Law Commons^™

Left Hand, Third Finger: The Wearing Of Wedding (Or Other) Rings As A Form Of Assertive Conduct Under The Hearsay Rule, Peter Nicolas

Peter Nicolas

In this manuscript, I examine the social phenomena of making use of what I call “ring evidence” to determine an individual’s marital status or sexual orientation. More specifically, I note the common practice of identifying people as married based on the presence of a ring on the ring finger of the left hand, as gay and in a committed relationship based on the presence of a ring on the ring finger of the right hand, and as single based on the absence of a ring.

Next, I identify two problems with making use of ring evidence to draw conclusions about …

A Woman's Right To Be Spanked: Testing The Limits Of Tolerance Of S/M In The Socio-Legal Imaginary, Ummni Khan

Ummni Khan

What conditions must be in place for s/m sexuality to be tolerated in law and culture? In this article, I consider the film Secretary as a lens to explore the imaginative limits of our socio-legal culture regarding sadomasochism. In Part One, I compare Secretary to the film 9 ½ weeks. I deconstruct the narrative and aesthetic components of the two films that uphold their contrasting normative visions, arguing that Secretary did indeed chart new ground for the sadomasochist sexual subject. Yet, a close discursive analysis reveals that the narrative relied upon other hegemonies to make the s/m couple acceptable and …

Fractured Bonds: Policing Whiteness And Womanhood Through Race-Based Marriage Annulments, Bela August Walker

Bela August Walker

In the hundred years before the United States Supreme Court declared miscegenation statutes unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia, state courts decided thirteen recorded race-based annulment cases. This article presents a unified analysis of all race based annulment cases for the first time. Simultaneously public and private affairs, these dramas impacted far more than the individual couples or courtrooms, sending out shockwaves that reverberated beyond their points of origin. The results of the cases are startling and contrary to previous work on the subject. Using this unique set of cases, this article argues that while declaring these women “white” appears like …

The Disruption Of Marital Eharmony: Distinguishing Mail-Order Brides From Online Dating In Evaluating "Good Faith Marriage", Brandon N. Robinson

Brandon N. Robinson

ABSTRACT In today’s society, more and more people are turning to the information superhighway to find love. No longer confined to the girl or boy “next door,” many of today’s single men and women can connect with potential soul mates across the globe with the simple click of a button, symbolizing yet another consequence of a world community that is quickly becoming smaller and more interconnected. Once an international “match” has been made, the U.S. citizen can begin the complicated process of bringing his newfound loved one to the States. The IMO industry has a much more sinister underbelly, however, …