Law Commons^™

Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret Brinig

Margaret F Brinig

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 US 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 presentation …

Judicial Settlement-Seeking In Parenting Disputes: Consensus And Controversy, Noel Semple

Noel Semple

The judicial role in child custody and visitation disputes has traditionally been understood as one of authoritative decision-making. However this new empirical research suggests that many family court judges prioritize the pursuit of voluntary settlement in pre-trial conferences, using evaluative and facilitative mediation techniques. Drawing on qualitative interviews with judges and other family law professionals in Toronto and New York City, this article identifies points of consensus and controversy among settlement-seeking family judges. Despite the general support for settlement-seeking, there are substantial differences of opinion regarding coercion, due process, and the meaning of the best interests of the child standard.

Judicial Settlement-Seeking In Parenting Disputes: Consensus And Controversy, Noel Semple

Noel Semple

The judicial role in child custody and visitation disputes has traditionally been understood as one of authoritative decision-making. However this new empirical research suggests that many family court judges prioritize the pursuit of voluntary settlement in pre-trial conferences, using evaluative and facilitative mediation techniques. Drawing on qualitative interviews with judges and other family law professionals in Toronto and New York City, this article identifies points of consensus and controversy among settlement-seeking family judges. Despite the general support for settlement-seeking, there are substantial differences of opinion regarding coercion, due process, and the meaning of the best interests of the child standard.

Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig

Margaret F Brinig

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 …

Harrison V. Harrison, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 56 (Jul. 28, 2016), Douglas H. Smith

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that a district court’s written order concerning the custody of two minor children did not violate public policy when its stipulations provided (1) that it was within the discretion of each minor child, after reaching the age of 14, to decide how much time to spend with either of their divorced parents as long as the original arrangement for joint physical custody remained intact, and (2) that a “parent coordinator” would be appointed to resolve disputes and whose role could be defined by a written district court order. Three justices dissented that the first provision encroaches on …

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 …

When Loss Of Legal Custody Is Like An Indeterminate Prison Sentence: Ohio's Elimination Of Indigent Parents' Right To Court Appointed Counsel In Civil Custody Suits, Renee Brunett

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Biology, Genetics, Nurture, And The Law: The Expansion Of The Legal Definition Of Family To Include Three Or More Parents, Myrisha S. Lewis

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Parental Alienation Syndrome: Fact Or Fiction? The Problem With Its Use In Child Custody Cases, Holly Smith

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Parental alienation syndrome is an alleged disorder that was first coined by Dr. Richard Gardner in 1985. Dr. Gardner defined this alleged syndrome as one that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes and involves a child’s unjustified denigration against a parent. Although more than thirty years have passed since parental alienation syndrome was first introduced by Dr. Gardner, it is yet to be recognized or accepted in the medical community. Moreover, there are also legitimate questions concerning the alleged syndrome’s admissibility and reliability as evidence in family law proceedings, and the negative effects parental alienation syndrome poses on …

The Supreme Court's Love-Hate Relationship With Miranda, Kit Kinports

Kit Kinports

In recent years, the Supreme Court has enjoyed a love-hate relationship with its landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona. While the Court has not hesitated to narrow Miranda’s reach, it has also been wary of deliberate efforts to circumvent it. This pragmatic approach to Miranda can be doctrinally unsatisfying and even incoherent at times, but it basically maintains the core structure of Miranda as the police have come to know and adapt to it. Last Term provided the first glimpse of the Roberts Court’s views on Miranda, as the Court considered three Miranda cases: Maryland v. Shatzer, Florida v. Powell, …

Regulating The Moneychangers, Jerry W. Markham

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Money Can’T Buy You Love: Valuing Contributions By Nonresidential Fathers, Laurie S. Kohn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article examines the roots of the disproportionate values the legal system assigns to paternal roles in the family law and child support system, looking to social norms, traditional family law, and the state's interests in the well-being of children. This hierarchy of values reveals itself in the current structure of child support laws and in the enforcement of parenting-time orders on the one hand and child support obligations on the other. The article considers how the allocation of disproportionate values impacts low-income fathers, mothers, children, and the state. The article envisions ways in which the family law system could …

The False Promise Of Custody In Domestic Violence Protection Orders, Laurie S. Kohn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article reveals the disconnect between the power and the will to enforce the custody and parenting time provisions of protection orders through criminal mechanisms and explores the further infirmity of civil enforcement by illustrating the shortcomings of available relief. Together, these barriers to effective enforcement threaten to render this court-granted protection meaningless and dangerously misleading. The barriers also undermine the many years of advocacy invested to secure these protections in the first place - reforms aimed at protecting victims and children from abusive parents.

This Article explores ways to bring together the will and the power to enforce all …

Result Inequality In Family Law, Margaret Brinig

Journal Articles

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 US 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 presentation …