Family Law Commons^™

Is There A Way Forward In The "War Over The Family"?, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

When Judge Posner, in Baskin v. Bogan, expressed incredulity -- given actual demographic trends in family formation -- that state marriage laws excluding same-sex couples furthered interests in “channeling” procreative sex and addressing accidental pregnancy, he brought together two conversations about marriage, family law, and family life that too often proceed independently. In the first, same-sex couples challenging marriage laws and the courts who rule in their favor emphasize the high stakes of exclusion by characterizing marriage as an incomparable institution and a signal that one’s intimate commitment is worthy of equal respect and dignity. To be left out of …

Religious Law, Family Law And Arbitration: Shari'a And Halakha In America, Mohammad H. Fadel

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The possibility that Muslims might use private arbitration as a forum in which their family law disputes could be settled according to the principles of Islamic law has generated substantial controversy, with one liberal democracy, Canada, even taking affirmative steps to insure that religious-based arbitration of family law disputes are denied legal recognition. This paper argues that such moves are ill-considered. From the perspective of political liberalism, the arbitration of family law disputes within a framework of religious law, provided that the arbitration is subject to review by a public court for conformity with public policy, is an ideal tool …

The Need To Criminalize Revenge Porn: How A Law Protecting Victims Can Avoid Running Afoul Of The First Amendment, Adrienne N. Kitchen

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Revenge porn occurs when someone posts sexually explicit images of their former paramour on the web, often with contact information for the victim’s work and home. There are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of victims. Victims lose or quit their jobs; they are harassed by strangers; some change their name or alter their appearance. Some victims resort to suicide; others are stalked, assaulted, or killed. Civil suits fail to remove the images or deter perpetrators. Current criminal laws are insufficient in several common instances. These shortcomings mean there is a need to criminalize revenge porn.

Revenge porn is obscene and …

Back To The Future: How Illinois' Legalization Of Same-Sex Relationships Retroactively Affects Marital Property Rights, Eric J. Shinabarger

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Until 2011, Illinois viewed same-sex relationships as “against public policy” and refused to recognize any same-sex civil union or marriage. However, many Illinois residents traveled to progressive jurisdictions in order to enter into legal samesex relationships. Afterwards, they returned to their lives in Illinois and lived together as married couples despite Illinois’ lack of recognition.

When Illinois legalized same-sex civil unions in 2011 and same-sex marriages in 2014, it immediately flipped a switch and began retroactively recognizing same-sex relationships entered into in other jurisdictions. While this prevents same-sex couples from being forced to jump through hoops to re-legalize their relationships, …

The New Conflict Of Laws Code Provisions Of The Federal Republic Of Germany: Introductory Comment And Translation, Rainer Gildeggen, Jochen Langkeit

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Moonscape Of Tax Equality: Windsor And Beyond, Anthony C. Infanti

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Same Sex Marriage Debate For Dummies: A Breakdown Of The Twenty-First Century's First Civil Rights Movement, Marc Anthony Consalo

Child and Family Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Law And Justice Are Not Always The Same": Creating Community-Based Justice Forums For People Subjected To Intimate Partner Abuse, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

What constitutes justice in cases involving intimate partner abuse has historically been determined not by the person subjected to abuse, but rather an actor within the legal system—a police officer, a prosecutor, an advocate, or a judge—and those individuals most often define justice in terms of what the legal system has to offer. People subjected to abuse may conceive of justice quite differently, however, in ways that the legal system is not well suited to address. For people subjected to abuse who are interested in punishment, whose goals are congruent with the legal system’s goals of safety and accountability (as …

Hands Up At Home: Militarized Masculinity And Police Officers Who Commit Intimate Partner Abuse, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and the almost daily news stories about abusive and violent police conduct are currently prompting questions about the appropriate use of force by police officers. Moreover, the history of police brutality directed towards women is well documented. Most of that literature, however, captures the violence that police do in their public capacity, as officers of the state. This article examines the violence and abuse perpetrated by police in their private lives, against their intimate partners, although the public and private overlap significantly to the extent that the power and training provided to …

Marital Contracting In A Post-Windsor World, Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Social Life Of Blood, Milk & Sperm, Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Other Side Of The Rabbit Hole: Reconciling Recent Supreme Court Personal Jurisdiction Jurisprudence With Jurisdiction To Terminate Parental Rights, Joan M. Shaughnessy

Scholarly Articles

This Essay contrasts the jurisdictional regime followed in termination of parental rights and other child custody cases with the regime that has dominated recent Supreme Court personal jurisdiction cases. Jurisdiction in child custody cases has long been based upon the connection of the child, not the defendant parent, to the jurisdiction. Recent Supreme Court cases, on the other hand, have focused nearly exclusively on the defendant’s connection to the forum state. This Essay argues that the Supreme Court cases betray a failure of the Court to provide a consistent constitutional justification for the jurisdictional limitations it has imposed. The Essay …

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

Scholarly Articles

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 …

Education Not Handcuffs: A Response To Proposals For The Criminalization Of Birth Control Sabotage, Nickeitta Leung

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

No abstract provided.

Codifying The Intent Test, Mary Patricia Byrn, Erica Holzer

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Non-Marital Families And (Or After?) Marriage Equality, Deborah A. Widniss

Florida State University Law Review

If, as is widely expected, the Supreme Court soon holds that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, it is almost certain that the decision will rely heavily on the Court’s reasoning in United States v. Windsor. I strongly support marriage equality. However, a decision that amplifies Windsor’s conception of the harm caused by exclusionary marriage rules could set back efforts to secure legal recognition of, and respect for, non-marital families. That is, Windsor rectified a deep inequality in the law—that same-sex marriages were categorically denied federal recognition—but in so doing it embraced a traditional understanding of marriage as superior to …

The United States As A Refuge State For Child Abductors: Why The United States' Fails To Meet Its Own Expectations Relative To The Hague Convention, Andrew Zashin

Faculty Publications

This paper asserts that the only way true progress can be made regarding this problem is for the United States to acknowledge that this serious problem actually exists. One has to look beyond the feel-good statistics and congratulatory press releases to see that the existing system, including the application of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, fails LBPs. Until the nature and scope of the problem is identified and examined, the United States will continue to be a refuge state for child abductors.

Surrogacy And Windsor'S Penumbras, Susan Frelich Appleton

Washington Law Review Online

This article is a contribution to the Compensated Surrogacy in the Age of Windsor symposium.

Marital Contracting In A Post-Windsor World, Martha M. Ertman

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Icwa’S Pre-Existing Custody Requirement: A Flexible Approach To Better Protect The Interests Of Indian Fathers, Children, And Tribes, Jeffrey A. Parness, Amanda Beveroth

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

In The Courts: Interpreting The Icwa In Light Of Adoptive Couple, Christina Cook

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Spotlight On: Native American Fatherhood And Families, Mike Montgomery

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Adopting An International Convention On Surrogacy—A Lesson From Intercountry Adoption, Seema Mohapatra

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Panel On Problematizing Assumptions About Gender Violence (Transcript), Rashmi Goel, Tamara Love, Elizabeth Macdowell, Adele Morrison

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Transcript of a Panel session at the CONVERGE! Conference on problematizing assumptions about gender violence.

Children's Rights In The Midst Of Marriage Equality: Amicus Brief In Obergefell V. Hodges By Scholars Of The Constitutional Rights Of Children, Tanya Washington, Susannah Pollvogt, Catherine Smith, Lauren Fontana

Scholarly Articles

Many scholars have called for the acknowledgement and treatment of children's rights as constitutionally protected and enforceable, and Supreme Court precedent establishes that the government may not punish children for matters beyond children's control. Same-sex marriage bans and non-recognition laws, which are collectively referred to as marriage bans, impose prohibited punishment on children for being born into, or parented by, same-sex families. States argue that marriage is the optimal familial environment for children, yet marriage bans categorically exclude an entire class of children -- children in same-sex families -- from the legal, economic, and social benefits of marriage. In response …

Blueprint For Respect: Creating An Affirming Environment In The Courts For The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Communites , Paula J. Hepner

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why New Hampshire Should Permit Married Couples To Choose Community Property, Calvin Massey

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Two states, Alaska and Tennessee, offer married couples the choice of holding their property as separate or community property. Another nine states use community property as the default arrangement. Yet in each of those nine states a couple can opt out of community property rules by agreement. Only in the remaining thirty-nine states are married couples forced to accept separate property. There is no good reason for this condition to exist. This essay sets forth the advantages of offering married couples the choice of community or separate property and deals with some expected objections to this proposal. Section I …

Confronting Legal And Technological Incongruity: Remote Testimony For Child Witnesses, Elizabeth A. Mulkey

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Child victims are often the only eyewitnesses in cases against their abusers. A child's testimony may be necessary for a prosecutor to secure a conviction. However, the child must often face his or her abuser and relive the traumatic experience while giving this testimony. Any accommodations or protection of a child witness at trial must be balanced against the defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause. The Supreme Court's decision in Maryland v. Craig allows child victims to testify via one-way, closed-circuit television in some circumstances, but the Court has not addressed two-way, closed-circuit testimony or remote testimony. In the absence …

The Intersection Of Agency Doctrine And Elder Law: Attorney-In-Fact Authority To Arbitrate Nursing Home Claims, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 39 (2015), Thomas Simmons

UIC Law Review

With the popularity of durable powers of attorney to manage the estates and personal affairs of individuals with diminished capacity, construction of the scope of powers with which agents are acting is of increasing importance. Some acts should be seen as so inherently personal or so dramatically inconsistent with the expected role of an agent as to be simply outside the scope of agency altogether. Others, such as those involving gifts, self-dealing transactions, or constitutional rights, should be never implied but honored when located within the express terms of an agent’s authority. The remaining powers should be construed and mapped …

Who Owns Villa La Pietra? The Story Of A Family, Their Home, And An American University Under Italian Law, Felicia Caponigri

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In 1994 Harold Acton, son of Arthur Acton, an English art dealer in Florence, and Hortense Mitchell Acton, an American banking heiress, donated his family home, Villa La Pietra, to New York University. Today, this Tuscan villa is at the center of a declaration of paternity lawsuit and a claim of inheritance brought by Liana Beacci, Arthur Acton's daughter by his Italian secretary. In this Note, Felicia Caponigri presents the facts of the case, focusing on the provenance of the Villa, and the procedural posture of the case. Caponigri applies Italian law to argue that New York University might claim …