Law Commons^™

Consent To Medical Treatment By Minors In Massachusetts: A Guide For Practitioners, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This guide is designed for healthcare providers, social service agency employees, and other practitioners who connect young people with the medical care they need. While the age of consent for all medical treatment in Massachusetts is generally 18, those younger than 18 may consent to a wide range of services—even without parental authorization—depending on the circumstances. This guide also highlights the special consent issues that may arise for youth who are involved with the Department of Social Services and / or the Department of Youth Services. While these issues may seem complicated at first glance, the governing laws and regulations …

Taking On The Challenge: Phase I Of The Hyams Foundation Girls' Initiative, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This report describes Phase I of The Hyams Foundation’s funding initiative for eight programs providing direct services to girls in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts. Although the programs varied in their sophistication and experience with gender-responsive approaches, in each case the programs served girls who were court involved and worked with the state social services or juvenile justice systems. The monograph describes the work of the initiative’s Learning Community, participation in which was a requirement of funding, and findings from the Learning Community’s participatory action research. Notably, the report describes nine lessons learned from the funding initiative, which are useful for …

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: Parentage And Assisted Reproduction Problems Take Center State, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

Eyes Wide Shut: Erasing Women's Experience, From The Clinic To The Courtroom, Marybeth Herald, Ellen Waldman

Marybeth Herald

n his decade long exploration of female sexuality, Sigmund Freud professed to be on a mission to answer the elusive question, what do women want. Unfortunately, the 19th century psychiatrist was unable to separate that question from the one he ultimately answered, What do men want women to want? In some sense, Freud's inquiries provide an apt metaphor for the medical professions' stance toward female experience. When confronted with the difference presented by the female body as well as women's unique life experience, the medical field has responded with approaches that range from bemusement to hostility to intense indifference.

Although …

Domestic Torts, Robert Spector

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: "Same-Sex" Marriage Issue Dominates Headlines, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

Detention Reform And Girls: Challenges And Solutions: Jdai Pathways To Juvenile Detention Reform #13, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This report is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Pathways to Detention Reform Series. It describes the urgent need for juvenile justice systems to focus on their female populations and presents an overview of the pathways girls take into detention in the United States with a focus on justice system policies and practices that lead to unnecessary and disproportionate detention of girls. It then identifies promising policies, practices, and gender-responsive approaches drawn from JDAI sites, which can reduce girls’ detention and improve their outcomes. The report concludes with systemic strategies to eliminate gender bias …

The Formless City Of Plato's Republic: How The Legal And Social Promotion Of Divorce And Same-Sex Marriage Contravenes The Principles And Undermines The Projects Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Scott Fitzgibbon

Scott T. FitzGibbon

In the Republic, Plato describes a stage in social decay called “formlessness,” where all sorts of differences are accepted and none is preferred. No one need hold office or obey. People are impatient with all the ties that ought to bind them. Plato's formess city displays three deplorable features. One is the denigration of law and custom. A second is ethical skepticism or nihilism. A third is the repudiation of duty. These features also characterize the divorce culture and the same-sex marriage movement. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflects a philosophy quite the reverse of Plato’s formless city. Its …

Autonomy And End-Of-Life Decision Making: Reflections Of A Lawyer And A Daughter, Ray D. Madoff

Ray D. Madoff

What is the role of autonomy in end-of-life decision making? As a law professor specializing in this field I thought I knew the answer. As a family member facing end-of-life decisions of a loved one, I learned firsthand of the gulf between law and life.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: Children's Issues Remain The Focus, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: Increased Mobility Creates Conflicts, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

Girls In The Juvenile Justice System: Perspectives On Services And Conditions Of Confinement, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This report details the results of original survey and interview research on perceptions of Judges, Attorneys and girls in the juvenile justice system on conditions of confinement for girls in detention and post-disposition confinement.

Until Life Support Do Us Part: A Spouse's Limited Ability To Terminate Life Support For An Incompetent Spouse With No Hope Of Recovery, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

This paper deals with a MCS patient in California - a case that highlights our uncertain steps into state regulation of the end of life. After a 1993 automobile accident, 42-year-old Robert Wendland fell into the classification of a MCS with no hope of recovery. He had made no advance directives as to his health care. His wife of 20 years sought to withhold artificial feeding and hydration after three surgeries to replace Robert's feeding tube. The 20-member ethics committee at the hospital, Robert and Rose's three children (two were of college age), and Robert's brother, all supported her decision. …

Toward An Accommodation Of Divergent Jurisdictional Standards For The Determination Of Maintenance Obligations In Private International Law, Robert Spector

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: State Courts React To Troxel, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: Redefining Families, Reforming Custody Jurisdiction, And Refining Support Issues, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

Contributor, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Co-Founder, Artistic Noise, Inc., Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action: New Paradigms For Crossing The Theory/Practice Divide In Universities And Communities, Francine Sherman,, William Torbet,

Francine T. Sherman

This edited volume describes models of interdisciplinary collaboration in which universities and communities work together on participatory action research and social action. The university and community partnerships described in this volume are in the areas of education, law, psychology and organizational development and all share a vision of universities engaged collaboratively with communities. The volume is a resource for foundations, government and college and university administrators interested in exploring approaches to teaching and research that take students and faculty into communities for action research and ethical reflection.

Federalism And Family, Libby Adler

Libby S. Adler

This article takes up the axiomatic place of family law under federalism. Family is often depicted as belonging squarely in the state law domain, reflecting its nature as a matter of moral deliberation, rather than of, say, commerce or constitutional rights. This article demonstrates, however, that family law is a matter of federal law in an endless number of substantive areas, from immigration and taxation to privacy in the marital bedroom and the relative rights of putative and presumed fathers. It asks how the innumerable exceptions to the rule about family law’s place under federalism come to be rationalized. The …

Massachusetts Uniform Security Act, Scott Fitzgibbon

Scott T. FitzGibbon

Continually updated resource

Common Law Liability For Defective Opinions And How To Avoid It, Scott Fitzgibbon

Scott T. FitzGibbon

No abstract provided.

Medical Paternalism And The Rule Of Law: A Reply To Dr. Relman, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In this Article, Professor Baron challenges the position taken recently by Dr. Arnold Relman in this journal that the 1977 Saikewicz decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts was incorrect in calling for routine judicial resolution of decisions whether to provide life-prolonging treatment to terminally ill incompetent patients. First, Professor Baron argues that Dr. Relman's position that doctors should make such decisions is based upon an outmoded, paternalistic view of the doctor-patient relationship. Second, he points out the importance of guaranteeing to such decisions the special qualities of process which characterize decision making by courts and which are not …

Assuring "Detached But Passionate Investigation And Decision": The Role Of Guardians Ad Litem In Saikewicz-Type Cases, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The author focuses this Article upon the aspect of the Saikewicz decision which determines that the kind of "proxy consent" question involved in that case required for its decision "the process of detached but passionate investigation and decision that forms the ideal on which the judicial branch of government was created." This aspect of the decision has drawn much criticism from the medical community on the ground that it embroils what doctors believe to be a medical question in the adversarial processes of the court system. The author criticizes the decision from an entirely opposite perspective, arguing that the court's …

Live Organ And Tissue Transplants From Minor Donors In Massachusetts, Charles Baron, Margot Botsford, Garrick Cole

Charles H. Baron

This article examines the system of providing court approval for organ and tissue transplants from minor donors as it operates in Massachusetts. It focuses principally on the substantive interests of prospective donors and on the extent to which the current procedures afford them adequate protection. It begins by examining the requirement of consent and demonstrates the necessity of judicial authorization of minor donors' participation in transplant procedures. Next, it analyzes the current Massachusetts practice and assess its capacity to afford minor donors adequate protection from the possible dangers of serving as an organ or tissue donor. It suggests that the …