Family Law Commons^™

Child Custody Evaluations: Review Of The Literature And Annotated Bibliography, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger, Judith D. Moran, J. Mason Weeda, William A. Mack

All Faculty Scholarship

This review of custody evaluation literature encompasses a number of perspectives gleaned from the following: practitioners who perform the evaluations; the professional organizations that recognize the necessity to establish performance standards for practitioners; and the judges who depend on the findings and recommendations in the evaluations to assist with difficult custody decisions.

General agreement exists among practitioners about the components of a comprehensive evaluation (interviews of adults responsible for child care, interviews of children and their preferences, life histories, observations, psychological testing, document review, and collateral source data), though little consensus exists about the details of performance concerning a given …

Advancing The Study Of Violence Against Women: Evolving Research Agendas Into Science, Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Decades of research produced by multiple disciplines has documented withering rates of violence against women in the United States and around the globe. To further an understanding of gendered violence, a field of research has developed, but recent critiques have highlighted weaknesses that inhibit a full scientific exploration of these crimes and their impacts. This review extends beyond prior reviews to explore the field’s unique challenges, its community of scientists, and the state of its written knowledge. The review argues for moving beyond “research agendas” and proposes creation of a transdisciplinary science for the field of study of violence against …

Fathers, Foreskins, And Family Law, Dena S. Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In the United States, a custodial parent has the right and responsibility to make medical decisions for one's child. But does that right encompass consenting for a surgical procedure for which there is little or no medical justification? What if the noncustodial parent opposed the procedure? And when is a child old enough to make the decision for him- or herself? How should a physician respond when asked to perform a surgical procedure when the decision is enmeshed in family controversy? These and other questions are considered in Boldt, a recent family law case decided by the Supreme Court of …

Foreword - A Dedication To Barbara Bennett Woodhouse, Nancy E. Dowd

UF Law Faculty Publications

Families and family law are at the cutting edge of social policy. As we navigate through difficult times, we are reminded not only of the importance of families, but also of their vulnerability. The challenge for family law and policy is to remain responsive and relevant. This requires that we confront the realities of families, their needs and issues. We live in times of enormous diversity in family forms. That reality is frightening and worrisome to some, but reminds us that it is how families function, rather than what they look like, that is most important. Embracing function over form …

Family Law—Application Of Equitable Estoppel In Paternity And Visitation Cases—Mommy's Baby, Mama's Maybe: A New York Court's Decision To Hold A Same-Sex Partner Financially Responsible For A Non-Biological And Non-Adoptive Child. H.M. V. E.T., No. U-110-07 (N.Y. Fam. Ct. Sept. 11, 2007)., Carla S. Johnson

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Advancing The Study Of Violence Against Women: Response To Commentaries And Next Steps, Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

No abstract provided.

Not Very Collegial: Exploring Bans On Illegal Immigrant Admissions To State Colleges And Universities, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug, Danielle R. Holley-Walker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Failing To Speak For Itself: The Res Ipsa Loquitur Presumption Of Parental Culpability And Its Greater Consequences, Allyson B. Levine

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's An Intimate Relationship, Anyway? Expanding Access To The New York State Family Courts For Civil Orders Of Protection, Jennifer Cranstoun, Christopher O'Connor, Tracey Alter

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Polygamy's Inscrutable Criminal Mischief, Susan G. Drummond

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The polygamy charges laid in the settlement of Bountiful, British Columbia, in January 2009, give rise to questions about the particular mischief of the polygamy offence in section 293 of Canada's Criminal Code. This article argues that, as a result of developments within related areas of law, polygamy's mischief under the current wording of the section is virtually inscrutable. When used, this section has principally served as a mechanism to discipline socially and politically marginalized groups. Developments in family law over the last forty years have generated a host of exceptions to the application of the polygamy section, including religious …

The Legal See-Saw: The Rights Of The Sex Offender V. The Perception Of A Safe Community, Brittany E. Kane

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The question of how to safely deal with convicted sex offenders upon release from incarceration has been an ongoing hotly-debated topic within American society for decades, with one of the earliest approaches to dealing with these criminals dating back to the 1930s (Petrunik 486). Although it is universally acknowledged that sex crimes are deemed wrong from both the criminal and moral aspect, indecision exists with respect to the constitutionality and effectiveness of current legislation in place for the offenders to maintain rehabilitation and keep neighborhoods safe. Statutes, such as the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration …

Redefining Harm, Reimagining Remedies And Reclaiming Domestic Violence Law, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

Civil domestic violence laws do not effectively address and redress the harms suffered by women subjected to domestic violence. The Civil Protective Order (“CPO”) laws should offer a remedy for all domestic abuse with an understanding that domestic violence subordinates women. These laws should not remedy only physical violence or criminal acts. All forms of abuse — psychological, emotional, economic, and physical — are interrelated. Not only do these abuses cause severe emotional distress, physical harm, isolation, sustained fear, intimidation, poverty, degradation, humiliation, and coerced loss of autonomy, but, as researchers have demonstrated, most domestic violence is the fundamental operation …

Supervised Visitation And Monitored Exchange: Review Of The Literature And Annotated Bibliography, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger, Judith D. Moran, William A. Mack

All Faculty Scholarship

Though courts increasingly rely on supervised visitation services in custody disputes and child welfare cases (Salem, Kulak, & Deutsch, 2007), a search of the literature produces few studies reporting empirically validated aspects of supervised visitation programs. The current literature about supervised visitation extensively documents the rationale for providing the service and contains numerous descriptions of provider programs (Birnbaum & Alaggia, 2006). The next generation of research must focus on long-term outcomes that demonstrate effectiveness of supervised visitation programs (Birnbaum & Alaggia, 2006).

This project involves a review of the literature concerning supervised visitation and child access services. The intent of …

Guest Editors’ Introduction To Special Issue On Substance Abuse And Addiction In Family Courts, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger, Judith D. Moran

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New Family V. Minister Of Labor And Welfare, Dorit Beinisch, Eliezer Rivlin, Ayala Procaccia

Translated Opinions

Facts:     The institution of intercountry adoption of children in Israel, i.e. the adoption in Israel of children from abroad, is regulated by the Adoption of Children (Amendment no. 2) Law, 5756-1996.  By virtue of his authority under this Law, the Minister of Labor and Welfare has issued “Rules and Professional Guidelines for the Operation of a Recognized Non-Profit Organization”, rule 4(b)(1) of which states that a person wishing to adopt a child in the framework of an intercountry adoption will not be deemed eligible to do so if the age difference between himself and the child exceeds 48 years on …

Parental Rights And The State Regulation Of Religious Schools, Matthew Steilen

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Constitutionality Of Home Education: How The Supreme Court And American History Endorse Parental Choice, Chad Olsen

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Aftermath Of Crawford And Davis: Deconstructing The Sound Of Silence, Kimberly D. Bailey

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judging Vanessa: Norm Setting And Deviance In The Law Of Motherhood, Michelle Oberman

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This article, by an author who has devoted over a decade to the study of women whom the law deems "bad" mothers, undertakes a more probing consideration of what truly separates the deviant mother from the "good" mother. In this article, she exposes the flaws in a binary classification of mothers as either "good" or "bad." She accomplishes this task by juxtaposing the stories, both legal and personal, of Vanessa, a woman whom society has judged to be a "bad" mother, and the author, a mother most in society would view as "good." In the end, the author not only …

Kairos And Safe Havens: The Timing And Calamity Of Unwanted Birth, Susan Ayres

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

It is impossible to know the number of infants killed or illegally abandoned at birth. No official reporting requirements exist, but conservative estimates claim that in the United States, 150-300 infants are killed within twenty-four hours of life and that over 100 infants are illegally abandoned. Beginning in 1999, in an effort to stem the problem of neonaticide and illegal abandonment, states began enacting laws to legalize abandonment. By 2008, all fifty states had enacted safe haven laws, which allow parents to anonymously abandon newborns by delivering them to designated providers, such as hospitals. This article provides a practical and …

Mothers Without Borders: Undocumented Immigrant Mothers Facing Deportation And The Best Interests Of Their U.S. Citizen Children, Satya Grace Kaskade

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This note addresses how deportation of undocumented immigrants affects the U.S. citizen children of those immigrants. The author examines this issue by studying the story of Marta Escoto, a woman facing deportation and also the mother and sole caregiver of a U.S. citizen child with a severely debilitating disease. If Escoto is deported and forced to return to her home country of Honduras, her daughter will likely be unable to continue to receive adequate and necessary health care. Mothers like Escoto who face deportation often plead the well-being of their children, but few can satisfy the high burden of proving …

Law As A Tool For Empowering Women Within Marital Relations: A Case Study Of Paternity Lawsuits In Egypt, Hind Ahmed Zaki

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

At A Crossroads: Bringing Minnesota's Same-Sex Couples Into The Law, Phil Duran

Journal of Law and Practice

No abstract provided.

The Aftermath Of Crawford And Davis: Deconstructing The Sound Of Silence, Kimberly D. Bailey

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dispute Resolution And The Post-Divorce Family: Implications Of A Paradigm Shift, Jana B. Singer

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past two decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the way the legal system handles most family disputes – particularly disputes involving children. This paradigm shift has replaced the law-oriented and judge-focused model of adjudication with a more collaborative, interdisciplinary and forward-looking family dispute resolution regime. It has also transformed the practice of family law and fundamentally altered the way in which disputing families interact with the legal system. This essay examines the elements of this paradigm shift in family dispute resolution and explores the opportunities and challenges it offers for families, children and the legal system.

For Both Love And Money: Viviana Zelizer's "The Purchase Of Intimacy", Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

Viviana Zelizer’s recent book, The Purchase of Intimacy (2005) presents an innovative theory of how social and legal actors negotiate rights and obligations when money changes hands in intimate relationships--a perspective that could change how we understand many things, from valuations of homemaking labor to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. This essay describes Zelizer’s critique of the reductionist “Hostile Worlds” and “Nothing But” approaches to economic exchange in intimate relationships, then explains her more three-dimensional approach, “Connected Lives.” While Zelizer focuses on family law, the essay goes beyond that context, extending Zelizer’s approach to transfers of genetic material, and concluding …

Providing Interdisciplinary Services To At-Risk Families To Prevent The Placement Of Children In Foster Care, Deborah J. Weimer

Faculty Scholarship

Grandparents need support to take on the responsibility of children whose parents cannot care for them due to drug addiction, mental health issues, HIV illness, or other health problems. Without support and assistance, these families and children are likely to end up enmeshed in the already overburdened child abuse and neglect system. The University of Maryland has created a model program providing social work and legal services to at-risk grandparent families to help avoid the unnecessary placement of these chldren in foster care. In this new program, student attorneys and student social workers worked witn the grandparent client to help …

Reframing Domestic Violence Law And Policy: An Anti-Essentialist Proposal, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Autonomy Feminism: An Anti-Essentialist Critique Of Mandatory Interventions In Domestic Violence Cases, Leigh S. Goodmark

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Jewish Women Under Siege: The Fight For Survival On The Front Lines Of Love And The Law, Adam H. Koblenz

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

No abstract provided.