Family Law Commons^™

Introduction To Special Issue On Unified Family Courts, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Terminating Maintenance Payments When An Ex-Spouse Cohabitates In Illinois: When Is Enough Enough?, 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 435 (2008), Allan L. Karnes

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

"I'D Grab At Anything. And I'D Forget." Domestic Violence Victim Testimony After Davis V. Washington, 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 937 (2008), Nancee Alexa Barth

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Do We Have Against Parents?: An Assessment Of Judicial Bypass Procedures And Parental Involvement In Abortions By Minors, Wade Schueneman

Georgia Law Review

It is the established law of the land that minors enjoy a limited right to terminate unwanted pregnancies. States may restrain the exercise of this right by requiring parental consent or notification, but they must allow minors an opportunity to bypass consent requirements. This Note examines the history and present state of judicial and nonjudicial bypass mechanisms. It details the constraints and requirements imposed by state and federal constitutions, assesses the current landscape of parental involvement statutes, and provides prescriptive analysis as to how states might choose to refine and improve their bypass mechanisms to better protect parental rights.

Children As Witnesses: A Symposium On Child Competence And The Accused's Right To Confront Child Witnesses, Aviva A. Orenstein

Indiana Law Journal

The papers in this symposium were originally prepared for the Section on Evidence of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools.

Testing The Testimonial Concept And Exceptions To Confrontation: "A Little Child Shall Lead Them", Robert P. Mosteller

Indiana Law Journal

The papers in this symposium were originally prepared for the Section on Evidence of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools.

Looking Ahead: A Personal Vision Of The Future Of Child Welfare Law, Donald N. Duquette

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The participants in the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic were all challenged to envision the future of child welfare and to address these questions: What should the law and legal institutions governing children's rights and child and family welfare look like in thirty more years? What steps are necessary to achieve those goals? After setting out the historical and optimistic circumstance in which the Child Advocacy Law Clinic was founded, this Article responds to the organizing questions by presenting the author's vision of the future of child welfare law and practice. When families fail children, what …

Investigating The Justice System Response To Domestic Violence In Missouri, Mary M. Beck, Brandi L. Byrd, M. Meghan Davidson, Niels C. Beck, Gregory F. Petroski

Faculty Publications

One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Each year, 5.3 million domestic violence assaults occur in the United States alone and domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. Yet, despite the prevalence of domestic violence, little empirical research on the justice system's response to it exists. This paper seeks to describe a state funded project that was created to assess and compare responses to domestic violence throughout the state of Missouri. The project lasted for three years and was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) professors and students.

Development And Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Community Norms Of Child Neglect Scale, Rebecca Goodvin, David R. Johnson, Sam A. Hardy, Michelle Graef, Jeff M. Chambers

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

This article describes the development of the Community Norms of Child Neglect Scale (CNCNS), a new measure of perceptions of child neglect, for use in community samples. The CNCNS differentiates among four subtypes of neglect (failure to provide for basic needs, lack of supervision, emotional neglect, and educational neglect). Scenarios ranging in seriousness for each subtype were presented to a large community sample (N = 3,809). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a four-factor model provided a better fit to the data than did a model specifying only one overall neglect factor, suggesting this sample distinguished among the four subtypes of …

Do You See What I See - Reflections On How Bias Infiltrates The New York City Family Court - The Case Of The Court Ordered Investigation, Leah A. Hill

Faculty Scholarship

That the Family Court is ill-equipped to address the needs of the hundreds of thousands of cases handled therein is not news. Exploding caseloads, complex problems, and minimal resources are just a few of the ingredients that combine to undermine the Court's ability to fulfill its promise. What has been given less attention until very recently is the extent to which the Family Court's failures disproportionately impact low-income families of color. Any analysis of the Court's impact or efficacy must consider the context I have described in my observations of the Court- the images of black and brown litigants hurrying …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Parental Consent And Notification Laws In The Abortion Context: Rejecting The "Maturity" Standard In Judicial Bypass Proceedings, Anna Bonny

ExpressO

The choice to become a parent, to give a baby up for adoption, or to terminate a pregnancy presents a life-altering decision for a minor. The majority of states require minors to engage their parents or legal guardians in their choice to obtain an abortion, but not in decisions to give their babies up for adoption or to become parents. Though the Supreme Court has held that parental consent and notification laws do not infringe on a minor's constitutional rights if judicial bypass options are available, the reality of these judicial proceedings demonstrates a biased and unworkable legal avenue. Even …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

The Supreme Court And Same-Sex Marriage: A Prediction , Robert E. Riggs

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Introducing The Construct Of The Jury Into Family Violence Proceedings And Family Court Jurisprudence, Melissa L. Breger

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article draws upon both the theory of and research on procedural justice holding that litigants often focus on the appearance of fairness rather than on the actual outcome. Thus, when litigants are able to choose the modality of fact-finding, they may be more accepting of the legal process, even if the outcome is not favorable to them. Allowing the option of a jury, even if not exercised, may dramatically improve the perceptions of litigants and may affect the legitimacy and longevity of case outcomes.

The History Of Slave Marriage In The United States, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 299 (2006), Darlene C. Goring

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Holy War: Polygamy, Homosexuality, And The Paradox Of Community And Autonomy, Gregory C. Pingree

ExpressO

The article explores the rhetorical strategies deployed in both legal and cultural narratives of Mormon polygamy in nineteenth-century America. It demonstrates how an understanding of that unique communal experience, and the narratives by which it was represented, informs the classic paradox of community and autonomy – the tension between the collective and the individual. The article concludes by using the Mormon polygamy analysis to illuminate a contemporary social situation that underscores the paradox of community and autonomy – homosexuality and the so-called culture wars over family values and the meaning of marriage.

Squeezing Subjectivity From The Doctrine Of Unconscionability, Paul Bennett Marrow

Cleveland State Law Review

Issues of unconscionability are most often encountered in two arenas: commercial agreements and family law agreements. In the first arena this Article proposes that the analysis should focus on the impact of a suspect term on the integrity of the contracting system or to an enabling statute. If a contract term materially undermines or compromises the integrity of the system for contracting or the integrity of an enabling statute, it should be found unconscionable. In the family law arena things differ because of the substance of the relationships involved and because the need for mutual consideration is de-emphasized. Accordingly, in …

Crawford V. Washington: The End Of Victimless Prosecution?, Andrew King-Ries

Faculty Law Review Articles

Domestic violence offenses are difficult to prosecute because the batterer's actions often make the victim unavailable to testify. Since the mid- 1990s, prosecutors have pursued "victimless" prosecutions' to combat the problem.2 Victimless prosecutions seek to introduce reliable evidence without the victim's in-court testimony, often to maintain the victim's safety or to avoid re-victimizing the victim.3 The victimless prosecution is based largely on the admission of hearsay statements that a victim makes to 911 operators, police officers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and social workers.4 Victimless prosecution has been a highly successful tool in society's efforts to eradicate domestic violence and it is …

Resurrecting Comity: Revisiting The Problem Of Non-Uniform Marriage Laws, Joanna L. Grossman

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This paper addresses the age-old problem of interstate marriage recognition, raised anew by the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The problem, in a nutshell, is whether and when a state should recognize a marriage validly celebrated elsewhere when its own laws would have prohibited the marriage from taking place.

Non-uniform marriage laws and the conflicts they engender are not new. To the contrary, states historically disagreed about many aspects of domestic relations laws, and in particular about marriage prohibitions. Conflicts arose when couples married in one state and then sought recognition of their union in a state that would …

Representing Children In Families, Bruce A. Green, Annette R. Appell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Family And Juvenile Law, Robert E. Shepherd Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel In Parental-Rights Termination Cases: The Challenge For Appellate Courts, Susan Calkins

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Therapeutic Domestic Violence Courts: An Efficient Approach To Adjudication?, Hon. Catherine Shaffer

Seattle University Law Review

Part II of this Article will explore the history of state intervention to confront domestic violence, along with some of the attitudes that contribute to the lack of adequate enforcement of recent legislative reforms. Part III of this Article will discuss the costs of domestic violence and the impact of superficial court treatment in reducing those costs. Part IV will outline the historical development, philosophy, and potential development of therapeutic courts, and in particular will examine the proven effectiveness of the drug court model and the potential benefits that are unique to domestic violence courts. Part V suggests further creation …

For And Against Marriage: A Revision., Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Symposium Editor's Note, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Delinquency Jurisdiction In A Unified Family Court: Balancing Intervention, Prevention, And Adjudication, Gloria Danziger

All Faculty Scholarship

This article will examine the demographics of the current juvenile delinquency caseloads and will argue that, despite trends toward greater punitive measures-including placement of juveniles in adult courts for certain offenses, the concept of a therapeutic "family-centered court," which inspired Jane Addams and her colleagues, remains the most promising approach to delinquency, articulated most notably by the proponents of the unified family court concept. The article will consider and address objections and concerns raised with respect to this approach, looking at ways in which several states have incorporated juvenile delinquency into a family-centered unified family court.

Ub Viewpoint – Creation Of A Caring Justice System, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Presumed Fathers To Lesbian Mothers: Sex Discrimination And The Legal Construction Of Parenthood, Susan E. Dalton

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In Part I of this article, Dalton briefly reviews the way legal scholars commonly define sex-based discrimination, particularly as it pertains to issues of reproduction. Part II is a brief historical review of legal constructions of parenthood. In Part III, Dalton examines two legal concepts: retroactive legitimation and presumed fatherhood. Both concepts were introduced in 1872 and each independently encouraged judges to think of fatherhood as consisting of two distinct spheres, the biological and the social. She then traces the legal development of these concepts through a series of presumed father, retroactive legitimation, and putative father cases. In Part IV …