Law Commons^™

What Should Law Enforcement Role Be In Addressing Quality Of Life Issues Associated With Section 8 Housing?, D'Andre D. Lampkin

D'Andre Devon Lampkin

The purpose of this research project is to discuss the challenges law enforcement face when attempting to address quality of life issues for residents residing in and around Section 8 federal housing. The paper introduces readers to the purpose of Section 8 housing, the process in which residents choose subsidized housing, and the legal challenges presented when law enforcement agencies are assisting city government to address quality of life issues. For purposes of this research project, studies were sampled to illustrate where law enforcement participation worked and where law enforcement participation leads to unintended legal ramifications.

The Interstate Commerce Of Abortion: A Constitutional Argument For The Federal Invalidation Of Restrictive State Abortion Laws, Kaiya Amelia Lyons

Kaiya Amelia Lyons

No abstract provided.

From Reynolds To Lawrence To Brown V. Buhman: Antipolygamy Statutes Sliding On The Slippery Slope Of Same-Sex Marriage, Stephen L. Baskind

Stephen L Baskind

In 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas (striking Texas’ sodomy law), Justice Scalia predicted in his dissent the end of all morals legislation. If Justice Scalia is correct most, if not all, morals-based legislation may fall. For example, in recent years state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage have fallen to constitutional challenges. Ten years after Lawrence in 2013, a Utah Federal District Court in Brown v. Buhman, though feeling constrained by the 1878 Reynolds case (which rejected a First Amendment challenge to an antipolygamy law), nevertheless at the request of a polygamous family concluded that the cohabitation prong of Utah’s anti-bigamy …

The Inevitability Of Discretion: What Proponents Of Parenting Time Guidelines Can Learn From Thirty Years Of Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Joi T. Montiel

Joi T Montiel

For decades, the prevailing standard for a judge making a decision regarding parenting time has been “the best interest of the child.” Because the high degree of discretion afforded to a trial court by the best interest standard may render inconsistent and unpredictable results, the standard has been widely criticized. In the past half century, federal sentencing has undergone similar scrutiny. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines—“the most controversial and disliked sentencing reform initiative in U.S. history”—have substantially curtailed judicial discretion in an effort to ensure uniformity in sentencing. Several states have explored limiting judicial discretion in the area of parenting time …

Crying Wolf: The Use Of False Accusations Of Abuse To Influence Child Custodianship And A Proposal To Protect The Innocent, Robert W. Kerns Jr

Robert W Kerns JR

A false accusation of child abuse is one of the gravest offenses one can allege against a parent. In our society there exists a bright line standard that if a child is abused, the law steps in to shield the child from the attacker; but what happens when our legal system is manipulated so as to trick a court into protecting a child from an innocent parent? The welfare of a child cannot be recognized when he or she is fractioned from a qualified parent because an opposing parent cried wolf, and knowingly made false accusations against the other of …

The Internet Is The New Public Forum: Why Riley V. California Supports Net Neutrality, Adam Lamparello

Adam Lamparello

Technology has ushered civil liberties into the virtual world, and the law must adapt by providing legal protections to individuals who speak, assemble, and associate in that world. The original purposes of the First Amendment, which from time immemorial have protected civil liberties and preserved the free, open, and robust exchange of information, support net neutrality. After all, laws or practices that violate cherished freedoms in the physical world also violate those freedoms in the virtual world. The battle over net neutrality is “is absolutely the First Amendment issue of our time,” just as warrantless searches of cell phones were …

In The Name Of The Child: Race, Gender, And Economics In Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl, Bethany Berger

Bethany Berger

On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, holding that the Indian Child Welfare Act did not permit the Cherokee father in that case to object to termination of his parental rights. The case is ostensibly about a dispute between prospective adoptive parents and a biological father. This Article demonstrates that it is about a lot more than that. It is a microcosm of anxieties about Indian-ness, race, and the changing nature of parenthood. While made in the name of the child, moreover, the decision supports practices and policies that do not forward and may …

Homeschooling As A Constitutional Right: A Claim Under A Close Look At Meyer And Pierce And The Lochner-Based Assumptions They Made About State Regulatory Power, David M. Wagner

David N. Wagner

In 2012, a German family of would-be homeschoolers, the Romeikes, fled to the U.S. to escape fines and child removal for this practice, which has been illegal in Germany since 1938. The Sixth Circuit, in denying their asylum request, conspicuously did not slam the door on the possibility that if the Romeikes were U.S. citizens, they might have a right to homeschool. This article takes up that question, and argues that Meyer and Pierce, the classic cases constitutionalizing the right to use private schools, point beyond those holdings towards a right to homeschool; and that the permissible state regulations on …

An “I Do” I Choose: How The Fight For Marriage Access Supports A Per Se Finding Of Persecution For Asylum Cases Based On Forced Marriage, Natalie Nanasi

Natalie Nanasi

There is something special about marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court, in striking down anti-miscegenation laws, restrictions on the right to marry for disadvantaged groups, and most recently, the Defense of Marriage Act, has long recognized the marital union to be “sacred” and “fundamental to…existence.” Yet this analysis is dramatically different when courts consider asylum law, where a woman who is seeking refuge in the United States to protect her from a forced marriage abroad will likely be denied protection because the harm she fears is not considered to be a “persecutory” act. She may therefore be forced to spend a …

The Natural Rights Of Children, Walter E. Block

Walter E Block

No abstract provided.

Something To Lex Loci Celebrationis: Federal Marriage Benefits Following United States V. Windsor, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This article provides one of the first substantive treatments of United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court's recent same-sex marriage case. The article's thesis proposes lex loci celebrationis (the place of marriage) as the proper method for determining marriage for federal law purposes. Failure to adopt lex loci celebrationis may violate the Fifth Amendment equal protection guarantee or the constitutional right to travel. Further, adoption of the lex loci celebrationis standard furthers marital stability and predictability.

Daddy Warriors: The Battle To Equalize Paternity Leave In The United States By Breaking Gender Stereotypes; A Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Analysis, Abraham Z. Melamed

Abraham Z Melamed

No abstract provided.

The Parent Trap: The Unconstitutional Practice Of Severing Parental Rights Without Due Process Of Law, Kendra H. Fershee

Kendra H Fershee

In 1997, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) to stem what it perceived to be an overreliance by states on foster care to provide a safe place for children whose parents had been accused of abuse or neglect. Prior to ASFA, many children were placed in foster care for extended periods of time while their parents were evaluated for their fitness and rehabilitative efforts were made to reunify families. Congress considered the time children spent in foster care as damaging to them because it left them uncertain about where they would live in the future. Congress, in …

Position Of Authority Statutes In Athletic Programs: A Proposed Roadmap For The Model Penal Code Revisions In Response To Jerry Sandusky, Casey Schwab

Casey Schwab

Jerry Sandusky, in an interview with Bob Costas on NBC’s “Rock Center,” admitted to “horsing around” while showering with young boys. He denied any sexual misconduct despite this admission. Since his admission of “horseplay” but denial of sexual abuse, the American public has been calling for a broad statutory rule barring adult coaches from being present while young athletes are in the shower. The majority of the current relevant literature examines the consequences that follow once coaches are already convicted of sexual abuse – not how their convictions were reached. The cases in which a coach is accused of sexual …

Which Is Greater: The Right To Parent Or The Rights Of A Parent? The Legal And Ethical Quandaries When A Minor Child Diagnosed With Cancer Wishes To Utilize Oocyte Cryopreservation And Advanced Reproductive Technology For Future Procreation., Jessica M. Hallgren

Jessica M Hallgren

No abstract provided.

Caught In A Trap - Paternity Presumptions In Louisiana, Evelyn L. Wilson

Evelyn L. Wilson

This article takes a critical look at revisions to Louisiana's 2005 law on presumptions of paternity and advocates for a change so that the presumptions more often reflects the reality that a child born during a later marriage is the child of the mother's current husband and not the child of the mother's former husband, as the 2005 law now presumes.

Think Of The Children: Advancing Marriage Equality By Renewing The Focus On Same-Sex Adoption Litigation, Jacob M. Reif

Jacob M Reif

No abstract provided.

Strengthening The Guard: The Use Of Gps Surveillance To Enforce Domestic Violence Protection Orders, Amanda Rhodes

Amanda Rhodes

This essay examines the use of GPS surveillance in enforcing domestic violence protection orders. Part I explores the rationale for using GPS surveillance in domestic violence situations. Part II addresses the primary constitutional concerns associated with GPS monitoring in the domestic violence context. Finally, Part III discusses the effectiveness of GPS surveillance in domestic violence cases.

Statutory Presumption Of Domestic Batterers’ Unfitness As Parents: Lessons From Jordan V. Jordan, Kyle S. Karpowicz

Kyle S Karpowicz

This casenote analyzes the background and consequences 2011 D.C. Appellate Circuit decision of Jordan v. Jordan. This decision affirmed a lower court which found that though a statutory presumption of unfitness on the part of the father due to a finding of domestic violence, the presumption was rebutted and joint custody was awarded. The procedural elements of the statute and the decision are scrutinized, as well as how the decision comports with public policy and the legislative intent behind the statute.

Ncaa Football, Domestic Violence, And The Need For Reform, Hugo Israel Ortega

Hugo I Ortega

Because a disproportionate number of student-athletes abuse partners, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should adopt a new policy to adequately address the problem. The NCAA does not currently have a policy in place to deal with student athletes who commit domestic violence. Universities have failed to take the initiative or demonstrate leadership in handling these cases without any guidance or uniformity, which has led to significant problems. Several obstacles remain in the way of adopting a new policy. First, NCAA Football is a billion dollar business. Taking star athletes off the field for conduct relating to domestic violence could …

Defining Parenthood: Evolution Or Pendulum Swing?, Rufina D. Beem

Rufina D. Beem

This paper analyzes the evolution of the legal definition of a parent through the emergence of assisted reproductive technologies, surrogacy arrangements, and same sex marriage, with a particular emphasis on genetic ties and the marital presumption as determinative factors. It argues that the evolution in defining parenthood in recent decades may convert to more of a pendulum swing as societal views towards who can marry continues to change. If a greater portion of the population can benefit from the marital presumption in determining parenthood, then the legal definition will largely revert back to traditional roots. As such, the paper concludes …

Mandatory Reporting Of Abuse: A Historical Perspective On The Evolution Of States’ Current Mandatory Reporting Laws With A Review Of The Laws In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Leonard G. Brown Iii

Leonard G Brown III

Mandatory Reporting of Abuse: A Historical Perspective on the Evolution of States’ Current Mandatory Reporting Laws with a Review of the Laws in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The first states passed laws in 1963, following the publishing of a seminal article titled, “The Battered Child Syndrome.” By 1967, all fifty states had passed some form of mandatory reporting law. The federal government’s first major foray into the area of child abuse prevention occurred on January 31, 1974, when Congress enacted the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (“CAPTA”). CAPTA has no federal mandatory reporting provision, but rather requires states to …

Notification And Risk Management For Victims Of Domestic Violence, Jaime K. Dahlstedt

Jaime K. Dahlstedt

Technological advances have made possible the real-time enforcement of temporary and contested protection orders issued on behalf of victims of domestic abuse, particularly through global positioning satellite (GPS) monitoring of individuals who have been found to have committed domestic violence offenses and against whom stay away orders have been entered. Notwithstanding this capability, however, courts rarely impose GPS monitoring requirements alongside the safety provisions routinely imposed in domestic abuse cases.

This Article examines and critiques this prevailing practice. This Article argues that the procedural, substantive and logistical objections to GPS monitoring do not sufficiently justify the systemic failure to impose …

Babies Without Borders: Human Rights, Human Dignity And The Regulation Of International Commercial Surrogacy, Yasmine Ergas

Yasmine Ergas

In recent decades, a robust international market in commercial reproductive surrogacy has emerged. But, as German citizens Jan Balaz and Susan Lohle discovered when they struggled to engineer the last-minute diplomatic compromise that saved their commissioned twins from becoming wards of the Indian state, conflicts among legal frameworks have placed the children born at risk of being “marooned, stateless and parentless.” States have tried to address the individual dramas through ad hoc solutions – issuing emergency entry documents for children caught at borders or compelling administrative authorities to recognize birth certificates related to surrogacy arrangements that run counter to domestic …

Babies Without Borders: Human Rights, Human Dignity And The Regulation Of International Commercial Surrogacy, Yasmine Ergas

Yasmine Ergas

In recent decades, a robust international market in commercial reproductive surrogacy has emerged. But, as German citizens Jan Balaz and Susan Lohle discovered when they struggled to engineer the last-minute diplomatic compromise that saved their commissioned twins from becoming wards of the Indian state, conflicts among legal frameworks have placed the children born at risk of being “marooned, stateless and parentless.” States have tried to address the individual dramas through ad hoc solutions – issuing emergency entry documents for children caught at borders or compelling administrative authorities to recognize birth certificates related to surrogacy arrangements that run counter to domestic …

For Better And For Better: The Case For Abolishing Civil Marriage, Anibal Rosario Lebron

Anibal Rosario Lebron

This article examines – on the eve of next term U.S. Supreme Court’s review of same-sex marriage equality cases (The DOMA Cases) – whether extending the protections and benefits of marriage to more groups is the appropriate solution for attaining a more egalitarian society or whether it would be better to simply abolish civil marriage in order to achieve such a goal. The piece explores why we still adhere to the unequivocal definition of the family as a bureaucratized, monogamous, sexuated married couple with children, and how we could achieve familial disestablishment (requiring the state to recognize the existence of …

16 And Pregnant: Minors' Consent To Abortion And Adoption, Malinda L. Seymore

Malinda L. Seymore

A minor girl’s decision about the resolution of an unplanned pregnancy is a highly contested issue. Especially contentious is the minor’s ability to consent to an abortion without the assistance of an adult such as her parents or a judge. That issue has received substantial attention from policy makers, scholars, judges and legislators. Almost no attention has been paid, however, to the decision of a minor parent to continue her pregnancy, relinquish her constitutionally-protected parental rights and place a child for adoption. In 37 states, a minor’s abortion decision is regulated differently from the decision of an adult’s, while in …

Family Law's Challenge To Religious Liberty, Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

FAMILY LAW’S CHALLENGE TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY Raymond C. O’Brien ABSTRACT Towards the end of the 1960s, states began to enact no-fault divorce; eventually every state would permit marriages to be dissolved without extensive litigation, often on the ground of separation for a minimum period of time, or irreconcilable differences. Such innovative family law legislation challenged the heretofore dominant worldview, which viewed marriage as dissoluble only when circumstances were extreme. Throughout the 1970s an increasing number of adult men and women cohabited as same and opposite sex couples; their rights as nonmarital cohabitants protected under expanding Constitutional guarantees and judicial decisions. …

Family Law's Challenge To Religious Liberty, Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

FAMILY LAW’S CHALLENGE TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY Raymond C. O’Brien ABSTRACT Towards the end of the 1960s, states began to enact no-fault divorce; eventually every state would permit marriages to be dissolved without extensive litigation, often on the ground of separation for a minimum period of time, or irreconcilable differences. Such innovative family law legislation challenged the heretofore dominant worldview, which viewed marriage as dissoluble only when circumstances were extreme. Throughout the 1970s an increasing number of adult men and women cohabited as same and opposite sex couples; their rights as nonmarital cohabitants protected under expanding Constitutional guarantees and judicial decisions. …

Family Law's Challenge To Religious Liberty, Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

Raymond C. O'Brien Professor

FAMILY LAW’S CHALLENGE TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY Raymond C. O’Brien ABSTRACT Towards the end of the 1960s, states began to enact no-fault divorce; eventually every state would permit marriages to be dissolved without extensive litigation, often on the ground of separation for a minimum period of time, or irreconcilable differences. Such innovative family law legislation challenged the heretofore dominant worldview, which viewed marriage as dissoluble only when circumstances were extreme. Throughout the 1970s an increasing number of adult men and women cohabited as same and opposite sex couples; their rights as nonmarital cohabitants protected under expanding Constitutional guarantees and judicial decisions. …