Family Law Commons^™

Protecting Children By Preserving Parenthood, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Establishing legal parentage, once a relatively straightforward matter of marriage and biology, has become increasingly complex. The determination of legal status as mother may now involve several women making claims based on genetic contribution, contract, status as gestational carrier or other bases. The debate about the best choice for children when adults are competing for parental status is ongoing, lively and filled with many voices. Less attention has been paid to a much larger, second category of cases - cases in which the law is faced with resolving the legal status of the one adult who may be available to …

Introducing The Construct Of The Jury Into Family Violence Proceedings And Family Court Jurisprudence, Melissa L. Breger

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article draws upon both the theory of and research on procedural justice holding that litigants often focus on the appearance of fairness rather than on the actual outcome. Thus, when litigants are able to choose the modality of fact-finding, they may be more accepting of the legal process, even if the outcome is not favorable to them. Allowing the option of a jury, even if not exercised, may dramatically improve the perceptions of litigants and may affect the legitimacy and longevity of case outcomes.

The Rights Of Putative Fathers To Their Infant Children In Contested Adoptions: Strengthening State Laws That Currently Deny Adequate Protection, Robbin Pott Gonzalez

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This paper argues that states need to strengthen protection of putative fathers' rights to their infant children when the mother wishes for the child to be adopted. Part I frames the discussion around established parental rights through constitutional case law. To do this, the paper addresses both the Supreme Court's parental rights doctrine and its biology-plus doctrine, which requires unwed fathers to show that in addition to being the biological father they also have taken responsibility for their children. Part II describes common state statutes that affect putative fathers, including putative father registries, safe haven laws, and laws granting custody …

Standing In Babylon, Looking Toward Zion, Katherine R. Kruse

Scholarly Works

This article defends the triumph of vision at the 2006 UNLV Conference on Representing Children in Families by examining the interrelationship between idealism and realism in the definition of lawyers' roles and the importance of idealized visions to the process of reforming dysfunctional systems. This article suggests that the vision of lawyering for children sketched in the UNLV Recommendations--though based in idealism--is both deeply realistic and ultimately practical. This article thus affirms the choice of the group of idealists who stood together for a few days in modern-day Babylon to keep their eyes trained on the vision of Zion as …

Washington's 2002 Parentage Act: A Step Backward For The Rights Of Nonmarital Children, Stacey Scriven Bernstein

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this Comment is to encourage the Washington legislature to amend the WPA and to suggest potential avenues for challenging the Act if it is not amended. Part II of this Comment provides the historical and legal context necessary to analyze and critique the WPA. Part III discusses the WPA's serious shortcomings and explores one potential constitutional challenge to the Act. Part IV contains recommendations for amending the WPA.

But I Didn't Do Anything Wrong: Revisiting The Rights Of Non-Offending Parents In Child Protection Proceedings, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

Steven, a minor living with his mother, enjoyed a nurturing relationship with his father, Mark. He saw his father every weekend and looked forward to their time together. Mark looked for ways in which to stay involved in his child's life. Two days ago, the Department of Human Services (DHS) removed Steven from his mother's custody because, unbeknown to Mark, Stevens mother was selling drugs in the home. At the time of removal, the police did not inquire about the whereabouts of Stevens father; DHS immediately placed Steven in a foster home.

Perpetuating The Impermanence Of Foster Children: A Critical Analysis Of Efforts To Reform The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

The importance of expediting the placement of foster children into permanent homes has emerged as a dominant theme in child welfare policy. Identifying and finalizing legally secure placements provides children with psychological stability and a sense of belonging, and limits the likelihood of future disruptions of familial relationships. Upon a child's entry into foster care, child welfare agencies, under both federal and state laws, are compelled to develop a detailed plan to ensure a child's prompt placement into such a home. If a parent is unable to rectify the conditions causing the child's placement in foster care within a year, …

Addressing Putative Fathers In Child Protection Proceedings: Is 'John Doe' Still Alive?, Frank E. Vandervort, W. Lansat

Articles

In practice, it seems, KH is not widely understood. Child protection petitions for temporary custody continue to name multiple men as the "father" of a child when there is a legal father. Some courts insist on terminating the parental rights of "John Doe" when no man has established paternity. After KH, are such actions necessary? Are they permissible?

A Truancy Court Program To Keep Students In School, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

Under Maryland law, "[e]ach person who has legal custody or care and control of a child who is 5 years old or older and under 16 shall see that the child attends school..." MD. Education Code Ann. Sect. 7-301 (c) 2006. The law also provides penalties for violations, as the legal custodian or caregiver "who fails to see that the child attends school...is guilty of a misdemeanor," which could result in fines of $50 to $100 per day of unlawful absence and/or imprisonment for 10 to 30 days, depending on whether the conviction is a first or subsequent conviction. MD. …

Out Of State And Out Of Luck: The Treatment Of Non-Custodial Parents Under The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

Courts handling child abuse and neglect cases face a daunting task. Within one to three days after a child is removed from his home, a court hearing must be held to determine whether court intervention and continued removal of the child is necessary. At this hearing, the court must sort through and evaluate the state's allegations and assess the various risks posed by placing the child in foster care or returning the child to one or both of his parents. Courts must weigh the heavy emphasis the law places on preserving the family unit against the equally paramount mandate to …

Evaluating Marriage: Does Marriage Matter To The Nurturing Of Children?, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Three decades ago, it would have been inconceivable for people to discuss seriously the idea of withdrawing the legal and financial support society gives to marriage. In recent years, however, thinkers and policymakers have given more serious thought to the possibility of eliminating marriage as a category entitled to the State’s support. An important consideration in this debate is whether keeping or eliminating the State’s support of marriage matters to the well-being of children. A wealth of studies contemplating modern family forms now exists, many of which invariably stack newer family structures up against the more traditional nuclear family. Until …

Secondhand Smoke And The Family Courts: The Role Of Smoke Exposure In Custody And Visitation Decisions, Kathleen Dachille, Kristine Callahan

Faculty Scholarship

This publication is designed to assist courts, practitioners and lay people who are faced with a custody or visitation proceeding in which a child's exposure to secondhand smoke has been or may be raised.

The Inner Lives Of Children In Lesbigay Adoption: Narratives And Other Concerns, Lynn D. Wardle

St. Thomas Law Review

This article attempts to review some of the serious, non-stereotyped concerns that underlie some of the objections of thoughtful legal commentators to adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples or partners. These objections fall into four categories of significant concern: (1) the best interests of children, (2) the integrity of the legal institution of adoption, (3) inappropriate judicial behavior, including manifestation of bias and animus, and the exercise of (legislative) policy-making prerogatives, and (4) the failure to explore, much less carefully consider, alternative solutions (and the hasty abandonment of processes of careful, incremental change to embrace a radical, but …

Domestic Violence And Mediation: Responding To The Challenges Of Crafting Effective Screens, Jane C. Murphy, Robert Rubinson

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the last two decades, mediation of family law cases has become well-established in American courts. As mediation has grown, experts have recognized that power imbalances between couples may interfere with mediation. This imbalance is particularly evident where one partner has been abusive to the other. Widespread consensus has developed that decisions about whether mediation is appropriate are particularly crucial and delicate when domestic violence is present. Despite this consensus, there is evidence that courts are still ordering couples who have experienced domestic violence to mediate their family law disputes with little or not particularized examination of the couples' circumstances. …

Legal Images Of Fatherhood: Welfare Reform, Child Support Enforcement, And Fatherless Children, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article analyzes the issue of paternity disestablishment, an issue courts and legislatures have been struggling with over the last several years. For a variety of reasons explored in this Article, an increasing number of fathers have filed requests to set aside paternity orders seeking to be relieved of the legal obligations of fatherhood. As a result families have been destabilized and children are becoming fatherless. The implications for the future of the family are profound. Although some scholars have examined this phenomenon, none have addressed the link between paternity disestablishment and welfare reform.

This Article explores the law's evolving …

An Analysis Of Unified Family Courts In Maryland And California: Their Relevance For Ontario's Family Justice System, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

The Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario has contracted with the University of Baltimore School of Law's Center for Families, Children and the Courts to prepare this research paper. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of unified family courts and court-connected family services in two jurisdictions, Maryland and California, as agreed to by officials of the Ministry. The overview provides information about the structure of each jurisdiction's unified family court, family services connected to the court, the role of judicial and quasi-judicial officers, the assignment and specialization of the judiciary, rules or processes to deal …

Between Dependency And Liberty: The Conundrum Of Children’S Rights In The Gilded Age, David S. Tanenhaus

Scholarly Works

Although legal scholars often assume that the history of children's rights in the United States did not begin until the mid twentieth century, this essay argues that a sophisticated conception of children's rights existed a century earlier, and analyzes how lawmakers articulated it through their attempts to define the rights of dependent children. How to handle their cases raised fundamental questions about whether children were autonomous beings or the property of either their parents and/or the state. And, if the latter, what were the limits of parental authority and/or the power of the state acting as a parent? By investigating …

For The Sake Of All Children: Opponents And Supporters Of Same-Sex Marriage Both Miss The Mark, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Inter-American System, Claudia Martin

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Foster Care Placement: Reducing The Risk Of Sibling Incest, David J. Herring

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Westermarck theory maintains that incest avoidance arises from the physical proximity of siblings during a critical period of early childhood. This proximity gives rise to an inhibiting effect on post childhood sexual interest. Two recent studies of sibling relationships have verified and refined the Westermarck theory, indicating that the critical period extends through the first four years of childhood. The theory and the studies have implications for child welfare laws, policies and practices surrounding the placement of siblings in foster care. Namely, the findings provide powerful reasons for placing siblings together during the critical period in order to minimize …

Ub Viewpoint – Defining Legal Fatherhood: Part Ii, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Achieving Batterer Accountability In The Child Protection System, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Do Moms And Dads Matter? Evidence From The Social Sciences On Family Structure And The Best Interests Of The Child, Maggie Gallagher, Joshua K. Baker

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

The Columbus Project In The Family Court Of Western Australia: A Model Of Reflective Practice, Lisbeth Pike, Paul Murphy

Research outputs pre 2011

The Columbus Pilot project conducted in the Family Court of Western Australia during 2001-2003, was established to deal with cases that are characterised by violence. Paul Murphy and Lis Pike of the School of Psychology, Edith Cowan University, discuss how the Columbus process of jointly chaired interdisciplinary conferences in the court has influenced the evolution of a model of reflective practice.

The Debate Over The Denial Of Marriage Rights And Benefits To Same-Sex Couples And Their Children, Liz Seaton

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Delivery Of Legal Services To Children In The Boston Area, Tamar Ezer

Articles

No abstract provided.

Delinquency Jurisdiction In A Unified Family Court: Balancing Intervention, Prevention, And Adjudication, Gloria Danziger

All Faculty Scholarship

This article will examine the demographics of the current juvenile delinquency caseloads and will argue that, despite trends toward greater punitive measures-including placement of juveniles in adult courts for certain offenses, the concept of a therapeutic "family-centered court," which inspired Jane Addams and her colleagues, remains the most promising approach to delinquency, articulated most notably by the proponents of the unified family court concept. The article will consider and address objections and concerns raised with respect to this approach, looking at ways in which several states have incorporated juvenile delinquency into a family-centered unified family court.

Ub Viewpoint – Changing Roles Of Fatherhood, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Symposium: The Relationship Rights Of Children

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Children's Associational Rights?: Why Less Is More, Emily Buss

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.