Law Commons^™

Foreign Migratory Divorces: A Reappraisal, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Article is to review and reappraise the important legal principles involved in foreign country migratory divorces; to discuss the various public policy rationales behind them; and to suggest possible remedies to alleviate much of this ambiguity and confusion.

In undertaking this evaluation, the author is mindful of dual responsibilities-that divorce law in this area should be predictable and uniform in order to maintain the authority of legal precedent; but at the same time it must attempt to approximate, as closely as possible, the clearly demonstrated needs of society.

Modification Of An Out Of State Child Custody Decree Under The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act And The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, Arlin F. Ruby

University of Richmond Law Review

Jurisdiction of child custody matters in Virginia is affected by both the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) as adopted in Virginia and the federally enacted Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980 (PKPA). This article analyzes the jurisdictional requirements under both Acts, discusses the interrelationship between the two and suggests a five step analysis by which a Virginia court may determine its jurisdiction in light of this authority.

Virginia Laws Affecting Churches - Restated, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

Twenty-five years ago, the late William T. Muse, then Dean of the University of Richmond School of Law, observed that although there was considerable law in Virginia relating to churches this law was widely scattered throughout the statutes and the cases. To remedy this state of affairs, Dean Muse wrote a concise but complete summary of these laws. In the quarter-century that has elapsed since Dean Muse's article was published, Virginia has adopted a new constitution, many church-related statutes have been enacted and a number of church-related cases have been decided, some of which have refined established principles and others …

Surrogate Mother Agreements: Contemporary Legal Aspects Of A Biblical Notion, Margaret D. Townsend

University of Richmond Law Review

After centuries of silence, modern man again harkens the voice of Sa-ah. With the decline in the number of children available for adoption and the apparent rise in infertility in this country over the past three decades, individuals unable to bear children are seeking alternative methods for becoming parents. Surrogate motherhood is one solution to the age old problem of childless families. A surrogate mother is a woman, married or unmarried, who agrees to have a child for a person who is incapable of giving birth. While the more common utilization of a surrogate occurs in situations where the wife …

Babies Behind Bars: Should Incarcerated Mothers Be Allowed To Keep Their Newborns With Them In Prison?, Donna L. Brodie

University of Richmond Law Review

Society's traditional approach to women offenders has been focused on "women as prisoners and not.., prisoners as women." Harsh implications for female offenders who are mothers can result from the view that incarceration not only curtails the prisoner's freedom of movement but also terminates many of the individual's civil rights as well. In reality, these women are doubly penalized with a prison sentence as well as temporary or permanent loss of their parental rights. Modern courts are beginning to recognize that "[a] prisoner retains all of the rights of an ordinary citizen except those expressly, or by necessary implication, taken …

Termination Of Indigents' Parental Rights After Lassiter:Ignoring Complexity And Protecting The Best Interests Of Psychological Parents, Roy M. Sobelson

University of Richmond Law Review

Of all the civil remedies a state may utilize against its citizens, perhaps the most severe is the termination of one's parental rights. Having been described as a "tearing of the flesh," it clearly represents one of our system's most egregious infringements on the fundamental rights associated with the raising of one's family. While little uniformity exists among the states in terms of grounds for termination, procedures, courts utilized, terminology, and standards of proof required at trial or on appeal, all states have some form of termination remedy available. Most terminations, whether made in conjunction with prospective adoptions or independent …

Doe V. Doe: Destroying The Presumption That Homosexual Parents Are Unfit- The New Burden Of Proof, Gary L. Caldwell

University of Richmond Law Review

In a recent decision concerning adoption, the Virginia Supreme Court declined "to hold that every lesbian mother or homosexual father is per se an unfit parent." This finding was apparently at odds with Virginia statutes outlawing marriages between members of the same sex and making it a criminal offense to engage in a homosexual relationship. In rejecting the trial court's use of a conclusive legal presumption that homosexuality is tantamount to a parent's unfitness, the justices closely examined the effects of the appellant's lesbianism upon her son to "determine whether the consequences of harm to the child of allowing the …