Law Commons^™

Hopefully Enduring: How North Carolina’S Divorce Laws Violate The First Amendment, Maren H. Lowrey

Child and Family Law Journal

The phrase “til death do us part” is both poetic and aspirational. It is the ubiquitous vow Americans make to one another when they marry[1] and embark on what is “hopefully enduring.”[2] But life does not always meet the aspirational marks we set and that is most true in the context of marriage and divorce. Each state enjoys nearly exclusive control over this intimate relationship, which results in different regulatory schemes across the United States.[3] Changes in Supreme Court jurisprudence over time ensured state regulation of marriage did not run afoul of the Constitution.[4] These decisions …