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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Future Of Polyamorous Marriage: Lessons From The Marriage Equality Struggle, Hadar Aviram, Gwendolyn Manriquez Leachman Aug 2014

The Future Of Polyamorous Marriage: Lessons From The Marriage Equality Struggle, Hadar Aviram, Gwendolyn Manriquez Leachman

Hadar Aviram

Amidst the recent legal victories and growing public support for same-sex marriage, numerous polyamorous individuals have expressed interest in pursuing legal recognition for marriages between more than two consenting adults. This Article explores the possibilities that exist for such a polyamorous marriage equality campaign, in light of the theoretical literature on law and social movements, as well as our own original and secondary research on polyamorous and LGBT communities. Among other issues, we examine the prospect of prioritizing the marriage struggle over other forms of nonmarital relationship recognition; pragmatic regulative challenges, like taxation, healthcare, and immigration; and how law and …


Navigating A Post-Windsor World: The Promise And Limits Of Marriage Equality, Nancy J. Knauer May 2014

Navigating A Post-Windsor World: The Promise And Limits Of Marriage Equality, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

When the 2013 landmark decision in U.S. v. Windsor invalidated part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), it was hailed as a landmark civil rights victory, but its implementation has been far from seamless. The federal government has not applied a uniform rule for marriage recognition, applying a state-of-domicile rule for some purposes (Social Security) and a broader state-of-celebration rule for others (e.g., federal tax matters). Moreover, Windsor did not directly address the state-level marriage prohibitions that remain in place in the majority of states. As a result, the United States continues to be a patchwork of marriage laws …


India: Supreme Court Recriminalises "Carnal Intercourse Against The Order Of Nature", Shubhankar Dam Mar 2014

India: Supreme Court Recriminalises "Carnal Intercourse Against The Order Of Nature", Shubhankar Dam

Shubhankar Dam

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 in s. 377 makes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal” punishable with imprisonment for life. In Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v. NAZ Foundation and others, reversing a 2009 decision of the Delhi High Court, India's Supreme Court concluded that the provision is constitutionally valid. As a result, India now rejoins 76 other jurisdictions in criminalizing same-sex behavior. The decision is for the most part poorly written and insufficiently reasoned, and the four strands of arguments, individually and collectively, leave much to be desired. This comment for the …


Marriage Equailty: Why Laws Restricting Same-Sex Couples' Rights Should Be Subject To Heightened Scrutiny Under Equal Protection Challenges., Cory A. Delellis Mar 2014

Marriage Equailty: Why Laws Restricting Same-Sex Couples' Rights Should Be Subject To Heightened Scrutiny Under Equal Protection Challenges., Cory A. Delellis

Cory A DeLellis

This thesis discusses why laws that restrict marital rights and recognition, on the basis of the couple’s sexual orientation, should be subject to a heightened or intermediate level of judicial scrutiny under Equal Protection challenges. This thesis addresses, analyzes, and suggests why sexual orientation – within the context of same-sex couples – should be considered a quasi-suspect class, rather than a non-suspect class, so that laws negatively impacting couples based on their sexual orientation are subjected to a fairer and more reasonable level of judicial scrutiny.


Same-Sex Divorce, Tracy A. Thomas Feb 2014

Same-Sex Divorce, Tracy A. Thomas

Tracy A. Thomas

Same-sex marriage is now legal in seventeen states and sixteen countries. The question increasingly being asked is how these couples can divorce. For those who remain in their home state or in a marriage equality state, the divorce process should be the same as for any other marriage. The problem arises because people are transient; couples often relocate for jobs or family, or they initially traveled out of their home state for the marriage. “In a highly mobile society, state bans on same-sex marriage have in many cases made untying the knot far harder than tying it in the first …


A "Bare ... Desire To Harm?" Marriage And Catholic Conscience Post - Windsor, Helen M. Alvare Jan 2014

A "Bare ... Desire To Harm?" Marriage And Catholic Conscience Post - Windsor, Helen M. Alvare

helen m alvare

No abstract provided.


Deeply Rooted Principles Of Equal Liberty, Not 'Argle Bargle': The Inevitability Of Marriage Equality After Windsor, Nancy C. Marcus Jan 2014

Deeply Rooted Principles Of Equal Liberty, Not 'Argle Bargle': The Inevitability Of Marriage Equality After Windsor, Nancy C. Marcus

Nancy C Marcus

"‘Argle Bargle,’ or Deeply-Rooted Principles of Equal Liberty? The Inevitability of Marriage Equality after Windsor" is an article that analyzes United States v. Windsor, the recent Supreme Court same-sex marriage opinion striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Although Justice Scalia’s dissent in Windsor dismisses the majority opinion, authored by Justice Kennedy, as legalistic argle bargle, this article explains that the Windsor majority opinion is, rather, a principled decision reflecting an evolved understanding of fundamental constitutional values. The article explains why the majority opinion should not be understood as one with a federalist holding that reserves to …


Beyond Paroline: Ensuring Meaningful Remedies For Child Pornography Victims At Home And Abroad, W. Warren H. Binford Jan 2014

Beyond Paroline: Ensuring Meaningful Remedies For Child Pornography Victims At Home And Abroad, W. Warren H. Binford

W. Warren H. Binford

This article considers how the United States could fulfill its international treaty obligations to support the full restoration of child pornography victims in the aftermath of the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Paroline v. United States. The article details how the United States provided leadership historically in creating a skeletal legal framework domestically and internationally to help combat child pornography and restore victims, and highlights how that framework is failing victims on a near-universal basis in an age dominated by technological innovation and globalization. The article proposes the adoption and implementation of effective domestic and international …


"Not Without Political Power": Gays And Lesbians, Equal Protection, And The Suspect Class Doctrine, Darren Hutchinson Dec 2013

"Not Without Political Power": Gays And Lesbians, Equal Protection, And The Suspect Class Doctrine, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

The Supreme Court purportedly utilizes the suspect class doctrine in order to balance institutional concerns with the protection of important constitutional rights. The Court, however, inconsistently applies this doctrine, and it has not precisely defined its contours. The political powerlessness factor is especially undertheorized and contradictorily applied. Nevertheless, this factor has become salient in recent equal protection cases brought by gay and lesbian plaintiffs.

A growing body of and federal and state-court precedent addresses the flaws of the Court’s suspect class doctrine. This Article discusses the inadequacies of the suspect class doctrine and highlights problems within the emerging scholarship and …


When Quacking Like A Duck Is Really A Swan Song In Disguise: How Windsor's State Powers Analysis Sets The Stage For The Demise Of Federalism-Based Marriage Discrimination, Nancy C. Marcus Dec 2013

When Quacking Like A Duck Is Really A Swan Song In Disguise: How Windsor's State Powers Analysis Sets The Stage For The Demise Of Federalism-Based Marriage Discrimination, Nancy C. Marcus

Nancy C Marcus

United States v. Windsor may, in the views of some, walk and talk like a federalist duck, but upon closer examination, the decision is not a federalist decision at all, but is, rather, a swan song for federalist-based marriage discrimination.
Leading up to Windsor, federalist-based arguments for marriage equality were advocated by the late twentieth-century minimalist movement, which viewed the judiciary as an ineffective agent of social change, and urged the narrowest of constitutional claims, pessimistic about the likelihood of broad individual rights claims to same-sex marriage rights. After Windsor’s release, some have interpreted it as being a federalist decision, …