Family Law Commons^™

Unsafe Havens: The Case For Constitutional Protection Of Foster Children From Abuse And Neglect, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The six sections of this Article present the case for direct federal court involvement in aiding foster children who are at risk of abuse and neglect while in foster care. Section I discusses the extent of abuse and neglect in foster care as well as the structural causes of this maltreatment. It also explains the inevitable failure of the political branches of government to confront the problem. Section II describes the constitutional right to safety and surveys the judicial treatment of that right, including the lack of development of the right for children in foster care. Section III discusses differences …

Representation Of Children In Child Abuse And Neglect Cases: An Empirical Look At What Constitutes Effective Representation, Donald N. Duquette, Sarah H. Ramsey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article describes the purposes and design of our empirical study and analyzes the study's findings. Part I presents a case study of the representation of a child by a volunteer in a way that exhibits the role definition and training of the demonstration groups. Parts II and III discuss who should represent children and how those child advocates should be trained. Part IV discusses the design of the study. Part V presents an analysis of the study's findings. Finally, Part VI considers the policy implications of the study and concludes that the demonstration groups improved the quality of representation …

The Battering Parent Syndrome: Inexpert Testimony As Character Evidence, Thomas N. Bulleit Jr.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note proposes that courts refuse to give further consideration to admitting the battering parent syndrome as evidence in both civil and criminal proceedings arising out of child abuse. Part I of the Note describes the syndrome as it appears in the psychological literature. Part II suggests that current judicial attitudes favor the future admissibility of the syndrome, conditioned only on an improved showing of scientific accuracy. Part III demonstrates that regardless of scientific accuracy, the character evidence rule forbids courts from admitting the battering parent syndrome. Part IV argues that the important policies underlying the character evidence rule override …

Coercive Governmental Intervention And The Family: A Comment On North Carolina's Proposed Standards, The Hon. Clarence E. Horton Jr.

Campbell Law Review

It is ... the purpose of this comment ... to examine the broad changes which the proposed standards would make in the present child-protection and foster care system, and to suggest additional areas in which further study is needed.

Criminal Law - A New Means To Combat Child Abuse?, Janet Coleman

Campbell Law Review

This note will examine State v. Walden in light of prior North Carolina law, in relation to the new law it creates, as well as the policy interests involved in this area of criminal liability.

Interviewing The Child, Donald N. Duquette, Janet Stubbs

Book Chapters

The attorney representing a child needs to gather considerable information about his client. He needs to know the nature of the child's home environment, his present placement, his condition and adaptation to placement if the child is out of the home, his reasonable preferences for placement. He needs to know the age of the child, the child's capabilities and limitations, the number of siblings, the make-up of the family, the circumstances which led to removal, the legal and social alternatives available to the child and his family.

Recent Amendments To The Texas Child Abuse Statutes: An Analysis And Recommendation., Antoinette M. Pollock

St. Mary's Law Journal

Each year approximately one million children experience abuse by their parents and more than two thousand die as a result of injuries suffered. Drafters of child abuse legislation face the difficult task of accommodating the rights of parent and child, while ensuring the necessary exercise of state authority. In view of the delicate balancing of interests involved, child protection laws must be extensive and detailed in order to withstand constitutional challenge. The Sixty-sixth session of the Texas Legislature amended the child abuse section of the Texas Family Code. The Texas Family Code, as amended, is now capable of withstanding constitutional …

Thinking About Public Policy Toward Abuse And Neglect Of Children: A Review Of Before The Best Interests Of The Child, Michael S. Wald

Michigan Law Review

A review of Before the Best Interests of the Child by Joseph Goldstein, Anna Freud, and Albert J. Solnit

Book Reviews, Morris L. Cohen, Judith T. Younger

Vanderbilt Law Review

Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations Used in American Law Books by Doris Bieber

The proliferation of legal sources and abbreviations poses two related problems--first, the need for standardized citation forms,and second, the need for guides to commonly used abbreviations. The first problem has been difficult to solve, and universal acceptance of standard citations is unlikely to be achieved. A Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard Law Review Association, in collaboration with the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal, has attained wide acceptance and has become the authoritative guide for legal citations …

The Juvenile Court And Emotional Neglect Of Children, James B. Stoetzer

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A primary function of the Juvenile Court is to assist in the protection of children from abuse and neglect. Juvenile court acts, child abuse reporting statutes, and child protective services legislation have incorporated provisions dealing with physical abuse and physical neglect of children. Such legislation enables state intervention into family life for the protection of children exposed to harmful environments. Statutory definitions of abuse and neglect provide a basis on which the community, frequently through the juvenile court, may pass judgment on the existence of child neglect and offer services or coerce family members to accept them. A few states, …

Intervention Between Parent And Child: A Reappraisal Of The State’S Role In Child Neglect And Abuse Cases, Judith C. Areen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Once a court agrees that it has sufficient cause to assume jurisdiction in order to protect a child, there is a high probability that the child will be separated from his family for months or years, or permanently. Despite the disruptive impact this process obviously can have on children and their families, at present there is little consensus about when a court should find that a particular child is neglected or abused. And just as there is little agreement on when intervention in a particular family is justified, there is little agreement about what forms of intervention are constructive.

The Relationship Between Promise And Performance In State Intervention In Family Life, Peter L. Strauss, Millard L. Midonick, Nanette Dembitz, Harriet F. Pilpel, David J. Rothman

Faculty Scholarship

JUDGE MIDONICK: We have a fantastic representation of our alumni here and we've overdone our 10:00 starting time and we're supposed to stop at 12:00 promptly in order for us to go to the Low Memorial Library for lunch, for those who are having lunch with us. In order to be on time for this afternoon's extravaganza we really ought to begin now. You must understand this program is entirely unrehearsed and therefore will be more interesting. We have with us today a panel of four whom I will introduce as they are to speak. The first speaker will speak …