Law Commons^™

The Strange Life Of Stanley V. Illinois: A Case Study In Parent Representation And Law Reform, Josh Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Publications

This Article helps describe the growth of parent representation through an analysis of Stanley v. Illinois—the foundational Supreme Court case that established parental fitness as the constitutional lynchpin of any child protection case. The Article begins with Stanley’s trial court litigation, which illustrates the importance of vigorous parental representation and an effort by the court to prevent Stanley from obtaining an attorney. It proceeds to analyze how family courts applied it (or not) in the years following the Supreme Court’s decision and what factors have led to a recent resurgence of Stanley’s fitness focus.

Despite Stanley’s requirement that states prove …

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.

In Re Sanders And The Resurrection Of Stanley V. Illinois, Josh Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Publications

In 1972, the Supreme Court in Stanley v. Illinois declared that parents are entitled to a hearing on their fitness before the state places their children in foster care. Somewhat oddly, Stanley went on to be cited as a leading case regarding the rights of unwed fathers to object to private adoptions favored by mothers -- an issue not present in Stanley. Odder still, most states routinely violated Stanley in child welfare cases -- the context in which the Stanley rule arose. Most states apply the "one parent doctrine," which holds that finding one parent unfit justifies taking the child …

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

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Law Enforcement: Camreta V. Greene, Child Protection Investigations, And The Need To Reform The Fourth Amendment Special Needs Doctrine, Josh Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Publications

The Fourth Amendment “special needs” doctrine distinguishes between searches and seizures that serve the “normal need for law enforcement” and those that serve some other “special need,” excusing non-law enforcement searches and seizures from the warrant and probable cause requirements. The Supreme Court has never justified drawing this bright line exclusively around law enforcement searches and seizures but not those that threaten important non-criminal constitutional rights.

Child protection investigations illustrate the problem: Millions of times each year, state child protection authorities search families’ homes, and seize children for interviews about alleged maltreatment. Only a minority of these investigations involve an …

Exporting Subjects: Globalizing Family Law Progress Through International Human Rights, Cyra Akila Choudhury

Faculty Publications

This article examines the global export of domestic U.S. legal projects and strategies in the realm of family law and gender justice to South Asia. While such projects have undoubtedly achieved substantial gains for women in the U.S., there have also been costs. At a remove of two decades, scholars have now begun to theorize those costs and argue that feminism needs to reconsider its commitments to particular projects that have been held central to women’s emancipation. Yet much of these critiques have not reached the transnational women’s movements that are led by U.S. feminist activists and scholars. Relying on …

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

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

(Mis)Appropriated Liberty: Identity, Gender Justice And Muslim Personal Law Reform In India, Cyra Akila Choudhury

Faculty Publications

This article argues that in order to emancipate Indian-Muslim women from an outdated family legal code, their position at the intersection of gender and a minority religion must be taken seriously. Proposals for reform that have been suggested by Western liberal, secular feminists that ignore the importance of women's religious affiliation fail to do this. Moreover, by making assumptions about the strength of secularism in India, the willingness of the state to enact legal reforms driven by gender concerns, and by failing to acknowledge the limits of formal rights alone in changing norms, these scholars do not account for the …

Principles Of U.S. Family Law, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

What explains U.S. family law? What are the origins of the current chaos and controversy in the field, the home of some of the most vituperative debates in public policy? To answer these questions, this Article identifies and examines family law's foundational principles. It undertakes a conceptual analysis of the legal practices that govern families. This analysis has yet to be done, and its absence hamstrings constructive thought on our family law. The Article develops a typology that conceptualizes U.S. family law and exposes its underlying principles. First, it identifies the significant elements, or rules, of family law. Second, it …

The Peculiar Federal Marriage Amendment, Scott Dodson

Faculty Publications

In this essay, I discuss the Constitution's commitment to three themes - state power over familial matters, individual liberty, and equality - and then demonstrate how the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment is uniquely contrary to all three. I do not intend to go so far as to suggest that the FMA would be an unconstitutional amendment, if such things are possible, nor do I mean to suggest that same-sex marriage is or should be affirmatively protected by the Constitution. I mean only to suggest that proposed amendments altering the Constitution's commitment to multiple existing themes in the Constitution should be …

Children's Interests In A Family Context - A Cautionary Note, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Right To Home Instruction?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

For Richer Or Poorer, 'Til Decree Do Us Part - A Spouse's Entitlement To Division Of Pension Funds And Professional Degrees As Marital Property, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Are You Going To Keep Them Down On The (Collective) Farm After They've Seen Chicago - A Minor's Right To Political Asylum Against His Parents' Wishes, Michael G. Hillinger

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.