Family Law Commons^™

Analyzing The Impact Of Coercion On Domestic Violence Victims: How Much Is Too Much?, Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Part I of the essay reviews the work of activists and scholars who make the case that coercion is central to domestic violence, but notes that these scholars' conceptions of coercion are diverse. Part II describes the justice system's current responses to the impact of coercion on a victim's decision to drop a criminal or civil case. Part III exposes a number of challenges inherent in measuring the impact of a batterer's influence on a domestic violence victim's decision. Part IV describes the conceptual limitations of current judicial guidelines, and argues for a more nuanced conceptualization of coercion that accounts …

Michigan Cip Reassessment: How Michigan Courts Handle Child Protection Cases - A Report Summary, Muskie School Of Public Service

Children, Youth, & Families

This summary is drawn from the 2005 report, Michigan Court Improvement Program Reassessment, and represents the results of that study.

The Irrationality Of A Rational Basis: Denying Benefits To The Children Of Same-Sex Couples , Sam Castic

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Legislative Updates

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

"Not Quite One Gender Or The Other": Marriage Law And The Containment Of Gender Trouble In The United Kingdom, Dr. Lisa Fishbayn

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Marriage Amendment Act: Can Australia Prohibit Same-Sex Marriage?, Katy A. King

Washington International Law Journal

Both the United States and Australia have federal legislation, the Defense of Marriage Act and the Marriage Amendment Act 2004, that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Australia has an express provision in its constitution granting Parliament the authority to pass laws on the subject of marriage. The United States, however, has no such constitutional provision. Consequently, Australia’s express constitutional provision may lead the High Court of Australia to rule that the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 is constitutional, which would likely preclude Australia’s states and territories from passing local same-sex marriage acts. This is fundamentally …

Guide For Parents: Walking Your Way Through The Nebraska Juvenile Court Child Protection Process, Jennifer Conner

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and Related Organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:
The Basics
Common Questions
Rights
Special Concerns for Parents
Services Available to You if Needed
Responsibilities
The Court Process
Detention Hearing
Adjudication Hearing
Disposition Hearing
Review Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Termination of Parental Rights
Who’s Involved
The Judge
Your Attorney
Your Caseworker
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
County Attorney
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Foster Care Review Board
Important Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers
Your Judge
Your Caseworker
Your Attorney
Your Child’s CASA Volunteer
Your Child’s GAL
Your Service Provider
Your Court Hearings
Definitions of Common Terms

Representing Victims Of Domestic Violence In Property Distribution Proceedings After The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005, Elizabeth Brandt

Articles

No abstract provided.

Birth Certificates, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

Birth certificates in the United States, which are issued by the states, have two different sections, and each section involves different privacy concerns. The first section, the legal record of birth, is always available to the adult whose birth it registers; access by other persons varies widely from state to state, ranging from a short list of specified relatives to the public at large. The second section of the certificate - which records health and medical information about the parents, the birth, and the infant - is used only for data collection and analysis, under regulations that protect the privacy …

The Difference The Mini-Domas Make, Andrew Koppelman

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pondering Conscience: Civil Disobedience In American Law And Same-Sex Dissent In The Elca, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

The conflict over marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples seems destined to be one of the key defining fault lines for both the mainline Christian churches and American government in this early part of the twenty-first century. Despite pleas from church leaders, including Mark Hanson, much of the polity of mainline Protestant churches, including the ELCA, the Episcopal Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and others have been sharply divided over the issue.

The issue of same-sex marriage remains both contentious and politically important. Same-sex marriage proponents recently achieved legislative or court victories in Massachusetts and in New Jersey, …

Review Of Juvenile Delinquency: Causes And Control (2nd Edition) By Robert Agnew, Ryan Spohn

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control is a comprehensive text addressing the causes of, and responses to, a major social problem in modern American society. Although Robert Agnew is best known for his development of General Strain Theory, an individual level strain theory rooted in classical anomie theory and the more recent literature on stress, his broader record of publication denotes him as one of the premier theoretical analysts in the fields of criminology and juvenile delinquency. This text reflects his command of the discipline.

The book is oriented according to a number of themes. First, it is designed to be …

Development And Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Community Norms Of Child Neglect Scale, Rebecca Goodvin, David R. Johnson, Sam A. Hardy, Michelle Graef, Jeff M. Chambers

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

This article describes the development of the Community Norms of Child Neglect Scale (CNCNS), a new measure of perceptions of child neglect, for use in community samples. The CNCNS differentiates among four subtypes of neglect (failure to provide for basic needs, lack of supervision, emotional neglect, and educational neglect). Scenarios ranging in seriousness for each subtype were presented to a large community sample (N = 3,809). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a four-factor model provided a better fit to the data than did a model specifying only one overall neglect factor, suggesting this sample distinguished among the four subtypes of …

Guide For Foster Parents And Relative Caregivers: Understanding The Nebraska Juvenile Court, Jennifer Conner

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and Related Organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:

The Basics
Common Questions
Rights
Resources
The Court Process
Detention Hearing
Adjudication Hearing
Disposition Hearing
Review Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Termination of Parental Rights
Who’s Involved
Judge
Caseworker
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
County Attorney
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Foster Care Review Board
Important Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers
Judge
Caseworker
Child’s CASA Volunteer
Child’s GAL
Court Hearings
Responsibilities
Definitions of Common Terms

Nebraska Revised Statutes: Selected Provisions Pertaining To Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice, 2007 Edition

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and Related Organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:

I. Duty and Power of DHHS Regarding the Protection of Children

II. General Social Services Provisions

III. Family Policy Act

IV. Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting Provisions

V. Central Register of Child Protection Cases and Child Fatality Information

VI. Child Abuse and Neglect Investigation and Treatment Teams

VII. Access to Information and Records

VIII. Nebraska Juvenile Code

IX. Foster Care

X. Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act

XI. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

XII. The Interstate Compact on Juveniles

XIII. Court Appointed Special Advocate Act

XIV. Juvenile Services Provisions:
A. Office of Juvenile Services [Health and …

How A Marriage Discrimination Amendment Would Disrespect Democracy In Minnesota, Anthony S. Winer

Faculty Scholarship

The proposed marriage discrimination amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is profoundly anti-democratic. It is extremely wide-ranging in its scope, it obliterates the opportunity of the LGBT community to legislatively advance its interests in the area, it falsely assumes characteristics of the state judiciary that do not in fact exist, and it is drafted with language that is particularly hostile to LGBT concerns and democracy in general. It was a triumph for reason and democracy that this amendment was defeated in 2006. It should never be introduced again. In the unfortunate event that it is introduced again, it should be resoundingly …

A Uniform Domestic Partnership Act: Marrying Business Partnership And Family Law, Jennifer A. Drobac, Antony Page

Georgia Law Review

This Article contends that domestic partnership based upon business partnership law and associated fiduciary duties would better serve more couples, their families, and society as a whole than marriage law does now. Four problems-the rising divorce rate, the poverty of some "divorced" children and their custodians, the same-sex marriage controversy, and families that exist without a formal legal acknowledgment-have increased concerns about the viability of marriage as an institution that promotes domestic stability and economic security. As a response and solution, Professors Drobac and Page propose a Uniform Domestic Partnership Act, modeled after the Uniform Partnership Act (1914) for businesses. …

Increasing Safety For Battered Women And Their Children: Creating A Privilege For Supervised Visitation Intake Records, Nat Stern, Karen Oehme

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A National Putative Father Registry, Wells Conference On Adoption Law, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

This Article will discuss the mechanics of putative father registries, review jurisdictional issues, analyze the policies behind their development, and review relevant case law over the last 5 years.

From Right To Wrong: A Critique Of The 2000 Uniform Parentage Act, Mary P. Byrn

Faculty Scholarship

In 1973, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (the Conference) proposed a Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) that radically changed how parentage was determined in the United States. Prior to 1973, the parentage laws of most states failed to identify two legal parents for thousands of children merely because their parents were not married. These "illegitimate" children were considered a "child of no one" under the law and were denied the significant emotional, financial, and legal benefits of having two legal parents. By the early 1970s, however, the conference recognized that such treatment of children was becoming scientifically, …

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - A New Way Of Looking At The Intercountry Adoption Debate, Jena Martin

Faculty Articles

The two sides of the intercountry adoption debate seem worlds apart. Proponents view international adoption as an effective solution to stop the proliferation of institutionalized and street orphans across the globe. To them, intercountry adoption is a panacea-offering a potential solution to such diverse issues as children orphaned after war and disaster; adults who are unable to conceive; global intolerance; and the limited resources of developing nations. On the other hand, critics of intercountry adoptions view it as modem-day imperialism, allowing dominant, developed cultures to strip away a developing country's most precious resources, its children. Moreover, the view one holds …

A Law Guardian By The Same Name: A Response To Professor Guggenheim's Matrimonial Commission Critique, Merril Sobie

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

I commence this article with a discussion of the statutory provisions governing the appointment and responsibilities of attorneys who represent children in New York. Part II briefly outlines the chronological implementation from initial enactment through the Matrimonial Commission Report, a period spanning forty-five years. Parts III and IV explore the specific nature of child custody representation and the relationship between the attorney and the child client during the course of a frequently lengthy proceeding. Last, the Commission's conclusions and recommendations are critiqued in Parts V and VI.

The State Of The Law Of Protecting And Securing The Rights Of Same-Sex Partners In Illinois Without Benefit Of Statutory Rights Accorded Heterosexual Couples, Richard A. Wilson

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Moral Reasoning Of Family Law: The Case Of Same-Sex Marriage, Helen M. Alvaré

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Multiple Parents/Multiple Fathers, Nancy E. Dowd

UF Law Faculty Publications

Multiple parents, especially multiple fathers, are a social reality but not a legal category. The assumption that every child has, or should have, two, but only two, parents remains a core operating assumption of family law. Yet at the same time, our knowledge of the existence of multiple fathers, whether birthfathers, stepfathers, psychological fathers or other categories, has found some reflection in cases that have granted some relational rights to fathers who do not fill the single place allotted for "legal father." In this Article, Professor Dowd proposes that it is time to think not if, but how, to recognize …

The Only Americans Legally Prohibited From Knowing Who Their Birth Parents Are: A Rejection Of Privacy Rights As A Bar To Adult Adoptees' Access To Original Birth And Adoption Records, Susan Whittaker Hughes

Cleveland State Law Review

Sadly, adult adoptees in America must confront the reality that, in most states, their right to access their original birth and adoption records is a very narrow right statutorily granted only to those who can show good cause. Part II of this paper will explore the reasons why adult adoptees search for information regarding their biological origins and the history of adult adoptees' access to original birth and adoption records. Part III will give a brief overview of the concept of constitutional privacy and discuss the several categories of privacy currently recognized in American law and the relationship between privacy …

Military Disability Election And The Distribution Of Marital Property Upon Divorce, Michael T. Flannery

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The In-Between Places Where Children Are Socialized, Anne Dailey

Faculty Articles and Papers

In Between Home and School, Professor Rosenbury makes a splendid contribution to the emerging legal scholarship on the influence of cultural contexts on children's socialization. Scholars in this field have begun to study the effects on children of the media, peer relationships, civic institutions, and early caregiving environments. Professor Rosenbury's is a bold new voice in this genre offering a normative paradigm of space to replace the traditional dyadic model of state-parent authority over children. At the heart of the spatial paradigm is the view that in-between spaces socialize children in ways that differ both procedurally and substantively from the …

The Road Goes On Forever And The Party Never Ends': A Response To Judge Tacoma's Prescription For A Return To Foster Care 'Limbo' And 'Drift', Frank E. Vandervort

Articles

This article responds to Judge Tacoma’s suggested changes in Michigan law. It begins with a very brief history of child welfare legislation at the federal and state levels. Next, it points out a number of errors in Judge Tacoma’s understanding of the current state of Michigan’s child welfare law.2 It is necessary to point out these errors because it seems that his misstatements of the law form the foundation for his recommended reforms. Then it will respond point-by-point to many of Judge Tacoma’s recommendations. Finally, I will off er several suggestions for addressing the problem of legal orphans that do …

Innovation Held Hostage: Has Federal Intervention Stifled Efforts To Reform The Child Welfare System?, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

The past thirty years have been marked by an increased federalization of child welfare law, which, like other areas of family law, traditionally remained within the sole purview of state legislatures. Despite increased oversight by the federal government, outcomes for foster children remain unacceptably poor The number of children in foster care has more than doubled over the past twenty-five years and reports of suspected maltreatment have skyrocketed. Children continue to stay too long in care and have too many placements. Case workers assigned to work with families and attorneys representing parents and children are overwhelmed and rarely provide meaningful …