Law Commons^™

The Child Protection Pretense: States' Continued Consignment Of Newborn Babies To Unfit Parents, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.

A Taxonomy Of Children's Existing Rights In State Decision Making About Their Relationships, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.

הורות משפטית מן הדין ומן הצדק - Legal Parenthood - Law And Justice, Yehezkel Margalit

Hezi Margalit

Scholars Of The Constitutional Rights Of Children (Amici Curiae), Tanya M. Washington

Tanya Monique Washington

My co-authors and I filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges last month. Our first co-authored amicus brief was filed with the Supreme Court in U.S. Windsor in 2013, and it was cited by the Respondents in their brief to the Court. The Defense of Marriage Act's harmful impact on children in same-sex families was the focus of that brief, and the Court acknowledged those harms as relevant to its analysis of DOMA's constitutionality. Our brief was published in the Iowa Journal of Gender, Race and Justice.

In our amicus brief in Obergefell v. …

Women Made Whole: How Tort Law Can Change The Lives Of Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault Victims, Sara L. Crewson

Sara L Crewson

Tort law and insurance companies are failing to provide female domestic violence victims with adequate access to civil courts, proper legal mechanisms with which to gain that access, and are far behind the times when compared to other gender-linked crimes like those of rape and sexual assault. The Restatement of Torts (Third) has classified domestic violence as an intentional tort, and most insurance policies will not provide coverage for harms that were committed intentionally. Certain homeowners' insurance policies won't provide coverage if a spouse tries to sue another spouse for harms committed, leaving vulnerable wives unable to seek compensation for …

Trends In The Efficacy Of Parental Alienation Allegations In Child Custody Cases And Their Implications For Tortious Action, Bruce L. Beverly

Bruce L. Beverly

As the second of a series, this paper attempts to further explore the phenomenon of parental alienation in domestic relations cases by exploring the often frustrating position that many courts take with regard to blatant and obvious violations of the fundamental rights of parents to raise and know their children. Ofttimes, where courts have found the most blatant interference and harmful manipulation by one parent of the other parent's formerly close relationship with a child, the court either forces a detrimentally aligned child into the custody of the wrongfully vilified parent, thereby harming possible the child and that injured parent, …

Full Faith And Credit For Homosexual Marriage And A Resurgent Defense Of Marriage Act, Steven Specht

Steven Specht

When the Court considered Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in United States v. Windsor, it carefully avoided addressing Section 2 which created the ability for states to ignore the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Though bans on same-sex or homosexual marriage are slowly being overturned by the courts, Section 2 creates a work-around for many states to not recognize same-sex marriages from other states on grounds of public policy. Even if the Court is to strike down all state bans on same-sex marriage in an upcoming opinion, no case on Section 2 …

Legitimate Families And Equal Protection, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

The Law's Duty To Promote The Kinship System: Implications For Assisted Reproductive Techniques And For Proposed Redefinitions Of Familial Relations, Scott T. Fitzgibbon

Scott T. FitzGibbon

Kinship relations, in our society and in most, are organized systematically. That is to say, each kinship connection is constructed, conducted, and considered, not in isolation but by reference to the others. Your uncle is your father’s brother, in just about the same way as your own sibling is your brother and your children are one another’s brothers and sisters. Your spouse is the mother or father of your children, in just about the same way as your mother and father are your parents and the parents of your siblings. One’s beliefs and expectations about what each kinship relationship entails …

Keeping Kids Out Of The System: Creative Legal Practice As A Community Child Protection Strategy, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Reasonable Efforts Checklist For Dependency Cases Involving Domestic Violence, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

The purpose of this checklist is to assist dependency court judges in identifying factors that should be considered when making reasonable efforts determinations in cases involving domestic violence.

Bringing The Greenbook To Life: A Resource Guide For Communities, Leigh S. Goodmark, Ann Rosewater

Leigh S. Goodmark

This book is designed for communities seeking to develop interventions that will improve their responses to families suffering both domestic violence and child maltreatment.

Steps Toward Safety: Improving Systemic And Community Responses For Families Experiencing Domestic Violence, Leigh Goodmark, Ann Rosewater

Leigh S. Goodmark

This report is designed to mine the lessons learned from the research and reforms in child welfare and domestic violence, as well as explore possibilities for the next generation of innovation.

From Property To Personhood: What The Legal System Should Do For Children In Family Violence Cases, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

The Punishment Of Dixie Shanahan: Is There Justice For Battered Women Who Kill?, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Going Underground: The Ethics Of Advising A Battered Woman Fleeing An Abusive Relationship, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Law Is The Answer? Do We Know That For Sure? Questioning The Efficacy Of Legal Interventions For Battered Women, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence And The Legal System, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

The development of a legal regime to combat domestic violence in the United States has been lauded as one of the feminist movement’s greatest triumphs. But, Leigh Goodmark argues, the resulting system is deeply flawed in ways that prevent it from assisting many women subjected to abuse. The current legal response to domestic violence is excessively focused on physical violence; this narrow definition of abuse fails to provide protection from behaviors that are profoundly damaging, including psychological, economic, and reproductive abuse. The system uses mandatory policies that deny women subjected to abuse autonomy and agency, substituting the state’s priorities for …

Reframing Domestic Violence Law And Policy: An Anti-Essentialist Proposal, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

This Article focuses on a central failure in domestic violence law and policy reform—the creation of a body of law and set of policies based on outmoded notions of what domestic violence is, the identities of the women who experience violence, the identities of their partners, and what such women need and want. The theoretical underpinnings of domestic violence law and policy largely are to blame for this excessively narrow and problematic view of domestic violence.

Autonomy Feminism: An Anti-Essentialist Critique Of Mandatory Interventions In Domestic Violence Cases, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing Teresa O'Brien: A Role Play For Domestic Violence Clinics, Leigh S. Goodmark, Catherine F. Klein

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

When Is A Battered Woman Not A Battered Woman? When She Fights Back, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Parenting In The Face Of Prejudice: The Need For Representation For Parents With Mental Illness, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

Transgender People, Intimate Partner Abuse, And The Legal System, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

The unique experiences of transgender persons subjected to abuse have not been the focus of legal scholarship; instead, the experiences of transgender people are often subsumed in the broader discourse around domestic violence in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This dearth of legal scholarship is not surprising given how little research of any kind exists on how transgender people experience intimate partner abuse. This is the first law review article to concentrate specifically on intimate partner abuse and the transgender community. The Article begins by discussing the difficulties of engaging in scholarship around this topic, noting the …

Clinical Cognitive Dissonance: The Values And Goals Of Domestic Violence Clinics, The Legal System, And The Students Caught In The Middle, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.

California Egg Toss - The High Costs Of Avoiding Unenforceable Surrogacy Contracts, Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson

In an emotionally charged decision regarding surrogacy contracts, it is important to recognize the ramifications, costs, and policy. There are advantages to both “gestational carrier surrogacy” contracts and “traditional surrogacy” contracts. However, this paper focuses on the differences between these contracts using case law. Specifically, this paper will focus on the implications of California case law regarding surrogacy contracts. Cases such as Johnson v. Calvert and In Re Marriage of Moschetta provide a clear distinction between these contracts. This distinction will show that while gestational carrier surrogacy contracts are more expensive, public policy and court opinions will provide certainty and …

California Egg Toss - The High Costs Of Avoiding Unenforceable Surrogacy Contracts, Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson

In an emotionally charged decision regarding surrogacy contracts, it is important to recognize the ramifications, costs, and policy. There are advantages to both “gestational carrier surrogacy” contracts and “traditional surrogacy” contracts. However, this paper focuses on the differences between these contracts using case law. Specifically, this paper will focus on the implications of California case law regarding surrogacy contracts. Cases such as Johnson v. Calvert and In Re Marriage of Moschetta provide a clear distinction between these contracts. This distinction will show that while gestational carrier surrogacy contracts are more expensive, public policy and court opinions will provide certainty and …

California Egg Toss - The High Costs Of Avoiding Unenforceable Surrogacy Contracts, Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson

In an emotionally charged decision regarding surrogacy contracts, it is important to recognize the ramifications, costs, and policy. There are advantages to both “gestational carrier surrogacy” contracts and “traditional surrogacy” contracts. However, this paper focuses on the differences between these contracts using case law. Specifically, this paper will focus on the implications of California case law regarding surrogacy contracts. Cases such as Johnson v. Calvert and In Re Marriage of Moschetta provide a clear distinction between these contracts. This distinction will show that while gestational carrier surrogacy contracts are more expensive, public policy and court opinions will provide certainty and …

California Putative Spouses: The Innocent, The Guilty, And The Law, Helen Y. Chang

Helen Y Chang

The purpose of this article is to examine the historical roots of the putative spouse doctrine and its implementation into California’s family and community property system. Although California has historically recognized the putative spouse doctrine to save otherwise void or voidable marriages, California’s actual application of the doctrine has been piecemeal with a resulting patchwork of inconsistent statutes and judicial decisions. For example, a putative spouse is a “surviving spouse” under California’s Probate Code for purposes of intestate succession but a putative spouse is not a “surviving spouse” under the same Code for purposes of a family allowance during estate …

Medical Paternalism And The Rule Of Law: A Reply To Dr. Relman, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In this Article, Professor Baron challenges the position taken recently by Dr. Arnold Relman in this journal that the 1977 Saikewicz decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts was incorrect in calling for routine judicial resolution of decisions whether to provide life-prolonging treatment to terminally ill incompetent patients. First, Professor Baron argues that Dr. Relman's position that doctors should make such decisions is based upon an outmoded, paternalistic view of the doctor-patient relationship. Second, he points out the importance of guaranteeing to such decisions the special qualities of process which characterize decision making by courts and which are not …