Law Commons^™

Friends With Benefits: Expanding Virginia's Domestic Violence And Mutual Protection Order Statutes To Include Reciprocal Beneficiaries, Faith A. Parker

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

On June 26, 2015, the Obergefell decision recognized same-sex marriage. While same-sex couples celebrated their new rights to marriage equality, they still face legal battles in the realm of domestic violence. Both married and unmarried same-sex couples face discrimination when reporting incidents of domestic violence. While most domestic violence statutes are gender-neutral on their face, their implementations disparately impact same-sex couples. Furthermore, domestic violence statutes that include same-sex couples punish same-sex couples more harshly than opposite-sex couples. This Note will examine the domestic violence law in Virginia, arguing that the laws are too vague to properly protect same-sex couples and …

Standby Guardianship For Incarcerated Custodial Parents, Lyla R. Bloom

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

When a child’s custodial parent is incarcerated, the child is left to either live with relatives who do not have the legal authority to make decisions for him or to live with strangers by way of the foster care system. This Note identifies standby guardianship laws as a means to better care for children of incarcerated parents by expanding an already existing legal framework. Currently, standby guardianship laws allow custodial parents suffering from debilitating illnesses to grant legal custody over their children to another adult for the length of their incapacity without terminating their own parental rights. This Note argues …

Mommy, Baby And Rapist Makes Three? Amid Abortion Bans, The Pressing Need For A Nationwide Lower Standard To Strip Parental Rights, Regardless Of A Rape Conviction, Melanie Dostis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Among the fundamental rights recognized in the Constitution are the rights of parents to raise their children. While never interpreted as an absolute legal privilege, courts have exercised wide discretion in preserving this right and historically ignored the reality that not all parents are deserving of this right. Even though the family law system has protections in place to terminate parental rights for atrocities like abuse, it largely neglects an uncomfortable area of parental origin: parental rights regarding children conceived by rape. This is not only to the detriment of children, but, as this Note argues, at the peril of …

Transracial Adoptions In America: An Analysis Of The Role Of Racial Identity Among Black Adoptees And The Benefits Of Reconceptualizing Success Within Adoptions, Jessica M. Hadley

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Consent In Marriage: A Radical Feminist Analysis Of Pakistani Law, Iqra Saleem Khan

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In Abdul Kadir v. Salima, Mahmood J summarised the nature of a Pakistani wife’s duties under Islamic Law. The nikkah contract “imposes submission on the wife when summoned to the couch and confers on him the power of correction when she is disobedient or rebellious.” Earlier, a similar pronouncement was made across the ocean in the United Kingdom by Sir Matthew Hale that through the marriage contract the “wife hath given herself to the husband, consent of which she cannot retract.” Marital rape was later recognised as an offence in the UK by the House of Lords in R …

Corporal Punishment, Social Norms, And Norm Cascades: Examining Cross-National Laws And Trends In Homes Across The Globe, Melissa L. Breger, Lucy Sorensen, Victor Asal, Charmaine N. Willis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

For centuries, parents across the globe have utilized corporal punishment against children in the name of discipline. This Article is the first legal article to examine cross-national trends in child corporal punishment laws and to propose ideas for reducing its practice using the social norms approach. By examining 192 countries over a 46-year period, we shed light on emerging patterns. Additionally, by delving into countries’ self-reports regarding their compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) treaty, we observe other unique patterns globally.

Notably, during the course of our empirical research and data collection (2017–2019), …

Leveling The Playing Field: Advancing Free Legal Aid For The Family Law Claims Of Ethiopian Women, Maereg Tewoldebirhan Alemayehu

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Ménage À What? The Fundamental Right To Plural Marriage, Renuka Santhanagopalan

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Parents And Their Children: Brazilian Case Law And Insights From Psychoanalysis, Helena Campos Refosco, Martha Maria Guida Fernandes

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article argues that maternal and paternal functions can be performed by same-sex parents from a psychological point of view. Consequently, the legal recognition of their relationship with their children meets the principle of human dignity pursuant to the Brazilian Federal Constitution.

Criminalizing Substance Abuse And Undermining Roe V. Wade: The Tension Between Abortion Doctrine And The Criminalization Of Prenatal Substance Abuse, Myrisha S. Lewis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion. Although other scholars have criticized prenatal substance abuse prosecutions based on various constitutional and public policy arguments, the tension between prenatal substance abuse prosecutions and the Supreme Court’s abortion doctrine has not been adequately examined. I argue that prosecuting women for the crime of prenatal substance abuse punishes women for not exercising their right to an abortion and could even incentivize some women to obtain abortions in order to avoid criminal prosecution. I also examine the science underlying abortion doctrine, fetal health, and substance abuse which reveals that (1) the right to abort …

Abortion, Moral Law, And The First Amendment: The Conflict Between Fetal Rights & Freedom Of Religion, Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The status of abortion as murder, and therefore amenable to governmental intervention and criminalization, has been asserted by those favoring limits on abortion. Opponents claim a superior right of privacy and/or equality exists under the Constitution, vesting in a woman the right to decide activities and actions that affect her physical corpus. The claimed interest of a State to protect the fetus is impliedly based on the concept of “morality” or “natural law,” specifically on the premise that feticide is violative of the basic code of conduct of societal norms. To my knowledge, until now, this is the first investigation …

Whole Foods For The Whole Pregnancy: Regulating Surrogate Mother Behavior During Pregnancy, Teresa Donaldson

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Permitting Abused Spouses To Claim The Earned Income Tax Credit In Separate Returns, Fred B. Brown

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Naiming The States Where Loving Will Be Recognized: On Tea Leaves, Horizontal Federalism, And Same-Sex Marriage, Mark Strasser

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Digging Beneath The Equality Language: The Influence Of The Fathers’ Rights Movement On Intimate Partner Violence Public Policy Debates And Family Law Reform, Kelly Alison Behre

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In 2004, a fathers’ rights group formed in West Virginia to promote “Truth, Justice, and Equality in Family Law.” They created a media campaign including billboards and radio spots warning about the dangers of false allegations of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, even offering a $10,000 award to anyone who could prove false allegations of abuse were used against a parent in a custody case. In 2007, they released a study concluding that seventy-six percent of protection order cases were unnecessary or based on false allegations, and warned that protection orders were often filed to gain leverage in …

Intimate Liability: Emotional Harm, Family Law, And Stereotyped Narratives In Interspousal Torts, Fernanda G. Nicola

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Tort liability expanded in the twentieth century, a shift scholars generally attribute to the reorganization of tort law around the fault principle. In privileging compensation and deterrence, this reconfiguration ended various restrictions on liability, long viewed as arbitrary, including limits to the recovery for emotional harm and interspousal immunities. Tort and family law scholars alike portray the end of such immunities as a milestone for gender equality. Their elimination enables spouses and partners to secure compensation for emotional and physical abuse arising in intimate relationships. Yet, tort law is not operating in this way. On the contrary, by endorsing a …

A Child Needs A Champion: Guardian Ad Litem Representation For Prenatal Children, Mark H. Bonner, Jennifer A. Sheriff

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Half Faith And Credit?: The Fifth Circuit Upholds Louisiana's Refusal To Issue A Revised Birth Certificate, Thomas M. Joraanstad

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Combined Impact Of Prwora, Fmla, Irc, Frd, Dppa, And Bapcpa On Single Mothers And Their Children, Pamela Gershuny

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Parent Is A Parent, No Matter How Small, Kendra Huard Fershee

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Every parent in America has constitutional rights to parent his or her children. If a parent is under the age of eighteen, however, those rights are tenuous. There is no question that adolescent parents face difficulties while trying to juggle school, parental responsibilities, work, their social lives, and more. Add to that long list of challenges the legal infirmities all minors share, and a picture of impending disaster begins to appear for the adolescent parent and his or her child. Furthermore, once a minor parent enters the family court system— instead of getting the services, training, and supervision that may …

"The Good Mother": Mothering, Feminism, And Incarceration, Deseriee A. Kennedy

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

As the rates of incarceration continue to rise, women are increasingly subject to draconian criminal justice and child welfare policies that frequently result in the loss of their parental rights. The intersection of an increasingly carceral state and federally imposed time-lines for achieving permanency for children in state care has had a negative effect on women, their children, and their communities. Women, and their ability to parent, are more adversely affected by the intersection of these gender-neutral provisions because they are more likely than men to be the primary caretaker of their children. In addition, incarcerated women have higher rates …

Nature And Nurture: Revisiting The Infant Adoption Process, Barbara L. Atwell

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Adopted children constitute approximately two percent of the United States’ childhood population, but are disproportionately represented in mental health settings, where they make up an estimated four to fifteen percent of the population. Science suggests that for those adopted at birth, this discrepancy may be due in part to their abrupt removal from the biological parents. We are now beginning to understand the importance of the bonding that takes place in utero and the infant’s awareness at birth. This article suggests three changes to the infant adoption process to align it with scientific knowledge. First, all adults involved in the …

Secular Rights And Religious Wrongs? Family Law, Religion And Women In Israel, Pascale Fournier, Pascal Mcdougall, Merissa Lichtsztral

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Spouse By Any Other Name, Deborah J. Anthony

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This article will investigate current state laws regarding the change of a husband’s name to his wife’s upon marriage. Given that tradition, and often law itself, discourage that practice, the lingering gendered norms that perpetuate the historical tradition will be explored. Components of this article will include a brief historical analysis of the origin of surnames and the law as it has developed on that issue, including an examination of the place of tradition in the law both empirically and normatively. A discussion of the psychological importance of names in the identities of men versus women will be addressed, as …

On Same-Sex Marriage And Matters Of Conscience, Mark Strasser

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Octomom And Multi-Fetal Pregnancies: Why Federal Legislation Should Require Insurers To Cover In Vitro Fertilization, Camille M. Davidson

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

On January 26, 2009, Nadya Suleman, dubbed Octomom by the media, delivered octuplets after using in vitro fertilization. The same day, Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York introduced the Family Building Act of 2009 in the United States House of Representatives—a federal mandate requiring insurers to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization. The octuplets are no longer headline news, but issues associated with in vitro fertilization are still newsworthy. In this paper I propose that Congress should take a serious look at the Family Building Act of 2009. After addressing some additional issues, Congress should pass legislation mandating that insurers …

The Meaning Of Marriage: Immigration Rules And Their Implications For Same-Sex Spouses In A World Without Doma, Scott C. Titshaw

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

An estimated 35,000 U.S. citizens are living in our country with same-sex foreign partners, but these couples have no right to stay here together on the basis of their relationship. Many of these Americans are faced with a choice between their partners and the country they love. This is true even if the couple is legally married in one of the growing number of U.S. states and foreign countries that recognize same-sex marriage. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines “marriage” for all federal purposes as an exclusively heterosexual institution, stands squarely in their way. Reform options that would …

Cryopreserved Embryos As America's Prospective Adoptees: Are Couples Truly "Adopting" Or Merely Transferring Property Rights?, Alexia M. Baiman

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Relationships And The Full Faith And Credit Clause: Reducing America To The Lowest Common Denominator, Rena M. Lindevaldsen

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article examines the legal and policy implications that arise when a state that expressly prohibits recognition or enforcement of any rights arising from a same-sex relationship is confronted with a request to register and enforce a child custody order issued by another state that gives custody or visitation rights to a biological mother’s former same-sex partner. As more states confer marital rights to same-sex couples, this issue will occur with increasing frequency. The first reported case in the nation to address the issue, Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins, has garnered attention from the national media, including a cover story in the …

Kairos And Safe Havens: The Timing And Calamity Of Unwanted Birth, Susan Ayres

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

It is impossible to know the number of infants killed or illegally abandoned at birth. No official reporting requirements exist, but conservative estimates claim that in the United States, 150-300 infants are killed within twenty-four hours of life and that over 100 infants are illegally abandoned. Beginning in 1999, in an effort to stem the problem of neonaticide and illegal abandonment, states began enacting laws to legalize abandonment. By 2008, all fifty states had enacted safe haven laws, which allow parents to anonymously abandon newborns by delivering them to designated providers, such as hospitals. This article provides a practical and …