Law Commons^™

The Legal Stranger: Colorado's Two-Legal-Parent Limit Leaves Nontraditional Families Behind, Allison K. Dudley

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Two Legal Mothers: Cementing Parental Rights For Lesbian Parents In Colorado, Maia Labrie

University of Colorado Law Review

Two married couples decide to have a child via artificial reproduction. One parent in each couple will carry and give birth to the child. The other parent has no biological relationship with the child.

One is an opposite-sex couple. Because they are married, they know that the father will automatically be considered the legal father. But the other couple is a lesbian couple. Leading up to the birth, the lesbian couple seeks out a lawyer and expresses concern regarding the nonbiological parent's legal status. Because both are women, they know their relationship to their child will be constantly questioned. How …

The Guardian Ad Litem As The Child's Privilege Holder, Starla Doyal

University of Colorado Law Review

Children in therapy have a strong interest in maintaining the confidentiality of communications with their therapists. Without the assurance of confidential communications, children may not be as open with their therapists, which can make therapy less effective. Although children have privilege rights to their psychotherapist-patient communications just as adults do, their parents generally hold and exercise that privilege. Many courts have recognized that a parent should not hold a child's privilege when the parent and child have divergent interests. This raises the question of who should hold the privilege in the parent's place. In L.A.N. v. L.M.B., the Colorado Supreme …

A Colorado Child's Best Interests: Examining The Gabriesheski Decision And Future Policy Implications, David Meschke

University of Colorado Law Review

Children in dependency and neglect proceedings are one of the most vulnerable groups in our legal system. Nationally, their legal representation comes in many forms. In Colorado, juvenile courts assign guardians ad litem (GALs) to children in these proceedings. GALs are lawyers who represent the children's best interests. For many years, GALs faced an ethical dilemma: should confidentiality, as proscribed by the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct, apply to the GAL-child relationship. In People v. Gabriesheski, the Colorado Supreme Court held that GALs are not their children's lawyers and, thus, confidentiality does not exist between GALs and children. While this …

Between Tradition And Progress: A Comparative Perspective On Polygamy In The United States And India, Cyra Akila Choudhury

University of Colorado Law Review

Both the United States and India have had longstanding experiences with polygamy and its regulation. In the United States, the dominant Protestant majority has sought to abolish Mormon practices of polygamy through criminalization. Moreover, a public policy exception has been used to deny recognition of plural marriages conducted legally elsewhere. India's approach to polygamy regulation and criminalization has been both similar to and different from that of the United States. With a sizable Muslim minority and a legal framework that recognizes religious law as family law, India recognizes polygamy in the Muslim minority community. However, it has criminalized it in …

Finding The Indian Child Welfare Act In Unexpected Places: Applicability In Private Non-Parent Custody Actions, Jill E. Tompkins

University of Colorado Law Review

In recent years, as an increasing number of Indian parents struggle with substance abuse and addiction, the number of abused and neglected Indian children is on the rise. Consequently, state child welfare agencies are overwhelmed, and caseworkers are only able to intervene in the most egregious situations. This understaffing of state agencies forces other family members and non-relatives to step in and care for these children. The federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 ("ICWA") was enacted by the United States Congress to stem the removal, often unwarranted, of an alarmingly high percentage of Indian children from their families through …

Child Welfare Law Office Guidebook: Best Practice Guidelines For Organizational Legal Representation Of Children In Abuse, Neglect, And Dependency Cases, Colene Flynn Robinson

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Rise Of The Organizational Practice Of Child Welfare Law: The Child Welfare Law Office, Leslie Starr Heimov, Amanda George Donnelly, Marvin Ventrell

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.