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Full-Text Articles in Family Law

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.


Bargaining In The Shadow Of The Best-Interests Standard: The Close Connection Between Substance And Process In Resolving Divorce-Related Parenting Disputes, Jana B. Singer Sep 2013

Bargaining In The Shadow Of The Best-Interests Standard: The Close Connection Between Substance And Process In Resolving Divorce-Related Parenting Disputes, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

This essay, written for a Symposium celebrating the child custody scholarship of Professor Robert Mnookin, examines the close connection between changes in substantive child custody doctrine and changes in custody dispute resolution processes over the past 30 years. Part I of the article explores how the widespread adoption of an unmediated “best interest of the child” standard, and the ensuing rejection of the sole custody paradigm, precipitated a shift from adversarial to non-adversarial resolution of divorce-related parenting disputes. Part II of the essay reverses the direction of the analytic lens and considers how the shift from adversarial to non-adversarial dispute …


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 …


The Three Waves Of Married Women’S Property Acts In The Nineteenth Century With A Focus On Mississippi, New York And Oregon, Joe Custer Aug 2013

The Three Waves Of Married Women’S Property Acts In The Nineteenth Century With A Focus On Mississippi, New York And Oregon, Joe Custer

Joe Custer

Paper starts with a brief section on early America and social reform that provides a background on why married women's property acts (MWPA's) passed when they did in nineteenth century America. After laying the foundation, the paper delves into the three waves in which the MWPA's were passed in the nineteenth century focusing for the first time in the literature on one specific state for each wave. The three states; Mississippi, New York and Oregon, are examined leading up to passage. Next, the paper will look into the judicial reaction of each State’s highest court. Were the courts supportive of …


From Sex For Please To Sex For Parenthood: How The Law Manufactures Mothers, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid Dec 2012

From Sex For Please To Sex For Parenthood: How The Law Manufactures Mothers, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid

Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid

As soon as sperm enter a woman, so do law and politics, or so the decades-long disputes surrounding abortion suggest. Now, however, renewed debates surrounding contraceptives show legal and political interference with women’s sexual and reproductive autonomy may actually precede the sperm. This Article argues that, increasingly, women even thinking about having sex are defined socially and legally as “mothers.” Via this broad definition of who is a “mother," the State extends its reach into women’s decision-making throughout their reproductive lifetime. This Article argues that the State simultaneously devalues women’s choices to have sex for pleasure, which this Article calls …


Dirty Harry Meets Dirty Diapers: Masculinities, At-Home Fathers & Making The Law Work For Families, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid Dec 2012

Dirty Harry Meets Dirty Diapers: Masculinities, At-Home Fathers & Making The Law Work For Families, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid

Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid

Who is the “man”? Implicit in that question is whether the man at issue demonstrates traits traditionally associated with masculinity: traits such as power, rejecting all things associated with being female, aggression, and being the family breadwinner. If a man, then, abandons paid work and stays at home full-time with his children, is he still a “man” as typically defined? The answer to this question bears both on whether families are truly evolving away from the gendered construct that places men as family breadwinners and women as caregivers and whether work-family balance law meets the needs of these—and all—families. This …