Law Commons^™

Minor Distractions: Children, Privacy And E-Commerce, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Troxel V. Granville 120 S. Ct. 2054 (2000), Margaret Byrne

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Children Of Homosexual Parents: The Voices The Courts Have Yet To Hear. , Eileen P. Huff

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Foster Care: The Border Of Family Identity Maintaining, (Re)Creating, Destroying, Zanita E. Fenton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Agency In Battered Mothers, Elaine M. Chiu

Faculty Publications

Despite the progress of the last three decades, the American public and even feminists remain caught in a web of ambivalence and contradictory attitudes and beliefs about battered women. Are battered women traumatized victims who suffer at the hands of their individual abusers and from the systemic failures of a male-dominated culture? Are they, therefore, unable to save themselves or their children? In contrast, are these women survivors who manage to protect themselves as best they can under uniquely difficult circumstances? Do they deserve recognition for their efforts, or do battered women somehow contribute to or exacerbate their own abuse …

Surrogacy From The Perspectives Of Economic And Civil Liberties, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The field of law and economics, of which Judge Posner is the leading theorist, has offered a rich and sophisticated framework for thinking about a wide variety of problems at the interface of law and society. The theory, based on economic principles for understanding behavioral incentives and disincentives, is widely taught in law schools and is influential in scholarship. I have not always agreed with the application of the theory to complex problems of individual and group behavior, yet I constantly have been impressed with the elegance of the writing and analysis.

Judge Posner thinks about surrogacy arrangements in terms …

Self-Defense And Subjectivity, Victoria Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The law of self-defense has rarely produced as much academic or popular heat as it has in the past two decades. Widely publicized trials, such as the Goetz and Menendez cases, have generated deep-seated fears of a law unmoored from principle. Those fears have generated a standard public critique--that the criminal law has become too soft and subjective, too wedded to syndrome science and prone to weak-kneed affection for defendants. The criminal law has lost its "objectivity," so the argument goes. The poster child, and even the alleged cause of this development, is the battered woman.

In this article, the …

Natural Law, Marriage, And The Thought Of Karol Wojtyla, John J. Coughlin

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the loss of the natural law perspective from legal theory and the movement towards liberal theory. The Article continues by analyzing two features of the natural law tradition as described in the philosophical writings of Karol Wojtyla. The first feature concerns marriage and family as the fundamental human community. The second considers marriage as a virtuous relationship. The Article concludes with practical suggestions for the legal profession and legal education with regard to counseling clients about marriage.

Adjourning Justice: New York State's Failure To Support Assigned Counsel Violates The Rights Of Families In Child Abuse And Neglect Proceedings, Sheri Bonstelle, Christine Schessler

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment evaluates New York City’s framework for assigning counsel to Family Court litigants, known as the 18-B system. Recognizing the lack of government support for 18-B attorneys, the author examines existing proposals to alter the Family Court system, and suggests a plan of action for a legislative task force. The Comment outlines the evolution of the assigned counsel system in New York and the history of child welfare policy, and discusses the roles of the Family Court attorneys, judges, and the legislature in maintaining adequate representation for parents. Next, the author examines the aspects of the Family Court and …

Is Twenty-Two Months Beyond The Best Interest Of The Child? Asfa's Guidelines For The Termination Of Parental Rights, Katherine A. Hort

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note first discusses the legal precedents, child development theories, and policies regarding "reasonable efforts" and parental termination that led to the enactment of ASFA. Next, it examines Illinois's and New York's different responses to ASFA. It also introduces the debate over "congregate care" as an alternative for those children who may never be returned to a parent's care, but whom are unlikely to be adopted. Lastly, it argues that the New York system is more workable than the Illinois system given the complexities of the foster care system. This Note concludes by arguing the federal government's rigid time frame …

For The Best Of Friends And For Lovers Of All Sorts, A Status Other Than Marriage (Symposium: Unmarried Partners And The Legacy Of Marvin V. Marvin)" , David L. Chambers

Articles

American governments have recently begun to experiment with new familial statuses for gay male and lesbian couples, who have demanded the right to marry but have been appeased with more modest forms of recognition.4 What I propose here is quite different. It is a status for people who have close bonds but do not want to be married to each other. I call this status "designated friends." Once registered, "designated friends" would obtain a limited number of privileges and undertake a limited number of responsibilities relating to the care for the other when ill or incapacitated or upon death, but …

Divorce, Children's Welfare, And The Culture Wars, Elizabeth S. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

Are children harmed when their parents divorce? If so, should parents' freedom to end marriage be restricted? These questions have generated uncertainty and controversy in the decades since legal restraints on divorce have been lifted. During the 1970s and 80s, the traditional conviction that parents should stay together "for the sake of the children" was supplanted by a view that children are usually better off if their unhappy parents divorce. By this account, divorcing parents should simply try to accomplish the change in status with as little disruption to their children's lives as possible. This stance has been challenged sharply …

Care As A Public Value: Linking Responsibility, Resources, And Republicanism, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

I begin this Article with the preceding two statements concerning care for children because they focus on the relationship between resources and responsibility and capture two conflicting approaches to that relationship. The first statement resists a definition of "responsibility" that leaves out the work of social reproduction, that is, of caring for children and preparing them to take their place as responsible, self-governing members of society. Highlighting the lack of resources that poor parents face when tackling the work of social reproduction, the statement also suggests common ground among parents across class lines as to the importance of caring for …

Does Your Mediator Measure Up?: Standards Of Practice For Family And Divorce Mediation, Andrew Schepard, Ann Milne

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In most states, mediators are largely self-regulated. However, a variety of means have been developed to ensure that mediation services are provided in a competent and professional manner. Some regulation has been undertaken by state governments, courts, and professional associations. In addition, the Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation have been adopted by the American Bar Association (ABA), the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), and other state and local family and divorce mediation groups.

An Introduction To The Model Standards Of Practice For Family And Divorce Mediation, Andrew Schepard

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

On February 19, 2001, upon the recommendation of both the Family Law (FLS) and Dispute Resolution Sections, the American Bar Association's House of Delegates adopted the Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation (“Model Family Mediation Standards” or “Model Standards”), which are published in this issue of the Family Law Quarterly.

The aim of the Model Family Mediation Standards is to promote public confidence in an evolving, interdisciplinary profession by defining good mediation practice. The family mediation profession (which includes many lawyers) created the Model Family Mediation Standards in consultation with the family …

Feminism And Child Custody Under Chapter Two Of The American Law Institute's Principles Of The Law Of Family Dissolution, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

The Chief Reporter of the American Law Institute's Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution wrote in his introduction; "Children are necessarily at the heart of any set of principles of family law." My favorite chapter of the Principles is Chapter Two, entitled "Principles Governing the Allocation of Custodial and Decisionmaking Responsibilities for Children." As of this writing, Chapter Two holds the distinction of being the only portion to have been adopted by a state legislature. While other Chapters had Reporters who were women, Chapter Two not only had a feminist Reporter, but the "allocation principle" that forms the substantive …

Law, Marriage, And Intimate Commitment, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Does society have any interest in the stability of marriage per se - that is, apart from any concerns about the impact of divorce on children or financially dependent spouses? Should law try in any way to reinforce an ethic of commitment in marriage as a good in and of itself? . . . Two social trends make this a timely issue. First is the steady erosion of the link between marriage and procreation over the last generation. More married couples do not have children; more children are born outside of marriage. A second trend is the rise of unmarried …

Calibrated Commitment: The Legal Treatment Of Marriage And Cohabitation, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A couple of points are worth making at the outset of my argument. First, I speak in this Essay primarily about the extension of benefits to domestic partners, rather than the imposition of duties upon them. That is because this has been the focus of most of the debate about the legal treatment of married and unmarried couples. I readily acknowledge, however, that a fuller debate would consider not only when domestic partners should be given rights, but also when they should assume certain responsibilities. Indeed, as I will make clear, one reason for rejecting certain claims by unmarried couples …

Effective Advocacy Strategies For Girls: Promoting Justice In An Unjust System, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Year In Family Law: Redefining Families, Reforming Custody Jurisdiction, And Refining Support Issues, Robert Spector, Linda Elrod

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.

Contributor, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Co-Founder, Artistic Noise, Inc., Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

"True Human Community": Catholic Social Thought, Aristotelian Ethics, And The Moral Order Of The Business Company, Scott T. Fitzgibbon

Scott T. FitzGibbon

No abstract provided.

The Marital Partnership Pretense And Career Assets: The Ascendancy Of Self Over The Marital Community, Alicia B. Kelly

Alicia B. Kelly

No abstract provided.

Single Parent Families, Stephen D. Sugarman

Stephen D Sugarman

No abstract provided.

Explaining Intuitions: Relating Mergers, Contribution And Loss In The Ali Principles Of The Law Of Family Dissolution, Alicia B. Kelly

Alicia B. Kelly

No abstract provided.

Child Witnesses Of Domestic Violence: Third Party Recovery For Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress, Mary Kate Kearney

Mary Kate Kearney

No abstract provided.

Teoria, Metodo E Analise: As Interconexões Necessárias No Estudo Das Crianças E Das Famílias, Jonathan Tudge, Fabienne Doucet, Sherrill W. Hayes

Sherrill W. Hayes