Family Law Commons^™

State-To-State Child Adoption Variations: A Political Culture Perspective, Erica Trabing

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The domestic adoption system throughout the United States has been complex yet crucial in starting millions of families over the years. About 7 million Americans are considered adopted persons, and as many as 100 million Americans have adoption in their immediate families. Though these numbers seem impressive, there are still 130,000 children in the U.S. foster care system waiting to be adopted. Adoptions in the US fall into one of three main categories. The first is adoption of children from the public foster care system, the second is adoption through private adoption agencies or independently, and the final category is …

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2015, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society

The Clark Memorandum

• Watchmen on the Tower (Elder D. Todd Christofferson)
• Studying Law in the Light (Brett G. Scharffs)
• On Becoming a Spiritual Athlete (Steve Young)
• The Copyright Predicament (Clark D. Asay)
• The Case Against the Supreme Court (Erwin Chemerinsky)

The Civil Rights Of Sexually Exploited Youth In Foster Care, Dale Margolin Cecka

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of The Child Cases: How America's Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Normalising Power Of Marriage Law: An Irish Genealogy, 1945-2010, Deirdre Mcgowan

Other resources

Marriage law is often conceptualised as an instrument of power that illegitimately imposes the will of the State on its citizens. Paradoxically, marriage law is also offered as a route to liberation. In this thesis, I question the efficacy of this type of analysis by investigating the actual power effects of marriage law. Using Michel Foucault’s concepts of bio-power and government, and his genealogical approach to history, I identify the role played by marriage law in governing the social domain over a discrete period of Irish history. Drawing on this analysis I suggest that marriage law is part of a …

Developments In Family Law In The District Of Columbia: Three Significant Legislative Changes For Child Support, Meridel Bulle-Vu, Tianna Gibbs, Ashley Mcdowell

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Over the last decade, the District's child support law has changed in three significant ways: (1) by the enactment of a statute that requires sentencing judges to notify obligors of their right to modify or suspend their child support order during incarceration; (2) by the passage of a law that requires the District of Columbia government to distribute up to the first $150 of child support collected each month to custodial parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF); and (3) by substantial revisions to how child support orders are calculated under the District's Child Support Guideline (the Guideline).1 These …

Next Generation Tanf: Reconceptualizing Public Assistance As A Vehicle For Financial Inclusion, Aleta Sprague

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Fifty years into the War on Poverty, the ability to fully participate in American economic life is predicated on access to basic financial services and mechanisms; yet, public programs designed to support the economic advancement of people in poverty often explicitly excludeinte nded beneficiaries from meaningful engagement with financial institutions. To promote economic opportunity for families accessing public assistance, we need policy reforms that both remove access barriers and create entry points to the financial mainstream. Safe and affordable financial products are foundational to financial inclusion. Unbanked and "underbanked" households-the vast majority of which are low-income---often rely on high-cost credit, …

Reporting Homeless Parents For Child Neglect: A Case Study From Our Nation's Capital, Marta Beresin

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

In September 2012, Mary Brown called the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless (the Legal Clinic); she was being threatenedwith the loss of her children, then eight- and nine-years-old, for the sole reason that she was homeless. Before she sought legal advice, Mary had requested shelter for her family but had been denied. The irony of Mary's case is that the D.C. government agreed she was homeless and agreed that she needed to shelter her two daughters for their safety, but instead of sheltering her, the D.C. government reported her to child protective services. Mary and her daughters were turned …

Revisiting The War On Poverty: How Policy Can Better Shape The Income And Wages Of Families With Children, Joy Moses

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched a "War on Poverty" while delivering his first State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. His language conveyed ambitious plans to recreate American society:This budget, and this year's legislative program, are designed to help each and every American citizen fulfill his basic hopes-his hopes for a fair chance to make good; his hopes for fair play from the law; his hopes for a full-time job on full-time pay; his hopes for a decent home for his family in a decent community; his hopes for a good school for his children …

Civil Protection Orders: Increased Access And Narrowed Enforcement, Courtney Cross

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The statute governing civil protection orders in the District of Columbia is the Intrafamily Offenses Act,1 which has been in effect since 1970.2 This statute has been amended frequently over the past 45 years. While some of these changes have been clerical3 or procedural,4 there have also been substantive amendments which, inter alia,significantly expand both who may file for a protection order and what remedies that petitioner may request and receive. Yet this expansion has coincided with an intense scaling back by the judiciary of who can prosecute alleged violations of protection orders. While the statute continues to enable more …

The Real Marriage Penalty: How Welfare Law Discourages Marriage Despite Public Policy Statements To The Contrary - And What Can Be Done About It, Spencer Rand

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Couples regularly complain about marriage penalties,' discovering that the tax consequences of marrying make the cost of marriage prohibitive.2 Although attempts were made in the last decade to reduce those penalties for the middle class,3 the poor were not helped by these changes. 4 Along with tax penalties, including low-income wage earners facing severe decreases or becoming entirely ineligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) when they marry, the most common penalties reduce or eliminate government benefits upon marriage.

Summary Of Bluestein V. Bluestein, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 14 (Mar. 26, 2015), Ashleigh Wise

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held a district court has the authority to review and modify a custodial agreement once either party makes a modification request. When modifying a custodial agreement, however, the district court must primarily look for the child’s best interest.

Summary Of Bluestein V. Bluestein, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 14 (Mar. 26, 2015), Ashleigh Wise

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held a district court has the authority to review and modify a custodial agreement once either party makes a modification request. When modifying a custodial agreement, however, the district court must primarily look for the child’s best interest.

Obergefell V. Hodges, Et Al.: Brief Of Amici Curiae Family Law Scholars In Support Of Petitioners, Donald N. Duquette, Suellyn Scarnecchia, Frank E. Vandervort

Appellate Briefs

Amici Curiae -seventy four scholars of family law- respectfully submit this brief in support of Petitioners. The two questions presented here concern whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license or recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex. Amici have substantial knowledge of, and experience with, the state family laws that address marriage, parentage, and the wellbeing of children. Our brief demonstrates that the rationales proposed by Respondents for declining to license or recognize same sex marriages fundamentally conflict with basic family laws and policies in every state.

Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee ban same-sex couples …

Avoiding Juvenile Actions For Youth At Risk, Wanda L. Ward J. D.

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Targeted Audience: Classroom Teachers, School Administrators, Counselors, Social Workers, Behavior Specialists, & Juvenile Probation Officers (JPO)

Brief Description: In this session participants will learn strategies that build trust and mutual respect necessary to establish and maintain positive school and community participation for students who may be at risk of dropping out of school and being caught up in the juvenile court system. Participants will learn techniques that can be used immediately for improving student’s attitudes and behavior.

Marriage, The Constitution, And The Future Of Family Law, Mark Strasser

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Intended Parent: The Power And Problems Inherent In Designating And Determining Intent In The Context Of Parental Rights, Heather Kolinsky

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article seeks to consider and discuss the intent to parent and, particularly, the use of the words intent and intentional in the context of assigning legal parental rights. Problems and preferences have arisen from the use of this paradigm and the notion that intent can be fixed at any one point in time. This Article discusses how this historical use of intent and intentional parenthood may impact the evolving field of parental form, considering whether we will carry forward some of the same problems and preferences into newer forms of the assignment of legal parental rights.

The Article first …

Amicus Brief In "Obergefell V. Hodges", Tanya M. Washington, Catherine Smith, Lauren Fontana, Susannah Pollvogt

Faculty Publications By Year

Supreme Court precedent establishes that the government may not punish children for matters beyond their control. Same-sex marriage bans and non-recognition laws (“marriage bans”) do precisely this. The states argue that marriage is good for children, yet marriage bans categorically exclude an entire class of children – children of same-sex couples – from the legal, economic and social benefits of marriage.

This amicus brief recounts a powerful body of equal protection jurisprudence that prohibits punishing children to reflect moral disapproval of parental conduct or to incentivize adult behavior. We then explain that marriage bans punish children of same-sex couples because …

Children Of The Incarcerated: Collateral Victims Of Crime: A Resource Guide, Katheryn Russell-Brown, Anju K. Davidson, Andrea Davis

Center for the Study of Race & Race Relations: Lectures and Events

No abstract provided.

To Protect The Shield: Combatting Domestic Violence In The Nfl, Helen A. Drew

Journal Articles

After the most tumultuous months in the history of the NFL, Helen A. Drew analyzes the string of disciplinary issues that plagued the sport, including the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson incidents, among others. Drew tracks the timeline of negative events in 2014, then proceeds to discuss NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's history regarding player discipline. The Article concludes by discussing the NFL's revised personal conduct policy and suggesting improvements to the NFL's internal operations in an effort to strengthen the NFL community and brand.

Openness In International Adoption, Malinda L. Seymore

Faculty Scholarship

After a long history of secrecy in domestic adoption in the United States, there is a robust trend toward openness. That is, however, not the case with international adoption. The recent growth in international adoption has been spurred, at least in part, by the desire of adoptive parents to return to closed, confidential adoptions where the identity of the birth mother is secret and there is no ongoing contact with her. There is, however, an emergent interest in increased openness in international adoption, spurred by the success of domestic open adoptions, health concerns when an adoptee's genetic history is important, …

Law Center Plus: The New Practice Of Family Law In A Rapidly Changing Society, Renee Goldenberg

NSU Law Seminar Series

8:00 to 9:30am

Best Practices for Family Law Attorneys

I. Changing Society and Changing Practice

a. Paternity: Expect 50% of your cases to be a paternity: 48% Florida children born out of wedlock

b. Same sex issues: partnerships and children

c. Adults over age 50: 25% to 50%

d. Rise of Women: 2/3 initiated by women

e. Lower Income and Self Represented: Expect a self-represented party on 50% of your cases

f. Social Media and Electronics: Impact on the practice and Impact on professionalism

II. 17th Judicial Circuit

a. Unified Family Administrative Orders on website: http://www.17th.flcourts.org/index.php/rules-and-policies/unified-family-orders

b. Local Rules on …

“A Jewish And Democratic State:” Reflections On The Fragility Of Israeli Secularism, Zvi Triger

Pepperdine Law Review

An essay is presented in which the author explores fragility of Israeli secularism related to Jewish religion. Topics discussed are the impact of religious monopoly over personal status in Israel on Israeli secularism, the origination of religious monopoly over personal status during the Ottoman Empire's rule over Palestine, and dispute resolution of domestic cases in communities' and tribes' religious tribunals under their religious laws.

Foreign And Religious Family Law: Comity, Contract, And The Constitution, Ann Laquer Estin

Pepperdine Law Review

The article focuses on role of the U.S. courts in confronting religious laws in dispute resolution of various cases of domestic relations, contracts, and torts. Topics discussed include role of secular courts in maintaining constitutional balance between the free exercise and establishment clauses, constitutional challenges faced by religious adherents, and importance of legal pluralism in the U.S.

Religious Tribunals And Secular Courts: Navigating Power And Powerlessness, Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin

Pepperdine Law Review

In this article, the author discusses the ways such as common law, and contracts employed by religious systems for navigating their relationship with legal systems of secular states. Topics discussed include the role of religious contracts in helping religious systems negotiate with secularism, the role of religious contracts in protecting autonomy of religious systems, and the structure of marriage and divorce in Jewish law.

Congress' Role In The International Unification Of Private Law, Peter H. Pfund, George Taft

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Abolish Anonymous Reporting To Child Abuse Hotlines, Dale Margolin Cecka

Catholic University Law Review

All states allow the public to anonymously report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to a toll free central phone number. An extensive examination of the policy and practices behind anonymous reporting hotlines indicates that they are widely unregulated and susceptible to abuse. The possible repercussions of an anonymous phone call create costs to the family and society which do not outweigh the potential benefit of allowing anonymous public reports. Under the guise of protecting children, the law has developed in such a way that it infringes on the fundamental rights of parents and children. At the same time, anonymous …

Escaping The American Blot - A Comparative Look At Federalism In Australia And The United States Through The Lens Of Family Law, William Buss, Emily Buss

Cornell International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Of Valentines, Diamonds, Emeralds And Peanuts: Heart Balm In Virginia, Paul M. Birch

Law Faculty Publications

A light look at heart balm statutes and Peter v. Langley, Civ. 89241 (Va. Cir. Ct. Nov. 6, 2014).

"'The Law’S The Law, Right?' Sexual Minority Mothers Navigating Legal Inequities And Inconsistencies.”, Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

LGB parents face a number of legal inequities and confront a legal landscape that not only varies drastically by state but also quickly changes. Research has shown that some LGB parents and prospective parents have inaccurate knowledge about the laws relating to parenting. Drawing on data from 21 interviews, I ask how sexual minority mothers gain knowledge about the law. I found that people were very aware of the legal inequities they face and sought to become knowledgeable about the law before they had children. Sexual minority mothers reported using four primary methods to learn about the law: doing independent …