Family Law Commons^™

The Intended Parent: The Power And Problems Inherent In Designating And Determining Intent In The Context Of Parental Rights, Heather Kolinsky

Scholarly Articles

This Article seeks to consider and discuss the intent to parent and, particularly, the use of the words intent and intentional in the context of assigning legal parental rights. Problems and preferences have arisen from the use of this paradigm and the notion that intent can be fixed at any one point in time. This Article discusses how this historical use of intent and intentional parenthood may impact the evolving field of parental form, considering whether we will carry forward some of the same problems and preferences into newer forms of the assignment of legal parental rights.

The Article first …

Children's Rights In The Midst Of Marriage Equality: Amicus Brief In Obergefell V. Hodges By Scholars Of The Constitutional Rights Of Children, Tanya Washington, Susannah Pollvogt, Catherine Smith, Lauren Fontana

Scholarly Articles

Many scholars have called for the acknowledgement and treatment of children's rights as constitutionally protected and enforceable, and Supreme Court precedent establishes that the government may not punish children for matters beyond children's control. Same-sex marriage bans and non-recognition laws, which are collectively referred to as marriage bans, impose prohibited punishment on children for being born into, or parented by, same-sex families. States argue that marriage is the optimal familial environment for children, yet marriage bans categorically exclude an entire class of children -- children in same-sex families -- from the legal, economic, and social benefits of marriage. In response …

Brief Of Scholars Of The Constitutional Rights Of Children Susannah W. Pollvogt, Catherine E. Smith, And Tanya Washington As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiffs-Appellants And Reversal: Robicheaux V. Caldwell, Catherine E. Smith, Tanya Washington, Susannah W. Pollvogt

Scholarly Articles

Amici are scholars and professors of family law and the law of equal protection. Amici submit this brief to respond directly to arguments advanced by the State of Louisiana that its laws prohibiting same-sex marriage2 are justified because they advance child welfare. Specifically, the State asserts that its laws advance child welfare by promoting Louisiana’s interest in: (1) linking children with their biological parents to prevent the social stigma associated with being “illegitimate” and (2) establishing the child as a member of an intact family resulting from the marriage of the mother and alleged father. These purported justifications express and …

Roe'S Effects On Family Law, Lynne Marie Kohm

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Children As Proto-Citizens: Equal Protection, Citizenship, And Lessons From The Child-Centered Cases, Catherine E. Smith, Susannah W. Pollvogt

Scholarly Articles

The rights of children have recently taken a prominent role in the popular and judicial consciousness. This is largely due to litigation over marriage equality. In authoring the majority opinion in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), Justice Kennedy cited tangible and psychic harm to the children of same-sex couples as a basis for invalidating the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Post-Windsor, myriad state and federal courts similarly have recognized the manner in which state-level marriage bans inflict harm on the children of same-sex couples. Yet, while courts have recognized the significance of harm to children …

Why Turner V. Rogers Was And Wasn’T Correctly Decided: How The Fourteenth Amendment Should Be Read For Child Support Contemnors, Gina Rose Lauterio

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Equal Protection For Children Of Same-Sex Parents, Catherine E. Smith

Scholarly Articles

Gay rights litigation and advocacy traditionally have focused on the unequal treatment of gay and lesbian individuals and couples; less attention has been dedicated explicitly to the legal rights of the children of gay and lesbian parents. This Article asserts that a child of same-sex parents denied a government benefit has a cognizable equal protection challenge—a legal claim that is separate and distinct from that of the child’s gay or lesbian parents. It is well-settled equal protection law that the government may not treat nonmarital children differently than marital children because of moral disdain for their parents’ relationship, and laws …

The Calculus Of Accommodation: Contraception, Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage, And Other Clashes Between Religion And The State, Robin F. Wilson

Scholarly Articles

This Article considers a burning issue in society today— whether, and under what circumstances, religious groups and individuals should be exempted from the dictates of civil law. The “political maelstrom” over the Obama administration’s sterilization and contraceptive coverage mandate is just one of many clashes between religion and the state. Religious groups and individuals have also sought religious exemptions to the duty to assist with abortions or facilitate samesex marriages. In all these contexts, religious objectors claim a special right of entitlement to follow their religious tenets, in the face of equally compelling claims that religious accommodations threaten access and …

Ten Questions Every Cohabitant Should Think About Before Moving In, Robin F. Wilson

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Charting The Success Of Same-Sex Marriage Legislation, Robin F. Wilson

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Same-Sex Marriage: Strengthening The Legal Shield Or Sharpening The Sword? The Impact Of Legalizing Marriage On Child Custody/Visitation And Child Support For Same-Sex Couples, Jason C. Beekman

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Cohabitation And The Restatement (Third) Of Restitution & Unjust Enrichment, Candace Saari Kovacic-Fleischer

Washington and Lee Law Review

The Restatement (Third) of Restitution & Unjust Enrichment clarified and modernized a field that had become muddled since the publication of the Restatement (First) in 1937. One area of modernization relates to the changes in law towards women, particularly changes in law toward female cohabitants. Published in 2011, the Restatement (Third) added a new Section 28, which rejected the view that it would be immoral for one cohabitant to bring suit against the other, and relaxed the restriction on recovery in unjust enrichment for “gratuitous” contributions. This Article reviews societal and legal changes for women since 1937 and notes that, …

The Rights Of The Child, Catherine Smith

Scholarly Articles

There are certainly upsides and downsides to pursuing the rights of children of LGBTs that must be thoroughly vetted. On one hand, a focus on the rights of children of gays and lesbians offers another avenue to push for equality by recognizing that discrimination extends to individuals because of their relationship to LGBTs, on the other hand, it may be viewed as bootstrapping or an end-run around lawful discrimination against LGBTs. On one hand, a child-centered approach to LGBT issues may contribute to the children’s rights movement, however, the same principles developed to seek recourse for these children could be …

Culture, Dissent, And The State: The Example Of Commonwealth African Marriage Law, Johanna E. Bond

Scholarly Articles

This is an explosive time for those seeking to define the meaning and parameters of marriage. The subject has generated heated debate worldwide. In June 2010, the European Court of Human Rights declined to extend marriage rights to a gay Austrian couple, but the Court carefully laid the foundation for the recognition of such rights when a European consensus on the issue emerges. In July 2010, Argentina extended to same-sex couples the right to marry, joining nine other countries that legally recognize same-sex couples' right to marry. In August 2010, a United States district judge struck down a California ban …

The Problem Of Parental Relocation: Closing The Loophole In The Law Of International Child Abduction, Maryl Sattler

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Essay: (Re)Constructing The Framework Of Work/Family, Nancy E. Dowd

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Class Differences In Women’S Family And Work Behaviors, Sharon Sassler, Amanda J. Miller

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Browning Of America—Multicultural And Bicultural Families In Conflict: Making Culture A Customary Factor For Consideration In Child Custody Disputes, Cynthia R. Mabry

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Privatizing Family Law In The Name Of Religion, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Trusting Mothers: A Critique Of The American Law Institute's Treatment Of De Facto Parents, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Insubstantial Burdens: The Case For Government Employee Exemptions To Same-Sex Marriage Laws, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Scholarly Articles

The case for accommodating religious objectors to same-sex marriage has met significant resistance on a number of fronts. Some believe that religious exemptions permit objectors to dodge legal duties to serve same-sex couples that would otherwise apply. Critics charge that, if extended to public employees, such exemptions would burden the ability of same-sex couples to marry. Others argue that exemptions coddle wrong-headed people who really do not have a legitimate reason for objecting and who, therefore, should not be legally excused. A review of the nearly half-dozen new same-sex marriage laws enacted in the past year suggests that the least …

Married Against Their Will? Toward A Pluralist Regulation Of Spousal Relationships, Shahar Lifshitz

Washington and Lee Law Review

This Article addresses the regulation of the relationships between unmarried cohabitants. It challenges the conventional divide between conservative and liberal approaches. On one hand, moral condemnation of nonmarital conjugal relationships and public policy in favor of marriage lead conservatives to reject the application of marriage Law to cohabitating partners. On the other hand, based on principles such as freedom, tolerance, and equality, liberals tend to equate the mutual legal commitments of cohabitants with those ofmarriedpartners. I break with conventional analysis by offering a novel liberal model that separates between the mutual obligations of cohabitants and married partners. The proposed model …

Virtual Parentalism, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Washington and Lee Law Review

Parents, not Laws, ultimately protect children both online and offline. If legislation places adults at legal risk because of the presence of children in virtual worlds, adults will exit those worlds, and children will be isolated into separate spaces. This will not improve safety for children. Instead, this Article suggests that Congress enact measures that encourage filtering technology and parental tools that will both protect children in virtual worlds, and protectfree speech online.

Wrongs Committed During A Marriage: The Child That No Area Of The Law Wants To Adoptt, Michelle L. Evans

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Altruism And Intermediation In The Market For Babies, Kimberly D. Krawiec

Washington and Lee Law Review

Central to every legal system is the principle that certain items are offlimits to commercial exchange. In theory, babies are one such sacred object. This supposed ban on baby selling has been lamented by those who view commercial markets as the most efficient means of allocating resources, and defended by those who contend that commercial markets in parental rights commodify human beings, compromise individual dignity, or jeopardize fundamental values. However, the supposed and much-discussed baby selling ban does not, and is not intended to, eliminate commercial transactions in children. Instead, it is an asymmetric legal restriction that limits the ability …

Beyond The Bounds Of Decency: Why Fault Continues To Matter To (Some) Wronged Spouses, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Comment On Wrongs Committed During A Marriage: The Child That No Area Of The Law Wants To Adopt, By Michelle L. Evans, Robert E. Shepherd

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is The Family A Federal Question?, Meredith Johnson Harbach

Washington and Lee Law Review

There has long been conflict over the relationship between the states and the federal system vis-i-vis the family. The traditional account of domestic relations describes family Law as the exclusive domain of the states, andfederal courts have credited this account in the "domestic relations exception." Although scholars have analyzed and critiqued the exception's applicability to diversity jurisdiction, the intersection offederal question jurisdiction and this exception remains largely unexplored. This Article describes and critiques, on both instrumental and deeper normative terms, federal courts' willingness to expand the "domestic relations exception" to include federal question cases. The Article proceeds in three parts. …

Matters Of Conscience: Lessons For Same-Sex Marriage From The Healthcase Context, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Scholarly Articles

None available.