Family Law Commons^™

Members Only: The Need For Reform In U.S. Intercountry Adoption Policy, Colin Joseph Troy

Seattle University Law Review

In the last five years, Americans have adopted nearly seventy thousand children from foreign countries. The trend of intercountry adoption, “the process by which a married couple or single individual of one country adopts a child from another country,” is representative of the new globalized world, where families are formed and dissolved beyond the bounds of national borders. Although intercountry adoption has enabled many adoptive parents to form loving families and provide caring living environments for countless children, intercountry adoption is not without its share of problems. Corruption and abuse, such as child trafficking, have in many cases marred the …

Divorce And The Best Interest Of The Child: Disputes Over Visitation And The Japanese Family Courts, Takao Tanase, Matthew J. Mccauley

Washington International Law Journal

The following is a translation of an article written by Professor Takao Tanase for the December 2009 edition of Jiyū to Seigi, a Japanese legal periodical. Divorce and familial breakdown has become a major problem in modern Japanese society, yet the law does not provide any meaningful protection for the noncustodial parent. Professor Tanase analyzes this issue from a comparative and theoretical perspective, looking at the current Japanese visitation laws in place today, while contrasting those with the system in the United States. He also looks at how those laws affect actual families, and how the courts have implemented …

Divorce And The Welfare Of The Child In Japan, Matthew J. Mccauley

Washington International Law Journal

Current Japanese legal institutions are ill-equipped to resolve the complicated issues surrounding visitation, custody, and divorce. Japanese views toward family and society have changed greatly since the post-World War II family law was enacted in the 1950s, but the law has not evolved accordingly. This is especially clear in the methods used to determine custody and visitation, as well as the kyōgi rikon, or divorce by mutual consent system. Policy makers and activists are both working to resolve this problem, but their ongoing struggle has yet to produce any tangible results. This comment argues that the Japanese legal system …

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, …

Shapiro: Palimony And The Estate Tax, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

In Estate of Shapiro, the Ninth Circuit held that an individual had a valid palimony claim under Nevada state law. However, the issue was whether the decedent’s estate qualified for a deduction for that claim under federal estate tax law.

Doe V. Doe, Edna Arbel, Hanan Melcer, Uzi Vogelman

Translated Opinions

This is an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Nazareth District Court, which rejected by a majority the applicant’s appeal challenging the decision of the Nazareth Family Court. The Family Court ordered the return of the applicant’s and the respondent’s daughter to New Jersey, in the United States, under the Hague Convention Act (Returning Abducted Children), subject to amendments it set in the conditions to returning the daughter. The District Court’s majority held that there was no place to intervene in the factual findings made by the family court, both in regard to the abduction act and …

In Search Of Parity: Child Custody/Visitation And Child Support For Lesbian Couples Under “Companion” Cases Debra H. And In Re H.M., Jason C. Beekman

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

The United States is engaged in a national debate over whether to grant same-sex couples the rights and privileges of marriage. Supporters of marriage equality flood the media with images of jubilant same-sex couples simply wanting the chance to say their “I dos” and have the state formally recognize their shared love and commitment. The unfortunate reality is, however, that many homosexual relationships, like heterosexual relationships, dissolve. Marriage rights play as important a role at a relationship’s dissolution as they do at a relationship’s inception. This paper focuses on one such issue often left out of the public discourse over …

Redefining Child Under The State Children's Health Insurance Program: Capable Of Repetition, Yet Evading Results, Elisabeth H. Sperow

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go: Why Immigrant Reunification Decisions Should Be Based On The Best Interest Of The Child, Marcia Zug

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reviewing Racism And The Right To Marry: An Analysis Of Loving V. Virginia, Kathryn L. Jordan

Senior Honors Theses

Prior to the 1967 United States Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia, many states had laws that banned the intermarriage of whites with black or other minorities. Since then, the number of interracial marriages has increased and the attitudes of society have shifted. This thesis uses Loving as basis to explore the ways in which societal views have changed since the overruling of the anti-miscegenation statutes. It first discusses the culture in America before Loving and then, explains the details of the Loving case. This is then followed by a synopsis of how the culture changed after Loving. After …

Clark County Family Mediation Center: A Time Efficient Solution To Child Custody Dispute Resolution, Danielle Puentedura

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

To reduce court dockets and streamline child custody resolutions, a growing number of US states are implementing mandatory mediation sessions for divorce cases where child custody is in dispute. Clark County Eighth District Court, Family Division implements such mandatory mediation through the Family Mediation Center.

During 2008, approximately 6,295 divorce cases were filed, and of those 2100 were ordered to attempt mandatory mediation.

Domestic Violence In The United States: A Preliminary Report Prepared For Rashida Manjoo, U.N. Special Rapporteur On Violence Against Women, Brenda V. Smith, Caroline Bettinger-Lopez, Farrah Elchahal, Miraisy Rodriguez, Monika Siwiec, Christina Brandt-Young, Kirsten Carlson, Gabrielle Davis, Margaret Drew, Rebecca Landy, Adam Dubin, Rachel Natelson, Sandra Park, Ana Romes, Jessica Rubenstein, Cynthia Soohoo, Cheryl Thomas, Sandra Jezierski, Casey R. Schultz

Research Reports & White Papers

Domestic violence is a distinctive and complex type of violence. The intimate relationship between the victim and the perpetrator is historically construed as private and therefore beyond the reach of law. The often hidden site of the violence buttresses this conceptualization. The victim is often financially dependent on her abuser, and other economic and familial factors complicate the victim’s response to abuse. Moreover, women who complain of domestic violence frequently face intimidation, retaliation, and stigmatization, and thus incidents of domestic violence are notoriously under-reported and under-prosecuted throughout the world, including the United States.

Any meaningful analysis of the nature and …

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 …

The Financial Costs And Legal Repercussions Of Marriage Inequality, Lisa Milot, Kim Mellen

Working in the Public Interest Conferences

Discusses the financial and legal consequences that couples face when their unions are not recognized by the State.

Providing Attorneys For Children In Dependency And Termination Of Parental Rights Proceedings In Florida: The Issue Updated, Michael J. Dale

Faculty Scholarship

Florida's system for providing protection and safety to children in the State's child welfare system has changed over the past decade. Regretfully, the changes do not appear to have had a significant impact in two areas: increasing the safety and protection of children in the system' and providing children with independent attorneys to advocate on their behalf. Investigations, lawsuits, grand juries, amendments to court rules, and newspaper articles continue to demonstrate the myriad failures in the Florida system. Two notorious examples hi-lite the shortcomings: the cases of the foster child, Rilya Wilson, who disappeared in 2001, and Gabriel Myers, who …

All In The Family: Towards A New Representational Model For Parents And Children, Cynthia Godsoe

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

State V. Harden: Muddying The Waters Of Self-Defense Law In West Virginia, Devin C. Daines

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cause Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: The Need For Uniform Enforcement Of Cohabitation Agreements In West Virginia, Emily E. Diederich

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Artificial Insemination And The Presumption Of Parenthood: Traditional Foundations And Modern Applications For Lesbian Mothers, William M. Lopez

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This note traces the history of the presumption of parenthood and applies the traditional rationales underlying the presumption to support its application to married lesbian couples. Part I discusses the formation of the presumption in England and recognizes that the presumption was created for three important reasons: to protect the child; to protect the public purse; and to protect the biological family. Part II discusses state laws on artificial insemination and dissects the basic requirements for both same-sex and opposite-sex parents. This Part then applies the presumption's traditional rationales to lesbian couples having children, arguing that the same presumption should …

Resolving Conflicts Of Constitution: Inside The Dominican Republic's Constitutional Ban On Abortion, Mia So

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Teens, Technology, And Cyberstalking: The Domestic Violence Wave Of The Future?, Andrew King-Ries

Faculty Law Review Articles

The American criminal justice system, (therefore), is facing a future domestic violence crisis. Unfortunately, authorities-both parents and law enforcement-tend to minimize the seriousness of violence within adolescent relationships and to minimize the seriousness of stalking. In addition, given the prevalence and embrace of technology by teenagers, criminalizing "normal" teenage behavior seems counter-productive. While an effective criminal justice system response to this problem has yet to be developed, the first step will be for parents and law enforcement to recognize the risk and take it seriously. The second step will be to "renorm" unhealthy teenage relationship norms. It is possible that …

Gimme Shelter, Robert Leckey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Highlighting the family home's significance as shelter this paper challenges the prevailing view of the demands of the equality guarantee in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms regarding unmarried cohabitants. In Nova Scotia (Attorney General) v. Walsh, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the claim that it was discriminatory to restrict rules dividing matrimonial property to married couples. By contrast, on many views it is discriminatory to exclude cohabitants from a support obligation. Scholars and judges assume that Walsh upholds all statutory rules regarding married spouses and their property, including measures protecting the family home as shelter But Walsh …

No Place For Children: Addressing Urban Blight And Its Impact On Children Through Child Protection Law, Domestic Relations Law, And "Adult-Only" Residential Zoning, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

International Child Abduction And Children's Rights: Two Means To The Same End, Eran Sthoeger

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Hague Convention aims to deter future abductors and demonstrate mutual respect for the laws of its member states, while presumably serving the best interests of the child. It operates as a jurisdictional mechanism by reinstating the status quo prior to the removal through the prompt return of the child to his or her place of habitual residence. This return, as clearly stated in the Hague Convention itself, bears no effect on the merits of any existing or future custody dispute between the parents. The Hague Convention demands that contracting states respect past or future decisions pertaining to custody decided …

Deporting Families: Poliltical Question Or Legal Issue?, Angela M. Banks

Faculty Publications

Last year 245,424 noncitizens were removed from the United States, and courts played virtually no role in ensuring that these decisions did not violate individual substantive rights like freedom of speech, substantive due process, or retroactivity. Had these individuals been deported from a European country, domestic and regional courts would have reviewed the decisions to ensure compatibility with these types of rights. Numerous international law scholars and immigration scholars seek to minimize the gap between the legal processes offered in the United States and Europe for noncitizens challenging deportation orders. Many of these scholars contend that greater recognition of international …

Cracks In The Cost Structure Of Agency Adoption, Andrea B. Carroll

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Fortuity And Forensic Familial Identification, Natalie Ram

All Faculty Scholarship

On July 7, 2010, Los Angeles police announced the arrest of a suspect in the Grim Sleeper murders, so called because of a decade-long hiatus in killings. The break in the case came when California searched its state DNA database for a genetic profile similar, but not identical, to the killer’s. DNA is inherited in specific and predictable ways, so a source-excluding partial match might indicate that a close genetic relative of the matching offender was the Grim Sleeper. California’s apparent success in this case has intensified interest in policymaking for source-excluding partial matching. To date, however, little information about …

Same Sex Marriage: Does The Constitution Or State Constitution Support Same-Sex Marriages?, Sonja Seehusen

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Linton Reversed: Indirect Gifts And The Step Transaction Doctrine, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

The Ninth Circuit recently reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the government in Linton on the issues of indirect gift and the applicability of the step transaction doctrine. The circuit court’s analysis focused on the taxpayers’ donative intent. With that emphasis, the Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court to determine the sequence of the relevant transactions.

Belonging In America: How To Understand Same-Sex Marriage, Robert A. Burt

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.