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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Real Wrongs Of Icwa, James G. Dwyer Apr 2024

The Real Wrongs Of Icwa, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Haaland v. Brackeen rejected federalism-based challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) but signaled receptivity to future challenges based on individual rights. The adult-focused rights claims presented in Haaland, however, miss the mark of what is truly problematic about ICWA. This Article presents an in-depth, children’s-rights based critique of the Act, explaining how it violates a fundamental right against state exertion of power over central aspects of persons’ private lives to their detriment for illicit purposes. In fact, the Act’s defenders are complicit in the same sort of government violence that motivated ICWA’s enactment—erasing aspects of children’s heritage …


Smith's Last Stand? Free Exercise And Foster Care Exceptionalism, James G. Dwyer Jun 2022

Smith's Last Stand? Free Exercise And Foster Care Exceptionalism, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Part I first situates Fulton [Fulton v. City of Philadelphia] within two broader contexts—the clash between social equality rights for sexual minorities and religious freedom, and a pattern of eliding children from legal contests over their lives. It then explains why the standard constitutional framing of social equality versus religious freedom contests is improper when the state is acting as guardian and proxy for children or other non-autonomous persons. Part II sets out a proper framework for analyzing these conflicts, elucidating the scope and nature of the state’s parens patriae authority—a lacuna in constitutional jurisprudence. Part III applies …


The Most Dangerous Branch Of Science? Reining In Rogue Research And Reckless Experimentation In Social Services, James G. Dwyer Jan 2022

The Most Dangerous Branch Of Science? Reining In Rogue Research And Reckless Experimentation In Social Services, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Most people are unaware how much public policy is either lacking in any empirical-research support or driven by bad research. Political actors motivated by ideology or donor/constituent demands propose new government practices—in areas ranging from policing to funding of treatments for gender dysphoria in youth to welfare-qualification rules—that will greatly impact people’s lives, and if anyone asks what basis they have for thinking the impact will be good, they can readily find some study to support their case. Especially when powerless populations are put at risk, neither the legislative process nor peer review in the publication process provides a real …


Verified Amended Complaint By Next Friend James Dwyer Against Defendants Norfolk Department Of Human Services (Ndhs), James G. Dwyer Jul 2020

Verified Amended Complaint By Next Friend James Dwyer Against Defendants Norfolk Department Of Human Services (Ndhs), James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Homeschooling: A Response To Ahlberg, Howell, And Justice, James G. Dwyer, Shawn F. Peters Jul 2020

Homeschooling: A Response To Ahlberg, Howell, And Justice, James G. Dwyer, Shawn F. Peters

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


American Democratic Deficit In Assisted Reproductive Technology Innovation, Myrisha S. Lewis May 2019

American Democratic Deficit In Assisted Reproductive Technology Innovation, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

In many areas of innovation, the United States is a leader, but this characterization does not apply to the United States' position in assisted reproductive technology innovation and clinical use. This article uses a political science concept, the idea of the "democratic deficit" to examine the lack of American public discourse on innovations in ART. In doing so, the article focuses on America's missing public consultation in health care innovation. This missing discourse is significant, as political and ethical considerations may impact regulatory decisions. Thus, to the extent that these considerations are influencing the decisions of federal agency employees, namely …


Halted Innovation: The Expansion Of Federal Jurisdiction Over Medicine And The Human Body, Myrisha S. Lewis Dec 2018

Halted Innovation: The Expansion Of Federal Jurisdiction Over Medicine And The Human Body, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

Modern medical innovations are blurring the line between medical practice and medical devices and drugs. Historically, many techniques have been developed in medicine, without any interference from the federal government, as medical practice is (and has historically been) an area of state jurisdiction. Over the past two decades, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been exerting jurisdiction over the human body and the practice of medicine by targeting new medical techniques for oversight and subjecting the continued use of those treatments to onerous and legally questionable regulatory requirements that hinder the use of those treatments in practice. …


How Subterranean Regulation Hinders Innovation In Assisted Reproductive Technology, Myrisha S. Lewis Apr 2018

How Subterranean Regulation Hinders Innovation In Assisted Reproductive Technology, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

Most scholars believe assisted reproductive technology is subject only to minimal regulation, especially by the federal government. This belief, I contend, is wrong. In this Article, I examine agency documents, statements by officials, and letters that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent to physicians and researchers over the past fifteen years to reveal an overlooked regulatory program. The FDA has been targeting new forms of assisted reproductive technology that involve small genetic modifications (advanced assisted reproductive technologies or AARTs) through regulatory actions that receive little public, media, or scholarly attention. I term this method of regulation “subterranean …


Biology, Genetics, Nurture, And The Law: The Expansion Of The Legal Definition Of Family To Include Three Or More Legal Parents, Myrisha S. Lewis Apr 2016

Biology, Genetics, Nurture, And The Law: The Expansion Of The Legal Definition Of Family To Include Three Or More Legal Parents, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Book Review Of The Child Cases: How America's Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children, James G. Dwyer Apr 2015

Book Review Of The Child Cases: How America's Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Same-Sex Cynicism And The Self-Defeating Pursuit Of Social Acceptance Through Litigation, James G. Dwyer Jan 2015

Same-Sex Cynicism And The Self-Defeating Pursuit Of Social Acceptance Through Litigation, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Jailing Black Babies, James G. Dwyer Jan 2014

Jailing Black Babies, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Inter-Country Adoption And The Special Rights Fallacy, James G. Dwyer Oct 2013

Inter-Country Adoption And The Special Rights Fallacy, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Adopted Couple V. Baby Girl: Erasing The Last Vestigates Of Human Property, James G. Dwyer Jul 2013

Adopted Couple V. Baby Girl: Erasing The Last Vestigates Of Human Property, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer Jan 2013

Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Family law scholars have devoted much attention to equality among groups of adults and some attention to equality between groups of children. There has been little exploration, however, of the notion of equality between adults and children. In this Article, I first explain what it means at a basic, theoretical level to speak of such equality. I then identify some practical implications. Finally, I consider why there is great resistance to many practical implications of children's equality, even among those who would consider themselves advocates for child welfare.


Sex And Statutory Uniformity: Harmonizing The Legal Treatment Of Semen, Myrisha S. Lewis Jan 2013

Sex And Statutory Uniformity: Harmonizing The Legal Treatment Of Semen, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Misused Concepts And Misguided Questions: Fundamental Confusions In Family Law Debates, James G. Dwyer Jan 2013

Misused Concepts And Misguided Questions: Fundamental Confusions In Family Law Debates, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Age Of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition Of Adolescent Marriage, Vivian E. Hamilton Dec 2012

The Age Of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition Of Adolescent Marriage, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Age at marriage has for decades been the strongest and most unequivocal predictor of marital failure. The likelihood of divorce nears eighty percent for those who marry in mid-adolescence, then drops steadily. Delaying marriage until the mid-twenties reduces one’s likelihood of divorce to thirty percent. Women who marry at age twenty-one or younger, moreover – and one in ten U.S. women do – experience worse mental and physical health, attain less education, and earn lower wages than those who marry later. Post-divorce, they and their children tend to endure even greater economic deprivation and instability than do never-married mothers, who …


Making Sex The Same: Ending The Unfair Treatment Of Males In Family Law, Myrisha S. Lewis Oct 2012

Making Sex The Same: Ending The Unfair Treatment Of Males In Family Law, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Parents' Self-Determination And Children's Custody: A New Analytical Framework For State Structuring Of Children's Family Life, James G. Dwyer Jan 2012

Parents' Self-Determination And Children's Custody: A New Analytical Framework For State Structuring Of Children's Family Life, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Deporting Families: Poliltical Question Or Legal Issue?, Angela M. Banks Apr 2011

Deporting Families: Poliltical Question Or Legal Issue?, Angela M. Banks

Faculty Publications

Last year 245,424 noncitizens were removed from the United States, and courts played virtually no role in ensuring that these decisions did not violate individual substantive rights like freedom of speech, substantive due process, or retroactivity. Had these individuals been deported from a European country, domestic and regional courts would have reviewed the decisions to ensure compatibility with these types of rights. Numerous international law scholars and immigration scholars seek to minimize the gap between the legal processes offered in the United States and Europe for noncitizens challenging deportation orders. Many of these scholars contend that greater recognition of international …


No Place For Children: Addressing Urban Blight And Its Impact On Children Through Child Protection Law, Domestic Relations Law, And "Adult-Only" Residential Zoning, James G. Dwyer Apr 2011

No Place For Children: Addressing Urban Blight And Its Impact On Children Through Child Protection Law, Domestic Relations Law, And "Adult-Only" Residential Zoning, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Employment Division V. Smith For Family Law, James G. Dwyer Jan 2011

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Employment Division V. Smith For Family Law, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Bargaining In The Shadow Of God's Law: Islamic Mahr Contracts And The Perils Of Legal Specialization, Nathan B. Oman Oct 2010

Bargaining In The Shadow Of God's Law: Islamic Mahr Contracts And The Perils Of Legal Specialization, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Parental Entitlement And Corporal Punishment, James G. Dwyer Apr 2010

Parental Entitlement And Corporal Punishment, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


First Parents: Reconceptualizing Newborn Adoption, James G. Dwyer Jan 2009

First Parents: Reconceptualizing Newborn Adoption, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Constitutional Birthright: The State, Parentage, And The Rights Of Newborn Persons, James G. Dwyer Jan 2009

Constitutional Birthright: The State, Parentage, And The Rights Of Newborn Persons, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

State parentage laws, dictating who a newborn child's first legal parents will be, have been the subject of constitutional challenges in several U.S. Supreme Court and many lower court decisions. All of those decisions, however, have focused on constitutional rights of adults (especially unwed biological fathers) who wish to become, or to avoid becoming, legal parents. Neither courts nor legal scholars have considered whether the children have any constitutional rights that constrain legislatures and courts in deciding which adults will be their legal parents. If a state enacted a parentage law that said, for example, that any child born to …


Expressing Community Values Through Family Law Adjudication, Vivian E. Hamilton Jan 2008

Expressing Community Values Through Family Law Adjudication, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Child Protection Pretense: States' Continued Consignment Of Newborn Babies To Unfit Parents, James G. Dwyer Jan 2008

The Child Protection Pretense: States' Continued Consignment Of Newborn Babies To Unfit Parents, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Will Marriage Promotion Work?, Vivian E. Hamilton Oct 2007

Will Marriage Promotion Work?, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.