Family Law Commons^™

Victory By Litigation Would Be Hollow: Front Burner, James G. Dwyer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of The Child Cases: How America's Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Cynicism And The Self-Defeating Pursuit Of Social Acceptance Through Litigation, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Voided Vows: Annulment As A Full Faith And Credit Solution To The Same-Sex Divorce Conundrum, Katharine J. Westfall

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A New Formalism For Family Law, Rebecca Aviel

William & Mary Law Review

Family law is simultaneously moving toward and away from formalist decision making. Examining family law across its various component doctrines—custody disputes, child support, jurisdiction, and parentage—reveals these two competing trends. In some of these areas, scholars and lawmakers have recognized that litigating under open-ended, amorphous standards is unpredictable and often painful, with costs that undermine the very purposes served by these legal frameworks; in these areas we are witnessing a turn toward determinate rules over judicial discretion as the preferred means of resolving disputes. In other areas, however, family law is experiencing a trend toward more flexible decision making that …

The Ever-Shrinking Case For A Constitutional Right To Same-Sex Marriage, James G. Dwyer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Jailing Black Babies, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caregiver Conundrum Redux: The Entrenchment Of Structural Norms, Nicole Buonocore Porter

Faculty Publications

Scholars and feminists (and feminist scholars) have been debating ways to ameliorate the work-family conflict for several decades. For some of us writing in this area, it seems as if the debate is endless and ineradicable. Unfortunately, this Article does not end the debate with some brilliant solution. Instead, I attempt to explain why the "caregiver conundrum" is so unwieldy and unyielding. The reason, I argue, is because of the entrenchment of structural norms in the workplace. By structural norms, I am referring to employers' rules and practices regarding hours, shifts, schedules, attendance, leaves of absence, etc.--basically, when and where …

Inter-Country Adoption And The Special Rights Fallacy, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Adopted Couple V. Baby Girl: Erasing The Last Vestigates Of Human Property, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intimate Liability: Emotional Harm, Family Law, And Stereotyped Narratives In Interspousal Torts, Fernanda G. Nicola

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Tort liability expanded in the twentieth century, a shift scholars generally attribute to the reorganization of tort law around the fault principle. In privileging compensation and deterrence, this reconfiguration ended various restrictions on liability, long viewed as arbitrary, including limits to the recovery for emotional harm and interspousal immunities. Tort and family law scholars alike portray the end of such immunities as a milestone for gender equality. Their elimination enables spouses and partners to secure compensation for emotional and physical abuse arising in intimate relationships. Yet, tort law is not operating in this way. On the contrary, by endorsing a …

A Child Needs A Champion: Guardian Ad Litem Representation For Prenatal Children, Mark H. Bonner, Jennifer A. Sheriff

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Who's Your Daddy? Defining Paternity Rights In The Context Of Free, Private Sperm Donation, Lauren Gill

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Whatever Your Thoughts On Marriage, Gay Divorce Is A Concern, Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Half Faith And Credit?: The Fifth Circuit Upholds Louisiana's Refusal To Issue A Revised Birth Certificate, Thomas M. Joraanstad

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Why We Should Raise The Marriage Age, Vivian E. Hamilton

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Misused Concepts And Misguided Questions: Fundamental Confusions In Family Law Debates, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex And Statutory Uniformity: Harmonizing The Legal Treatment Of Semen, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Equality Between Adults And Children: Its Meaning, Implications, And Opposition, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Family law scholars have devoted much attention to equality among groups of adults and some attention to equality between groups of children. There has been little exploration, however, of the notion of equality between adults and children. In this Article, I first explain what it means at a basic, theoretical level to speak of such equality. I then identify some practical implications. Finally, I consider why there is great resistance to many practical implications of children's equality, even among those who would consider themselves advocates for child welfare.

Commentary On Marriage Grants: Article Iii & Same-Sex Marriage, Neal Devins, Tara Leigh Grove

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The Age Of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition Of Adolescent Marriage, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Age at marriage has for decades been the strongest and most unequivocal predictor of marital failure. The likelihood of divorce nears eighty percent for those who marry in mid-adolescence, then drops steadily. Delaying marriage until the mid-twenties reduces one’s likelihood of divorce to thirty percent. Women who marry at age twenty-one or younger, moreover – and one in ten U.S. women do – experience worse mental and physical health, attain less education, and earn lower wages than those who marry later. Post-divorce, they and their children tend to endure even greater economic deprivation and instability than do never-married mothers, who …

Constitutional Limits On The Right Of Government Investigations To Interview And Examine Alleged Victims Of Child Abuse Or Neglect, Teri Dobbins Baxter

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect presents unique challenges, particularly if parents or guardians are the alleged perpetrators. Those accused of harming the children are in a position to prevent the victims from getting access to the help they need to escape their abuser(s). The courts have not clearly defined the federal constitutional boundaries of searches and seizures in this context. The Supreme Court, in particular, has not weighed in on the constitutionality of warrantless searches and seizures in connection with abuse and neglect investigations. This lack of Supreme Court guidance has led to unpredictable and sometimes conflicting opinions …

Making Sex The Same: Ending The Unfair Treatment Of Males In Family Law, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Parent Is A Parent, No Matter How Small, Kendra Huard Fershee

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Every parent in America has constitutional rights to parent his or her children. If a parent is under the age of eighteen, however, those rights are tenuous. There is no question that adolescent parents face difficulties while trying to juggle school, parental responsibilities, work, their social lives, and more. Add to that long list of challenges the legal infirmities all minors share, and a picture of impending disaster begins to appear for the adolescent parent and his or her child. Furthermore, once a minor parent enters the family court system— instead of getting the services, training, and supervision that may …

The Combined Impact Of Prwora, Fmla, Irc, Frd, Dppa, And Bapcpa On Single Mothers And Their Children, Pamela Gershuny

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

"The Good Mother": Mothering, Feminism, And Incarceration, Deseriee A. Kennedy

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

As the rates of incarceration continue to rise, women are increasingly subject to draconian criminal justice and child welfare policies that frequently result in the loss of their parental rights. The intersection of an increasingly carceral state and federally imposed time-lines for achieving permanency for children in state care has had a negative effect on women, their children, and their communities. Women, and their ability to parent, are more adversely affected by the intersection of these gender-neutral provisions because they are more likely than men to be the primary caretaker of their children. In addition, incarcerated women have higher rates …

Nature And Nurture: Revisiting The Infant Adoption Process, Barbara L. Atwell

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Adopted children constitute approximately two percent of the United States’ childhood population, but are disproportionately represented in mental health settings, where they make up an estimated four to fifteen percent of the population. Science suggests that for those adopted at birth, this discrepancy may be due in part to their abrupt removal from the biological parents. We are now beginning to understand the importance of the bonding that takes place in utero and the infant’s awareness at birth. This article suggests three changes to the infant adoption process to align it with scientific knowledge. First, all adults involved in the …

Secular Rights And Religious Wrongs? Family Law, Religion And Women In Israel, Pascale Fournier, Pascal Mcdougall, Merissa Lichtsztral

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Parents' Self-Determination And Children's Custody: A New Analytical Framework For State Structuring Of Children's Family Life, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Child-Centered Response To The Elkins Family Law Task Force, Amy M. Pellman, Robert N. Jacobs, Dara K. Reiner

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In Elkins v. Superior Court, 163 P.3d 160 (Cal. 2007), California’s Supreme Court asked the Judicial Council to form a task force to make recommendations to increase “access to justice” in family court, because it was concerned about rules, policies, and procedures that put self-represented litigants at an unfair disadvantage in parentageand dissolution cases.

Neither the task force’s report in 2010 nor the legislation that the report inspired the same year addresses children’s due process rights, even though children ordinarily have no access to justice. This Article shows that due process sometimes requires the trial court to appoint counsel for …