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Corporate Domestic Partner Benefits, James M. Donovan
Corporate Domestic Partner Benefits, James M. Donovan
James M. Donovan
Despite the common use of the term domestic partner, it remains unclear what that term means either in identifying a specific individual or in its relationship to the status of marriage. Is it a temporary substitute based on equity, or a challenger looking toward social reform? Because these positions are mutually exclusive, domestic partner benefits activists must clarify what it is they hope to achieve.
The justification for withholding equitable compensation tends to fall back on the federal DOMA and ERISA laws, which unquestionably complicate the benefits terrain. But experts agree that while these federal laws may serve as a …
Delimiting The Culture Defense, James M. Donovan, John Stuart Garth
Delimiting The Culture Defense, James M. Donovan, John Stuart Garth
James M. Donovan
This essay builds upon the arguments of Alison Dundes Renteln in her influential book, THE CULTURAL DEFENSE 2004), in which she argues persuasively for a uniformly recognized culture defense in certain litigations. Critiquing some of her details, we recast her three-prong culture defense test to more effectively balance the competing interests of minority culture members to have their ways of life taken seriously by the courts, and of members of the dominant tradition who wish to preserve the rule of law with its necessary perception as treating all parties equally. The offered formulation now includes the following five elements:
1. …