Law Commons^™

The Violent State: Black Women's Invisible Struggle Against Police Violence, Michelle S. Jacobs

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Opportunity Lost, Opportunity Found: A Proposal To Amend Maine's Rule Of Evidence 404 To Admit "Prior Acts" Evidence In Domestic Violence Prosecutions, Tina Heather Nadeau

Maine Law Review

In 2008, thirty-one people were the victims of homicide in the state of Maine. Even more startling: nineteen of these homicides stemmed from domestic violence, possibly the largest number of domestic-violence-related killings in the state's history. This means that nearly 70 percent of Maine's homicides in 2008 were the result of domestic violence. Amendments made in 2007 (and implemented in February 2008) to Maine's Criminal Code have criminalized particular instances of domestic violence as “enhanced” crimes of violence. This allows prosecutors to consider “prior acts” of domestic abuse when deciding how to charge a criminal defendant accused of a domestic-violence-related …

State V. Thurston: An Examination Of Assualt, Self-Defense, And Trespass In Relation To Domestic Violence, Megan E. Magoon

Maine Law Review

Darrell Thurston and Suzanne Harmon were romantically involved on an intermittent basis for five years and had one child together. As a result of an altercation that took place at Harmon’s home in Sullivan, Maine, on September 27, 2007, between Thurston and Harmon, Thurston was charged with assault, criminal mischief, and obstructing report of crime or injury. The testimony during the trial illuminated the major factual differences between Thurston’s and Harmon’s accounts of the night the incident took place. Thurston requested a self defense jury instruction based on his version of what had happened, which the trial court ultimately denied. …

Beware The Mammoni: My Search To Understand Domestic Violence In Italian-American Culture And Rhode Island's Family Court, Anne Grant

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Since I disapproved of stereotypes, I found myself trying to comprehend Italian-American culture after I became executive director of the largest shelter in Rhode Island for battered women and their children. Many of those I met were fleeing Italian-American men. On 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl reported from Italy about the large number of single men who still live with their parents and are known as mammoni, or “mama’s boys.” Their mothers dutifully cook and clean for them. The Roman Catholic Church’s view of the Holy Family reinforces mammoni culture. I learned that Rome’s founding legend starts with men …

Untangling The Court’S Sovereignty Doctrine To Allow For Greater Respect Of Tribal Authority In Addressing Domestic Violence, Lauren Oppenheimer

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Changing Needs Of The Workplace: Looking To State Statutory Expansions For Guidance On Fmla Reform, Christina Potter-Bayern

Labor & Employment Law Forum

No abstract provided.

A Call For Limiting Absolute Privilege: How Victims Of Domestic Violence, Suffering With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Are Discriminated Against By The U.S. Judicial System, Jerrell Dayton King, Donna J. King

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

The U.S. court system often traumatizes victims of domestic violence (“DV”) through institutional gender discrimination, which has plagued women throughout the United States since colonial American times. In many ways the court system becomes a participant in re-victimizing and continuing the abuse of the DV victim. Abusive power and control of women exposes them to DV in alarming numbers; this causes many DV victims to experience severe trauma that results in psychological injuries such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”). In the court system, the DV abuser enters the legal process with an advantage over his victim who suffers from PTSD. …

A-R-C-G- Is Not The Solution For Domestic Violence Victims, Lizbeth Chow

Catholic University Law Review

For over fifteen years, U.S. immigration authorities and courts have grappled with the idea of domestic violence as a basis for asylum. But in 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision indicating that victims of domestic violence may qualify for asylum. This Comment assesses the BIA’s decision and concludes that it is ultimately ineffective. This Comment further suggests that the only practical solution is for Congress to intervene. This Comment first provides a brief historical overview of asylum law to help elucidate the purpose of asylum law. It also provides an in-depth review of the elements needed …

Failure To Protect: Our Civil System's Chronic Punishment Of Victims Of Domestic Violence, Kate Ballou

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

This Note examines the effectiveness and enforceability of civil restraining orders in domestic violence cases in the wake of Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzalez, which held that there is no constitutional right to the enforcement of a restraining order. This Note analyzes the impact of Gonzales and the effectiveness of various restraining order statutory schemes more broadly. This Note subsequently addresses that as a result of experiencing continued contact from their attackers, victim mothers are more likely to have their children removed by the state in child welfare proceedings, due to the established presumption in most family courts that …

“Animals May Take Pity On Us”: Using Traditional Tribal Beliefs To Address Animal Abuse And Family Violence Within Tribal Nations, Sarah Deer, Liz Murphy

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Homicides: The Continuing Search For Justice, Caroline Anne Forell

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Overcoming Biased Views Of Gender And Victimhood In Custody Evaluations When Domestic Violence Is Alleged, Ruth Leah Perrin

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Conflicts Within Carceral Feminism: A Call To Revocalize The Women Who Continue To Suffer, Krishna De La Cruz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

United States V. Bryant, Lillian M. Alvernaz

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The epidemic of domestic violence committed against Native American women and the jurisdictional maze these women are forced to navigate for justice is an unfortunate reality created by gaps in laws between sovereigns. In an effort to curb this violence, the 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act enacted 18 U.S.C. § 117(a), the habitual offender provision. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling in favor of the Sixth Amendment over the unreliability of uncounseled tribal court convictions created a circuit split, thus the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari for resolution. The Court held that when tribal court convictions occur in …

Expert Workshop Session: The Global Child, Haley Chafin, Jena Emory, Meredith Head, Elizabeth Verner

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

“Finding The 'Public' In 'Public Disrepute” – Would The Cultural Defense Make A Difference In Celebrity And Sports Endorsement Contract Disputes? - The Case Of Michael Vick And Adrian Peterson, Toni Lester

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This article will explore this issue by engaging in case studies of the Vick and Peterson scandals to see what would have happened had the two men taken their claims against Nike to court. Part One will discuss the cases in more depth and elaborate on how they might be viewed through the lens of cultural relativity theory and the cultural defense. Part Two will elaborate on what morals clauses are and the legal standards courts use to enforce them. In addition to examining the Mendenhall decision, several other court cases will be discussed, each of which places differing levels …

Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig

Akron Law Review

To the extent that family law is governed by statute, all families are treated as though they are the same. This is of course consistent with the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution as well as those of the states. However, in our pluralistic society, all families are not alike. At birth, some children are born to wealthy, married parents who will always put the children’s interests first and will never engage in domestic violence. Many laws benefit these children, while, according to some academics, they either further disadvantage other children or at best ignore their needs.

This Article …

Domestic Violence Victims A Nuisance To Cities, Filomena Gehart

Pepperdine Law Review

Unless municipal nuisance ordinances change, domestic violence victims can face eviction just for calling the police. Nuisance ordinances generally impose fines on a property owner or landlord when the police are called to respond to incidents of crime a certain number of times at the same residence. Many nuisance ordinances also revoke a landlord’s rental license if a property is deemed a nuisance. However, many of these nuisance ordinances do not have an exception for incidents of domestic violence and, consequently, victims are scared to call 911 or request police assistance. This comment surveys the development of nuisance laws and …

Predicate Offenses, Foreign Convictions, And Trusting Tribal Courts, Alexander S. Birkhold

Michigan Law Review Online

Concerns about the reliability of criminal justice systems in foreign countries have resulted in uneven treatment of foreign convictions in U.S. courts. Federal courts, however, have historically accepted tribal court convictions as predicate offenses under recidivist statutes. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected the uncounseled convictions obtained against Michael Bryant, Jr., a serial domestic abuser, in the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court. The court dismissed a federal indictment that had been brought against Bryant under 18 U.S.C § 117, which makes it a felony to commit domestic violence against a spouse or partner in Indian country if the …

Matter Of A-R-C-G- And Domestic Violence Asylum: A Glimmer Of Hope Amidst A Continuing Need For Reform, Caroline Mcgee

University of Miami Law Review

In August 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) issued its first published decision recognizing domestic violence as a basis for asylum. In Matter of A-R-C-G-, the BIA held that a woman who had suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her husband in her native Guatemala qualified for asylum as a member of a particular social group. The landmark decision came after years of uncertainty regarding the viability of domestic violence asylum claims and fourteen years after the BIA had rejected domestic violence as a basis for asylum in Matter of R-A-. Parts I and II of this Comment …

Read This Note Or Else!: Conviction Under 18 U.S.C. § 875(C) For Recklessly Making A Threat, Maria A. Brusco

Fordham Law Review

What does it mean to make a threat, and under what circumstances can a speaker be convicted for making one? This Note examines these questions in light of Elonis v. United States, a Supreme Court case decided in June 2015. There, the Court held that when a speaker subjectively intends a statement be taken as a threat or knows that it will be taken as a threat, she may be convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The Court did not decide whether a speaker who recklessly makes a threat may be convicted under the statute. This Note argues that …

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Always Hurt Me: Why California Should Expand The Admissibility Of Prior Acts Of Child Abuse, Lindsay Gochnour

Pepperdine Law Review

This Comment seeks to explore the effect that the admissibility of prior bad acts evidence would have on child maltreatment cases and the benefits that would be afforded to child abuse victims if they were provided the same legal protections as victims of other crimes. This Comment argues that expanding the California Evidence Code to allow the admission of prior acts of psychological and emotional child maltreatment would make great progress for the protection of child abuse victims and the prosecution of their (often losing) cases.

Millennials, Equity, And The Rule Of Law: 2014 National Lawyers Convention, How First Amendment Procedures Protect First Amendment Substance, Erik S. Jaffe, Aaron H. Caplan, Robert A. Destro, Todd P. Graves, Alan B. Morrison, Eugene Volokh, David R. Stras

Catholic University Law Review

A panel, at the National Lawyers Convention, discussed procedure as it relates to First Amendment rights. The panel set forth how First Amendment procedures have historically protected First Amendment substance and discussed modern applications of the issue. For example, the prior restraint doctrine, overbreadth doctrine, the allocation of the burden of proof and relaxation of ripeness rules have important implications for challenging restrictions on speech and defending against libel and defamation.

The interaction of free speech and due process is often seen in litigation involving civil harassment orders, or civil protection orders. In many jurisidictions the definition of harassment permits …

Debunking The Myth Of Universal Male Privilege, Jamie R. Abrams

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Existing legal responses to sexual assault and harassment in the military have stagnated or failed. Current approaches emphasize the prevalence of sexual assault and highlight the masculine nature of the military’s statistical composition and institutional culture. Current responses do not, however, incorporate masculinities theory to disentangle the experiences of men as a group from men as individuals. Rather, embedded within contestations of the masculine military culture is the unstated assumption that the culture universally privileges or benefits the individual men that operate within it. This myth is harmful because it tethers masculinities to military efficacy, suppresses the costs of male …

University Of Baltimore Law Review Volume 45 Number 2 Spring 2016 Front Matter

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using The Nfl As A Model? Considering Zero Tolerance In The Workplace For Batterers, Deseriee A. Kennedy

University of Baltimore Law Review

"Domestic abuse is a workplace issue. '

The impact of domestic violence can increasingly be felt in the workplace, and it can adversely affect the safety and productivity of employees. Legislators and employers have begun to recognize the effect of domestic violence on employment, and many have adopted policies to protect the interests of domestic violence survivors. This article suggests that wider adoption of domestic violence policies are needed and these policies should be broadened to directly address batterers in the workplace. The article argues that employer based sanctions would increase batterer accountability and workplace safety. It uses the newly …

Improving The Emergency Medical Services System’S Response To Domestic Violence, Karen Oehme, Nat Stern, Elizabeth Donnelly, Rebecca Melvin

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

The article examines the need of a strategy in the U.S. for the emergency health care that would include an role for emergency medical services (EMS) in preventing domestic violence. Topics discussed include ways to increase the degree of consistency and accountability of the EMS system, training on domestic violence for EMS personnel, and requirement of universal screening of female patients for domestic violence.

Domestic Relations: Legal Responses To Wife Beating: Theory And Practice In Ohio, Nancy Grim

Akron Law Review

Legislation, like Ohio's Domestic Violence Act, has been heralded by battered women's advocates. Much discussion about the limitations of traditional remedies and institutional obstacles preceded the passage of such statutes; but it takes more than words in a statute to effect change. Statutory language can be interpreted in various ways and must withstand constitutional scrutiny. Every aspect of institutional involvement can promote or hinder the purposes of the Act. This comment examines Ohio's Domestic Violence Act in light of actual practice and interpretations. It is hoped that an analysis of the legal operation of the Act as well as extra-legal …

The Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order And The Role Of The Court, Michael J. Voris

Akron Law Review

The Domestic Violence Act, Amended Substitute House Bill 835, which passed in March of 1979, provided, for the first time in Ohio, both civil and criminal remedies for the victims of domestic violence.

This article will examine the civil remedies and offer compelling practical reasons why the civil remedy benefits a large number of victims. The judiciary bears a critical role in affording adequate legal protection to victims of domestic violence. It is this aspect, the role of the Referees and Judges and the problems they face in the application of the legislation in Common Pleas Court, that is the …

Refusing To Remove An Obstacle To The Remedy: The Supreme Court's Decision In Town Of Castle Rock V. Gonzales Continues To Deny Domestic Violence Victims Meaningful Recourse, Nicole M. Quester

Akron Law Review

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Castle Rock illustrates that more conscious efforts must be made by every branch of the legal system to eradicate domestic abuse. The entire legal system must work together to raise the curtain on domestic violence. Legislatures must continue to promote social change in the area of domestic violence, and courts must enforce legislation without questioning the legislature’s policy determinations. Police departments must enforce strict policies aimed at protecting the abused, while being held accountable when failing to provide any measure of protection. The legal system must heed a woman’s pleas for help and prevent court …