Family Law Commons^™

Le Droit Myope, Régine Tremblay

All Faculty Publications

Cet essai présente la violence conjugale comme un enjeu de droit privé et de droit public, comme une problématique qui se situe au confluent de ces deux catégories considérées comme mutuellement exclusives. L'évolution de la perception de I'homosexualité en droit public a transformé notre idée du couple en droit privé. Ceci remet en question notre façon de penser le couple, les individus qui le composent et la violence qui s'y produit.

The Family Law Doctrine Of Equivalence, Amy L. Wax

Michigan Law Review

Students of patent law learn the doctrine of equivalents. According to the doctrine, a patent protects an invention that does "the same work in substantially the same way, and accomplish[ es] substantially the same result," as the device described in the patent, even if it differs "'in name, form, or shape." In her new book, Nancy Polikoff has fashioned something like a parallel doctrine for families. Let's call it (with a slight play on words) the family law Doctrine of Equivalence. In today's world, according to Polikoff, a broad set of relationships now plays the same role as marriage and …

Marriage As A Message: Same-Sex Couples And The Rhetoric Of Accidental Procreation, Kerry Abrams, Peter Brooks

Faculty Scholarship

In his dissent in the 2003 case Goodridge v. Department of Health, Justice Robert Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Court introduced a novel argument in support of state bans on same-sex marriage: that marriage is an institution designed to create a safe social and legal space for accidental heterosexual reproduction, a space that is not necessary for same-sex couples who, by definition, cannot accidentally reproduce. Since 2003, every state appellate court considering a same-sex marriage case has adopted Justice Cordy's dissent until the recent California Supreme Court decision In Re Marriage Cases. In case after case, courts have held that …

Equality And Justice For Lesbian And Gay Families And Relationships, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In 1989, Tom Stoddard and Paula Ettelbrick, attorneys with the gay rights group Lambda Legal, published side-by-side opposing essays about whether marriage for same-sex couples should be a movement priority. Rutgers Law Review is publishing a 2009 symposium commemorating the 20th anniversary of these now-iconic essays. This article is part of that symposium. It places the Ettelbrick essay, and the groundbreaking case of Braschi v. Stahl Associates decided the same year, in the context of the gay rights movement's strong support of family diversity. It then critiques the contemporary right-wing marriage movement for blaming all social problems on family diversity/aka …

Law That Values All Families: Beyond (Straight And Gay) Marriage, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Microperformances Of Identity: Visible Same-Sex Couples And The Marriage Controversy, Marc R. Poirier

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Irrational Exuberance For Babies: The Taste For Heterosexuality And Its Conspicuous Reproduction, Jose M. Gabilondo

Faculty Publications

This article targets a flying buttress of normative heterosexuality: its physical reproduction via procreation and its symbolic propagation through parents' pre-natal preferences for heterosexuality in future children. While the parental "taste for heterosexuality" is often asserted for the sake of future children themselves, this justification overlooks the role of parental self-interest, including anticipated social gains to parents from heterosexuality in children. Hence the taste sets the stage both for sexual orientation-based abuse of future children and the devaluation of sexual minority adults. Courts too have a taste for heterosexuality, shown here in two state court cases denying gays and lesbians …

The Evolution Of Same-Sex Marriage In Canada: Lessons The U.S. Can Learn From Their Northern Neighbor Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Rights, Christy M. Glass, Nancy Kubasek

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The broad differences between the United States and Canadian cases raise important questions about the social, political and legal factors that have promoted the extension of marriage rights in Canada while retarding similar efforts in the U.S. This article will compare the recent history of same-sex marriage laws in the United States and Canada. We argue that proponents of same-sex marriage as well as lawmakers could learn important lessons from the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada. Section II develops a framework for comparing the U.S. and Canadian experience with same-sex marriage law. The next section traces Canada's recent …

"Insuring" Quality: Restrictions On Legislative Control Of Partner Benefits At Kentucky's Public Universities, Jacinta Feldman Manning

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Atavism And The Narrative Of Progress In The Debate Over Marriage Equality, Courtney Megan Cahill

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Marriage And Practical Knowledge, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Parent Trap: Differential Familial Power In Same-Sex Families, Deirdre Bowen

Faculty Articles

Do intact same-sex couples where one member of the couple became pregnant with assisted reproduction or was the primary adopter, and the other member became a parent through second parent adoption, understand the legal protections afforded them? In short the answer is no. An interesting family dynamic arises around those who can claim the true status as parent based on their legal understandings of parenthood and their interactions with the dominant culture. The result of research conducted on this issue indicated that second parent adopters had much less emotional power in the family, but often had more economic power. Even …

Valuing All Families: An Introduction To The 2008 Santa Clara Law Review Symposium, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The family has changed over time, as has the law concerning families and relationships. Thank goodness. Until recent decades, the law punished nonmarital sex, delineated separate spheres for men and women, and restricted the grounds for ending marriage. The sexual revolution, feminism, and the demand for divorce were the social phenomena that facilitated these changes. Today we take for granted that marriage is not the right dividing line for the rights and obligations of parents. We now must revise our laws to protect the economic security and emotional peace of mind of the full variety of today's families and relationships.

Bionormativity And The Construction Of Parenthood, Katharine K. Baker

Georgia Law Review

This Article explores the relationship between legal and biological parenthood. It examines how neither history, nor biology, nor moral philosophy dictate a legal regime in which parenthood must be based on biological connection, but that attractionto a biological (or"bionormative")regime remains strong. In explaining why, it suggests that much of what attracts people to bionormativity is not biology itself, but the way in which a biological regime constructs parenthood as a private, exclusive, and binary enterprise. It is these ancillary qualities of bionormativity that people may care the most about. Today, a variety of forces put pressure on these ancillary qualities …

"If Sex Offenders Can Marry, Then Why Not Gays And Lesbians?": An Essay On The Progressive Comparative Argument, Courtney Megan Cahill

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Is A "Minor" Also An "Adult"?: An Adolescent's Liberty Interest In Accessing Contraceptives From Public School Distribution Programs, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Imagine “Mary,” a sixteen-year-old junior in high school, who has been dating “John,” a seventeen-year-old senior, for three years in a serious relationship. Mary knows that she and John should practice safe sex, and she does not want to become pregnant or catch a sexually transmitted disease. However, she is concerned that her parents will not approve of her activities and will not help her in obtaining contraceptives. John also feels that he is mature enough to make the decision to have sex, yet he knows that his parents will want to consent before he can receive condoms from his …

The Genuine Article: A Subversive Economic Perspective On The Law's Procreationist Vision Of Marriage, Courtney Megan Cahill

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Love V. Virginia: The Constitutionality Of The Marshall/Newman Amendment, Pavitra Mohan Ram

ExpressO

My comment explores the constitutionality of a recent amendment in Virginia, the Marshall/Newman Amendment, which bans gay marriage and civil unions between unmarried people, and precludes Virginia from recognizing such arrangements formed in other states. The analysis is particularly timely, because even though the Democrats have regained a majority in Congress, and a traditionally Republican Virginian constituency just elected a Democratic senator, a majority of Virginians adopted this Amendment, indicating conservative values still reign.

The comment argues that the Amendment is demonstrably inconsistent with the mandates of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution. The first provision seeks to ban …

Civil Unions And Choice Of Law: A Second Restatement Analysis Of Miller-Jenkins V Miller-Jenkins, Christina N. Lambe

ExpressO

At the end of 2000 Lisa and Janet Miller-Jenkins left their home state of Virginia and traveled to Vermont to enter into a civil union. Their union ended a few years later. Although their separation resulted in a bitter legal battle in both the Virginia and Vermont court systems neither state addressed whether the initial union was valid. This paper analyzes the civil union using the Second Restatement’s choice of law principles. This paper concludes that although the courts have continued to haggle over whether full faith and credit must be given to conflicting visitation orders the choice of law …

The Immorality Of Statutory Restrictions On Adoption By Lesbians And Gay Men, Carlos A. Ball

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Marriage, Same-Sex Relationships, And The Catholic Church, Thomas J. Paprocki

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How A Marriage Discrimination Amendment Would Disrespect Democracy In Minnesota, Anthony S. Winer

Faculty Scholarship

The proposed marriage discrimination amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is profoundly anti-democratic. It is extremely wide-ranging in its scope, it obliterates the opportunity of the LGBT community to legislatively advance its interests in the area, it falsely assumes characteristics of the state judiciary that do not in fact exist, and it is drafted with language that is particularly hostile to LGBT concerns and democracy in general. It was a triumph for reason and democracy that this amendment was defeated in 2006. It should never be introduced again. In the unfortunate event that it is introduced again, it should be resoundingly …

The State Of The Law Of Protecting And Securing The Rights Of Same-Sex Partners In Illinois Without Benefit Of Statutory Rights Accorded Heterosexual Couples, Richard A. Wilson

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Moral Reasoning Of Family Law: The Case Of Same-Sex Marriage, Helen M. Alvaré

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Subverting The Marriage-Amendment Crusade With Law And Policy Reform, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Beyond Interstate Recognition In The Same-Sex Marriage Debate, Gary J. Simson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The national same-sex marriage debate has been dominated for the past decade by the interstate recognition issue. This article seeks to shift the focus of the debate to same-sex marriage prohibitions themselves and their incompatibility with several limitations of federal constitutional law.

After showing the legal irrelevance of the Defense of Marriage Act to the interstate recognition issue, the article addresses the proper resolution of that choice-of-law issue through the lens of a well-known New York Court of Appeals decision. In that case, despite New York's ban on uncle-niece marriage, the New York high court - one of the most …

Protecting Parent-Child Relationships: Determining Parental Rights Of Same-Sex Parents Consistently Despite Varying Recognition Of Their Relationship, Linda S. Anderson

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “The family and parental relationship appears secure as long as the members of the family stay within the borders of the states that recognize their relationship. What happens, though, when the family ventures beyond the borders of Vermont, Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut, has yet to be determined. Legislation in almost every other state has addressed whether each state will recognize the couples’ relationship,27 but no state has determined how it will treat the legal relationship between the children of these couples and their parents.28 This article will focus on the fragile legal relationship between same-sex parents and their children …

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.

Avoidance Strategy: Same-Sex Marriage Litigation And The Federal Courts, William C. Duncan

Campbell Law Review

This brief article examines the strategy of avoiding federal court review and federal constitutional claims for same-sex marriage. It first surveys the history of same-sex marriage litigation in the federal courts. It then turns to the question of why federal courts and claims have been avoided, identifying the most obvious explanation - a conscious strategic aim. The conclusions discussed in that section are exemplified in recent litigation in the Ninth Circuit. The article concludes with some comments on the policy implications of the strategy it describes.

The Abortion Rights Of Adolescents Should Be Coextensive With Those Of Adults--A Theoretical Framework, Chad M. Gerson

ExpressO

The aim of this article is to argue that the abortion rights of adolescents should be coextensive with those of adults. The first section of the article reviews research in child development which has demonstrated that adolescents are able to make informed, mature decisions on procreative issues. The second section reviews cases which have defined the contours of adult women’s abortion rights, and argues that the reasoning behind those holdings also applies to adolescents.