Family Law Commons^™

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 …

Supporting Children, Balancing Lives, Katharine K. Baker

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines how U.S. child support policy validates traditional divisions of labor and thereby hinders individual attempts to achieve an acceptable work/family balance. It argues that by using the household as the relevant unit of measurement for child support purposes, family law doctrine legitimates the specialization contracts that arise within households. These specialization contracts, used most extensively in wealthy, elite households, undermine attempts to distribute caretaking and provider roles more equally between parents. The article suggest that by dispensing with the household as the relevant unit of measurement and treating all parents individually, each with a responsibility to caretake …

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 …

Transracial Adoption Of Black Children: An Economic Analysis, Mary Eschelbach Hansen, Daniel Pollack

ExpressO

The anti-discrimination law governing placement of children in foster care and adoption was intended to speed the adoption of Black children who could not be reunited with their families of origin. Only recently have two states been fined for violating this decade-old law. Based on our analysis of administrative data collected by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we conclude that more vigorous enforcement of the anti-discrimination law in adoption could result in significant gains to Black children. We find that Black children spend more time as legal orphans than children of other races …

Pathways And Turning Points: Child Maltreatment, Adolescent Outcomes, And Delinquency, Ryan Spohn

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

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being is a valuable resource for examining the lives of at-risk youth in a longitudinal fashion. Essentially, I seek to increase our knowledge of “what works?” and “for whom?” I seek to determine if negative pathways of at-risk youth are altered by social factors and professional intervention. This pathway theory is founded on the assumption that individual differences in factors such as cognitive and emotional development lead to trajectories that often lead at-risk youth down paths of negative social and behavioral outcomes. However, I also assume that turning points will be evident in …

No-Drop Civil Protection Orders: Exploring The Bounds Of Judicial Intervention In The Lives Of Domestic Violence Victims, Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Whatever approach a judge takes to a victim's motion to vacate, there will be a risk. Women who are victims of domestic violence will be threatened or hurt or even killed, and the danger of this happening may increase or decrease based in part on the judge's decision. In the face of such risk, this article argues that on balance, the cost of sacrificing victim autonomy in these cases is too great, and that courts should defer to the victim's decision to vacate, except in the limited circumstance in which doing so is detrimental to an identifiable third party - …

From Tainted To Sainted: The Interracial Marriage As Cultural Evangelism, Rashmi Goel

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The article talks about interracial relationships viewed as cultural evangelism. The author mentions that viewing interracial marriage as the ultimate indicator of racial progress leaves the cognitive imprint that underlies all race relations. Professor Goel introduces the four archetypes of interracial relations that emanated from the four historical institutions such as the Civilized White and Colored Savage, the White Colonizer and Colored Subject, the White Master and Colored Slave, and the White Missionary and Colored Heathen. An analysis of the social and legal aspects of interracial marriages and interracial families is also presented.

A Study Of Islamic Family Law In Malaysia: A Select Bibliography, Raihana Abdullah

International Journal of Legal Information

Islamic Family Law is one of the most studied fields in Malaysian law. This is because it affects the personal life of Muslims, and because many issues have arisen as a result of the implementation of the Islamic Family Law Enactment which governs Muslims in Malaysia. Scholarship in this area has expanded with the development of the Enactment itself. Several approaches have been used to analyze the implementation of the law inter alia, legal, socio-legal, comparative, and anthropological and sociological perspecitves. It cannot be denied that research and scholarly publications in the field of Islamic Family Law have contributed to …

Book Review Of The Place Of Families: Fostering Capacity, Equality, And Responsibility By Linda C. Mcclain, Karen Czapanskiy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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

Book Gallery

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.

Concerns At The Margins Of Supervised Access To Children, Elizabeth Brandt

Articles

No abstract provided.

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.

Lessons From The Bill Of Rights About Constitutional Protection For Marriage, Lynn D. Wardle

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Uniform Domestic Partnership Act: Marrying Business Partnership And Family Law, Jennifer Ann Drobac, Antony Page

Faculty Publications

For decades, Americans have argued about who may marry and what marriage actually means in legal, religious, and philosophical terms. For almost as long, two problems - the rising divorce rate and the poverty of some "divorced" children and their custodians - have fed concerns about the viability of marriage as an institution that promotes domestic stability and economic security. This Article explores the notion that domestic partnership based upon business partnership law would better serve more couples, their families, and society as a whole. It proposes a Uniform Domestic Partnership Act, loosely modeled after the UPA, as a substitute …

Promoting Cooperative Parenting: Programs And Prospects, Marsha Garrison

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of Formal Marriage: Inevitable Or Reversible?, Marsha Garrison

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reforming Divorce: What's Needed And What's Not, Marsha Garrison

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Impact Of Coercion On Domestic Violence Victims: How Much Is Too Much?, Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Part I of the essay reviews the work of activists and scholars who make the case that coercion is central to domestic violence, but notes that these scholars' conceptions of coercion are diverse. Part II describes the justice system's current responses to the impact of coercion on a victim's decision to drop a criminal or civil case. Part III exposes a number of challenges inherent in measuring the impact of a batterer's influence on a domestic violence victim's decision. Part IV describes the conceptual limitations of current judicial guidelines, and argues for a more nuanced conceptualization of coercion that accounts …

Michigan Cip Reassessment: How Michigan Courts Handle Child Protection Cases - A Report Summary, Muskie School Of Public Service

Children, Youth, & Families

This summary is drawn from the 2005 report, Michigan Court Improvement Program Reassessment, and represents the results of that study.

The Irrationality Of A Rational Basis: Denying Benefits To The Children Of Same-Sex Couples , Sam Castic

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Legislative Updates

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

"Not Quite One Gender Or The Other": Marriage Law And The Containment Of Gender Trouble In The United Kingdom, Dr. Lisa Fishbayn

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Marriage Amendment Act: Can Australia Prohibit Same-Sex Marriage?, Katy A. King

Washington International Law Journal

Both the United States and Australia have federal legislation, the Defense of Marriage Act and the Marriage Amendment Act 2004, that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Australia has an express provision in its constitution granting Parliament the authority to pass laws on the subject of marriage. The United States, however, has no such constitutional provision. Consequently, Australia’s express constitutional provision may lead the High Court of Australia to rule that the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 is constitutional, which would likely preclude Australia’s states and territories from passing local same-sex marriage acts. This is fundamentally …

Guide For Parents: Walking Your Way Through The Nebraska Juvenile Court Child Protection Process, Jennifer Conner

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and Related Organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:
The Basics
Common Questions
Rights
Special Concerns for Parents
Services Available to You if Needed
Responsibilities
The Court Process
Detention Hearing
Adjudication Hearing
Disposition Hearing
Review Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Termination of Parental Rights
Who’s Involved
The Judge
Your Attorney
Your Caseworker
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
County Attorney
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Foster Care Review Board
Important Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers
Your Judge
Your Caseworker
Your Attorney
Your Child’s CASA Volunteer
Your Child’s GAL
Your Service Provider
Your Court Hearings
Definitions of Common Terms

Representing Victims Of Domestic Violence In Property Distribution Proceedings After The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005, Elizabeth Brandt

Articles

No abstract provided.

Birth Certificates, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

Birth certificates in the United States, which are issued by the states, have two different sections, and each section involves different privacy concerns. The first section, the legal record of birth, is always available to the adult whose birth it registers; access by other persons varies widely from state to state, ranging from a short list of specified relatives to the public at large. The second section of the certificate - which records health and medical information about the parents, the birth, and the infant - is used only for data collection and analysis, under regulations that protect the privacy …

The Difference The Mini-Domas Make, Andrew Koppelman

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pondering Conscience: Civil Disobedience In American Law And Same-Sex Dissent In The Elca, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

The conflict over marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples seems destined to be one of the key defining fault lines for both the mainline Christian churches and American government in this early part of the twenty-first century. Despite pleas from church leaders, including Mark Hanson, much of the polity of mainline Protestant churches, including the ELCA, the Episcopal Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and others have been sharply divided over the issue.

The issue of same-sex marriage remains both contentious and politically important. Same-sex marriage proponents recently achieved legislative or court victories in Massachusetts and in New Jersey, …

Review Of Juvenile Delinquency: Causes And Control (2nd Edition) By Robert Agnew, Ryan Spohn

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

Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control is a comprehensive text addressing the causes of, and responses to, a major social problem in modern American society. Although Robert Agnew is best known for his development of General Strain Theory, an individual level strain theory rooted in classical anomie theory and the more recent literature on stress, his broader record of publication denotes him as one of the premier theoretical analysts in the fields of criminology and juvenile delinquency. This text reflects his command of the discipline.

The book is oriented according to a number of themes. First, it is designed to be …