Law Commons^™

In controversial constitutional cases, courts sometimes grant the government an extended period of time to correct rights violations — what I call “remedial grace periods” — hoping that the postponed implementation of change will temper backlash. The most well-known example of such remedial delay followed the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education II. This Article spotlights a more recent remedial grace period. In Minister of Home Affairs v. Fourie, South Africa’s highest court ruled that depriving same-sex couples of marriage was unconstitutional. It could have implemented same-sex marriage immediately by reading it into law, but …

A growing number of men embrace childcare responsibilities traditionally associated with women. Yet fathers who wish to be caregivers often face impediments. Legal scholars have focused attention on one of these impediments, the lack of workplace paternity leave, by calling on the government to mandate leave for new fathers. In this Essay, I argue that the focus on workplace policies is much too narrow. In light of cultural norms in the United States, there will be difficulty passing national legislation mandating paternity leave. Moreover, men shoulder cultural pressure not to take paternity leave even when it is offered. This Essay …