Law Commons^™

The Negative Impact Of Service Member And Veteran Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) Rating Or Specter Of Ptsd On Child Custody Arrangements, Erhan Bedestani

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Elimination Of Child “Custody” Litigation: Using Business Branding Techniques To Transform Social Behavior, Elena B. Langan

Elena B. Langan

This article discusses how rebranding principles, already being used to alter social behavior in other non-consumer contexts, could be utilized to accomplish the legislative goal to reduce litigation as well as diminish animosity in custody cases. Part II of this article discusses the impetus for a transformation in the way parents view custody disputes. Part III discusses basic branding principles and how companies establish a brand and can successfully change their branding. Part IV explores the evolution of the current custody brand, identifies eight states that have eliminated “custody” and, in some cases, “visitation” from their vernacular, and discusses, in …

Mediator Or Judge?: California’S Mandatory Mediation Statute In Child Custody Disputes, Sofya Perelshteyn

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will argue that mandatory mediation offers important benefits, including lightening the overloaded court system and capitalizing on the flexibility and personalization of mediation in certain kinds of disputes. This article will also discuss how allowing the mediator to provide recommendations to the judge after unsuccessful negotiations can shatter the basic tenets of mediation and create an altogether different process for the dispute. Furthermore, it will argue that California’s mandatory mediation statute creates a system more akin to litigation, since the parties are presenting their case to a mediator who wears the hat of both mediator and judge. In …

The Elimination Of Child “Custody” Litigation: Using Business Branding Techniques To Transform Social Behavior, Elena B. Langan

Pace Law Review

This article discusses how rebranding principles, already being used to alter social behavior in other non-consumer contexts, could be utilized to accomplish the legislative goal to reduce litigation as well as diminish animosity in custody cases. Part II of this article discusses the impetus for a transformation in the way parents view custody disputes. Part III discusses basic branding principles and how companies establish a brand and can successfully change their branding. Part IV explores the evolution of the current custody brand, identifies eight states that have eliminated “custody” and, in some cases, “visitation” from their vernacular, and discusses, in …

Guardians Ad Litem Do Not Belong In Family Mediations , Suzanne J. Schmitz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

A Guardiam Ad Litem (GAL) is valuable to the resolution of custody disputes because the GAL evaluates the facts concerning the dispute and recommends to the court what are the best interests of the child.5 Mediation is valuable because parents can determine their own decisions regarding their children. However, where appointing a GAL threatens the value of mediation, there is a risk to mediation. A simple solution to avoid this threat is to refrain from appointing a GAL until after mediation has been attempted or, if one is appointed prior to mediation, to excuse the GAL from mediation. This article …

Pitfalls And Possibilities Of Using Technology In Mediating Cross-Border Child Custody Cases, The, Melissa A. Kucinski

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This paper will explore current efforts to ensure parents have the opportunity to elect voluntary mediation with a skilled international family mediator to resolve issues stemming from one parent traveling to another country with the parties' child, against the wishes of the co-parent. Additionally, this paper will explore, in general, the practical and substantive considerations in mediating a cross-border child custody case, with a focus on one issue of primary concern-the use of technology in these mediations. The paper will additionally include a discussion on whether technology will hinder or help resolution when considering cultural differences. Many mediators prefer to …

Objecting To Court Ordered Mediation, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Maryland judges have wide discretion to refer parties to mediate a variety of civil matters. Title 17 of the Maryland Rules, enacted in 1998, governs mediation of civil cases in the circuit courts. These rules are supplemented by Maryland Rule 9-205, which addresses mediation of child custody and visitation disputes. Although these rules define mediation and address mediator qualifications in some detail, they say very little about either a party's right to object to mediation or the court's authority to compel participation in mediation.

Given that the mediation rules are relatively new and mediation orders would generally be considered interlocutory, …

Divorce Child Custody Mediation: In Order To Form A More Perfect Disunion , Ben Barlow

Cleveland State Law Review

The adversarial process serves its purpose in our society; however, that does not mean that there are not better ways to handle specific cases. To that end, nonadversarial systems offer tremendous potential in civil litigation, in governmental relations, in neighborhood and family conflicts, and, especially, in divorce child custody cases. If mediation statutes are contemplated for the sole purpose of judicial economy, discretionary statutes are sufficient. For the true value of mediation to be experienced, however, a mandatory scheme containing safeguards for cases involving domestic violence should be implemented.Understandably, many mediators are leery of the effect that mandatory schemes have …

Who's Watching Out For The Children - Making Child Custody Determinable By Binding Arbitration - Dick V. Dick, Barbara E. Wilson

Journal of Dispute Resolution

"Many is the custody case which almost seems to outlive the parents .... To remedy this problem, many members of the legal profession advocate greater utilization of arbitration to include determination of child custody.' As state courts struggle to incorporate and interpret the Uniform Arbitration Act ("UAA") into child custody case law, the Dick case stands as the latest decision demonstrating the advantages and pitfalls of using binding arbitration to resolve custody disputes.

Child Custody Mediation: A Proposed Alternative To Litigation, Terri Garner

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Section II of this article describes the historical framework from which child custody mediation has developed. Section III discusses the process and procedures normally followed by a mediator in order to assure maximum, effective results. Section IV explains the role of the mediator including ethical considerations and problems faced by attorneys who wish to mediate the custody disputes of divorcing couples. Section V sets forth the results and conclusions of the Denver Custody Mediation Project (Denver Project), an influential study that has become the basis of encouraging mediation throughout the nation. Finally, Section VI discusses the advantages and disadvantages of …

Trial By Ambush Or Avalanche - The Discovery Debacle, Walter E. Oberer

Journal of Dispute Resolution

I fell in love with the law in 1946, during my first week in law school. It has been a torrid affair ever since. "Ever since" has entailed seven years of law practice followed by thirty-two years of law professing, eight of these as a dean. Against this backdrop of fealty, I had occasion recently to encounter the legal process as it presently, honest-to-God, exists. This encounter was not as a lawyer, not as a law professor, not as a consultant, not, that is, as a professional impersonally involved, but as the father of the mother in a child-custody case. …