker Standard To Make A Custody Determination, Kathryn L. Mercer

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Improving Custody Law In Virginia Without Creating A Rebuttable Presumption Of Joint Custody, Eliza B. Hutchison

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Religious Visitation Constraints On The Noncustodial Parent: The Need For National Application Of A Uniform Compelling Interest Test, Kevin S. Smith

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Breaking Up A Family Or Putting It Back Together Again: Refining The Preference In Favor Of The Parent In Third-Party Custody Cases, Carolyn Wilkes Kaas

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bottoms V. Bottoms: A Comment, Douglas A. Steinberg

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

"Entreat Me Not To Leave Thee": Bottoms V. Bottoms And The Custody Rights Of Gay And Lesbian Parents, Stephen B. Pershing

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

"Who Owns The Child?": Meyer And Pierce And The Child As Property, Barbara Bennett Woodhouse

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Infants--Change Of Custody

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Guardian And Ward--Jurisdiction To Award Custody, John Watson Cooper

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Relations--Custody Of Minor Children, Dennis Raymond Lewis

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Marriage And Divorce--Wife's Right To Suit Money In Action To Modify Original Decree As To Custody Of Children, A. F. G.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Parent And Child--Effect Of Payment By Bank Of Child's Deposit To Parent Not A Legal Guardian, R. Doyne Halbritter

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.