Law Commons^™

Doma Statutes And Same-Sex Divorce Litigation, Erica A. Holzer

Student Scholarship

For the purposes of writing a article on same-sex divorce, it became necessary to categorize the various state Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) statutes and constitutional amendments to analyze how each type of DoMA might handle a petition for same-sex divorce. In doing so, I developed six different categories: (1) No DoMA; (2) Definitional DoMAs; (3) DoMAs that void same-sex marriages; (4) DoMAs that explicitly deny benefits of marriage; (5) DoMAs that declare that there is no same-sex marriage to dissolve; and (6) DoMAs that explicitly prohibit same-sex divorce. This document shows which state DoMAs fall into each of these …

Defense Of Marriage Acts: A Fifty State Survey, Erica A. Holzer

Student Scholarship

This document includes every DoMA statute and constitutional amendment in all 50 states in alphabetical order as of January 31, 2012. The text of these laws is provided, as well as a link to the statute or constitutional amendment on Westlaw.

Look Before You Leap: Court System Triage Of Family Law Cases Involving Intimate Partner Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

Family courts are increasingly interested in matching parties with appropriate dispute resolution processes and related services. For many parties, especially those who are self-represented, triage of cases could be helpful and efficient. Nevertheless, implementation of triage in complex cases may bring unintended repercussions, and in the spirit of averting these, this Article identifies and discusses challenging issues that become apparent when triage systems are viewed through the lens of intimate partner violence.

Some questions about triage in the context of intimate partner violence were raised at the Wingspread Conference on Domestic Violence and Family Courts and explored more fully by …

Standards For Health Care Decision-Making: Legal And Practical Considerations, A. Kimberley Dayton

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the guardian’s role in making, or assisting the ward to make, health care decisions, and provides an overview of existing standards and tools that offer guidance in this area. Part II outlines briefly the legal decisions and statutory developments assuring patient autonomy in medical treatment, and shows how these legal texts apply to and structure the guardian’s role as health care decision-maker. Part III examines the range of legal and practical approaches to such matters as decision-making standards, determining the ward’s likely treatment preferences, and resolving conflicts between guardians and health care agents appointed by the ward. …

Anonymously Provided Sperm And The Constitution, Mary P. Byrn, Rebecca Ireland

Faculty Scholarship

Obtaining sperm to use in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is relatively simple. Hospitals, clinics, and sperm banks throughout the United States are in the business of selling sperm from literally thousands of men. Once a man is approved to provide sperm, he contracts with the sperm bank to supply sperm for a specified period of time and designates himself as either an anonymous or open-identity sperm provider. When a man chooses to provide his sperm anonymously, both the sperm provider and intended parents agree to complete anonymity – that is, the sperm provider can never know the parents or any …

Wedlocked, Mary P. Byrn, Morgan L. Holcomb

Faculty Scholarship

For as long as marriage has existed in the United States, divorce has been its necessary opposite. So strong is the need for divorce that the Supreme Court has suggested it is a fundamental right, and every state in the country allows access to no-fault divorce. For opposite-sex couples, legally ending their marriage is possible as a matter of right. For married same-sex couples, however, state DoMAs (Defense of Marriage Acts) have been a stumbling block – preventing access to divorce in some states. Same-sex couples in numerous states are being told by attorneys and judges that they cannot terminate …