Family Law Commons^™

How Parents And Children Disappear In Our Courts - And Why It Need Not Ever Happen Again, James A. Cosby

Cleveland State Law Review

Part One of this Article further examines those moral, factual and legal dynamics in the family that make these cases so difficult. Part Two summarizes the present state of the law, and demonstrates precisely where and why the current legal approach is falling short. I will show how the law specifically fails to adequately define the rights of parents, substantively as well as procedurally and, I will furthermore demonstrate how, in their current forms, the doctrines of parental autonomy and the best interests of the child are far too broad and too rigid for many cases involving the parent-child relationship. …

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 …

The Aaml Model For A Parenting Plan, Mary Kay Kisthardt

Faculty Works

The American Law Institute's Principles on the Law of Family Dissolution were published in 2002. These principles, which were developed over nearly a decade, reflect the thinking of prominent family law scholars, practitioners and judges concerning the legal consequences of marital dissolution: child custody, child support, distribution of marital property and compensatory payments to former spouses. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers undertook the process of reviewing the ALI Principles concerning the Allocation of Custodial Decision-Making Responsibilities for Children and drafting a model parenting plan that would reflect the spirit of the ALI Principles relating to parenting plans without reference …

Domestic Violance In The First-Year Torts Curriculum, Jennifer B. Wriggins

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

"Well-Behaved Women Don't Make History": Rethinking English Family, Law, And History, Danaya C. Wright

UF Law Faculty Publications

In 1857 Parliament finally succumbed to public and political pressure and passed a bill creating a domestic relations court: the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. This new court for the first time in common-law history, combined the following jurisdictions: the ecclesiastical court's jurisdiction over marital validity and separation; the Chancery court's jurisdiction over child custody and equitable estates; the common-law court's jurisdiction over property; and Parliament's jurisdiction over divorce and marital settlements. Wives were given the legal right to seek a divorce or judicial separation in a court of law, receive custody of the children of the marriage, and …

Family Law—Relocation Disputes—From Parent To Paycheck: The Demotion Of The Noncustodial Parent With The Creation Of The Custodial Parent's Presumptive Right To Relocate. Hollandsworth V. Knyzewski, 353 Ark. 470, 109 S.W.3d 653 (2003)., Christopher P. Carrington

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Debts, Divorce And Disarray In Bankruptcy, Margaret M. Mahoney

ExpressO

The article addresses a point of intersection between federal bankruptcy law and state family law. Specifically, I deal with the various issues that arise when a former spouse to whom pre-existing marital debts were allocated at the time of divorce subsequently declares bankruptcy. A review of the legal literature reveals very little attention paid to the rights of the third-party marital creditor, the obligated spouse, and the other former spouse as to allocated debts, when the obligated spouse declares bankruptcy. While there is a significant body of work dealing generally with the treatment of divorce-related debts in bankruptcy, none of …

Still Part Of The Clan: Representing Elders In The Family Law Practice, Sy Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Embracing Tradition: Pluralism In American Family Law, Ann Laquer Estin

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding Family Law In Context: The Court Observation Assignment, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case Of Egypt, Lama Abu-Odeh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Author discusses the dynamics of family law reforms in modern Egypt as an instance of similar dynamics of reforms in other Muslim countries. The forces that push for reforms as well as those that try to limit them are also introduced. The Author begins by describing the historical legal background shared by the vast majority of Muslim countries, including Egypt. An account of the general evolution of Islamic law-from a dominant system existing within an Islamic state to a subordinate system existing within an overall secularized legal system characterized by legal borrowing from European codes-is given. Islamic law has …

Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case Of Egypt, Lama Abu-Odeh

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

he Author discusses the dynamics of family law reforms in modern Egypt as an instance of similar dynamics of reforms in other Muslim countries. The forces that push for reforms as well as those that try to limit them are also introduced.

The Author begins by describing the historical legal background shared by the vast majority of Muslim countries, including Egypt. An account of the general evolution of Islamic law-from a dominant system existing within an Islamic state to a subordinate system existing within an overall secularized legal system characterized by legal borrowing from European codes-is given. Islamic law has …

The Role Of Socioeconomics In Teaching Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

Applying knowledge from other social sciences makes particular sense with the law and economics of the family. Much of the behavior we see and experience within families is difficult to see or understand as economically rational, that is, narrowly self-interested. Many of the legal changes we make that appear to be rational, at least from a cost-benefit perspective, turn out to be unsatisfying or even counterproductive. Though economists tend to view motivations or "utility functions" based upon "revealed preference," extended models like that of socioeconomics go below what is revealed to measure, as best we can, people's attitudes and feelings …

From Genes, Marriage And Money To Nurture: Redefining Fatherhood, Nancy E. Dowd

UF Law Faculty Publications

Genes should not define fatherhood. This is wrong for men, and wrong for children. Genes define identity, but that link should be separated from the obligations and rights of parenthood. Specifically, I argue that fatherhood should be defined by doing (action) instead of being (status), with the critical component being acts of nurturing. In this essay I define in more detail this concept of fatherhood and its characteristics; discuss the consequences related to genetic ties; and consider the policy implications of defining fatherhood around nurture when genetic ties can be established for all children. It is critical throughout to remain …

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 – Creation Of A Caring Justice System, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Developments In Law And Policy: Emerging Issues In Family Law, Michael T. Morley, Richard Albert, Jennie L. Kneedler, Chrystiane Pereira

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Family Law: Third Party Custody After Baby Girl L. And A.G.S.: Now Where Are We?, Robert G. Spector

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Terror (The Sniper Suspect's Divorce Records Show Patterns Of Power And Control And Missed Opportunities By The System To Intervene.), Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past few months, we have learned much about the violent, troubled life of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. Whether or not he pulled the trigger - some recent reports have pointed to his 17-year-old companion Lee Boyd Malvo as the main shooter - there is no doubt in the minds of domestic-violence experts that this adult is responsible for these deaths.

While many pundits conclude that we will never know what motivated the sniper suspect, to domestic violence experts his is an all-too-familiar story of a man whose relationships with the women and children - possibly including Malvo …

Family Law, Elizabeth P. Coughter, Ronald R. Tweel

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Empirical Work In Family Law, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

Until fairly recently, researchers have not done much theoretical work on the subject of family law. Although the move towards theoretical work is a positive one, unfortunately, most of the latest reforms in family law have been uninformed by empirical studies. Furthermore, the few empirical studies that have been conducted are replete with intractable problems.

In this essay, Margaret Brinig discusses some of the problems researchers have encountered in their attempts to conduct empirical work in the area of family law. For example, most researchers have used state cross-sectional data for their experiments. Reliance on this type of data can …

Dealing With Complex Evidence Of Domestic Violence: A Primer For The Civil Bench, Jane C. Murphy, Jane H. Aiken

All Faculty Scholarship

New laws and policies aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence have been adopted across the country throughout the last twenty years. The legal approaches taken to protect battered women and control family violence have brought about significant changes in family law. New laws include statutes permitting civil protection or restraining orders, and laws requiring that domestic violence be considered in custody and visitation decisions. Both of these types of statutory reforms can provide protection to adult victims of domestic violence and their children. Evaluating a parent’s fitness by considering past acts of violence to other family members results in …

No Runner V. Calf Looking, 01-Ap-25 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Oct. 11, 2001), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court considered whether the trial court judge erred by holding a hearing without the natural father being present and granting custody to the natural mother allowing her to leave the jurisdiction of the Court. The Court found that the lower court erred in granting custody of a child to the mother, given un-explored allegations of abuse by the mother, and after the clerks failed to properly deliver service for notice of the hearing to the natural father. The father’s due process rights were violated and this case is remanded for a new …

Reflecting Reality: Adding Elder Abuse And Neglect To Legal Education, Seymour H. Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Agency In Battered Mothers, Elaine M. Chiu

Faculty Publications

Despite the progress of the last three decades, the American public and even feminists remain caught in a web of ambivalence and contradictory attitudes and beliefs about battered women. Are battered women traumatized victims who suffer at the hands of their individual abusers and from the systemic failures of a male-dominated culture? Are they, therefore, unable to save themselves or their children? In contrast, are these women survivors who manage to protect themselves as best they can under uniquely difficult circumstances? Do they deserve recognition for their efforts, or do battered women somehow contribute to or exacerbate their own abuse …

The Strange History Of Adult Adoptee Access To Original Birth Records, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, contemporary accounts reported that most states had sealed adoption court records completely but, typically, had sealed original birth certificates from all persons except adult adoptees. Through the 1950s influential experts recommended that original birth certificates remain available to adult adoptees, while birth and court records otherwise be closed to all persons except upon court order. In 1960 the laws in some 40 percent of the states still permitted adult adoptees to inspect them, but between 1960 and 1990 all but a handful of the rest of the states closed the birth records to …

Family Law: Whose Kids Are They, Anyway?: Analyzing Troxel V. Granville And The Current State Of Oklahoma's Grandparent Visitation Statute, Natania M. Soto

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Paradox Of Family Privacy, David D. Meyer

Vanderbilt Law Review

When it comes to the nature of the Constitution's protection for freedom of choice in matters relating to family life, there is wide agreement on perhaps only two points: first, that the subject raises "questions of unsurpassed significance in th[e] Court's interpretation of the Constitution,"' and, second, that the Court's halting passes at these questions have left its family privacy doctrine in a state of unsurpassed disarray. The significance of the questions is transparent. A comprehensive account of the subject calls for answers to the most basic and intractable problems of judicial review, answers that might justify the judiciary's role …