Family Law Commons^™

Avoidance Strategy: Same-Sex Marriage Litigation And The Federal Courts, William C. Duncan

Campbell Law Review

This brief article examines the strategy of avoiding federal court review and federal constitutional claims for same-sex marriage. It first surveys the history of same-sex marriage litigation in the federal courts. It then turns to the question of why federal courts and claims have been avoided, identifying the most obvious explanation - a conscious strategic aim. The conclusions discussed in that section are exemplified in recent litigation in the Ninth Circuit. The article concludes with some comments on the policy implications of the strategy it describes.

In The (Canadian) Shadow Of Islamic Law: Translating Mahr As A Bargaining Endowment, Pascale Fournier

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article addresses the dilemmas of Muslim women living in Canada as they negotiate between the constitutional and juridical systems of the dominant society, on the one hand, and the Muslim community, on the other. It will examine the ideological assumptions about law and multiculturalism that have worked to depoliticize the stakes of law in Marion Boyd's report, Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion. With the Islamic institution of mahr in the background, this article suggests a methodology to evaluate the costs and benefits of abstract legal rules as they are actually used by the parties in the "shadow of the law" …

My Two Dads: Disaggregating Biological And Social Paternity, Melanie B. Jacobs

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Examines the question of what the basis for establishing fatherhood should be. Explores how legal parentage is determined, examines the two-parent paradigm, and compares biological and social paternity in order to recognize two legal fathers.

Foreword To The Special Issue On The Family Law Education Reform Project, Andrew Schepard, Peter Salem

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this issue is to promote a dialogue between the family law academic community and stakeholders in the family law system about how future family lawyers should be educated. Family law practice has undergone dramatic change in the last quarter century, perhaps more than any other area of practice. Virtually everything about it has changed—the role of the family court, the procedure for resolving family disputes, the role of the family lawyer, and the substantive law. It is a vibrant and exciting field, with great influence on the lives of families and children.

The family law curriculum in …

The Abortion Rights Of Adolescents Should Be Coextensive With Those Of Adults--A Theoretical Framework, Chad M. Gerson

ExpressO

The aim of this article is to argue that the abortion rights of adolescents should be coextensive with those of adults. The first section of the article reviews research in child development which has demonstrated that adolescents are able to make informed, mature decisions on procreative issues. The second section reviews cases which have defined the contours of adult women’s abortion rights, and argues that the reasoning behind those holdings also applies to adolescents.

Limiting The Application Of Jus Soli: The Resulting Status Of Undocumented Children In The United States, Brooke Kirkland

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Hampshire Got It Right: Statutes, Case Law And Related Issues Involving Post- Secondary Education Payments And Divorced Parents, Ryan C. Leonard

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Divorced parents in New Hampshire can rest a little easier these days. While there are a myriad of economic reasons why a divorce can become contentious, financing a child’s college education can no longer be included among those reasons. In January 2004, in a rather bold and unconventional move, the New Hampshire legislature overruled years of legal precedent and enacted a new statutory amendment that should alleviate some of the financial pressures divorced parents inevitably face. The amendment, RSA § 458:17(XI-a), is a victory for divorcees across the state because it prohibits superior court judges from issuing orders forcing …

Understanding Farmers’ Forecast Use From Their Beliefs, Values, Social Norms, And Perceived Obstacles, Qi Hu, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Gary Lynne, Alan Tomkins, William J. Waltman, Michael Hayes, Kenneth Hubbard, Ikrom Artikov, Stacey Hoffman, Donald A. Wilhite

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Although the accuracy of weather and climate forecasts is continuously improving and new information retrieved from climate data is adding to the understanding of climate variation, use of the forecasts and climate information by farmers in farming decisions has changed little. This lack of change may result from knowledge barriers and psychological, social, and economic factors that undermine farmer motivation to use forecasts and climate information. According to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the motivation to use forecasts may arise from personal attitudes, social norms, and perceived control or ability to use forecasts in specific decisions. These attributes are …

Understanding The Influence Of Climate Forecasts On Farmer Decisions As Planned Behavior, Ikrom Artikov, Stacey Hoffman, Gary Lynne, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Q. Steven Hu, Alan Tomkins, Kenneth Hubbard, Michael Hayes, William J. Waltman

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Results of a set of four regression models applied to recent survey data of farmers in eastern Nebraska suggest the causes that drive farmer intentions of using weather and climate information and forecasts in farming decisions. The model results quantify the relative importance of attitude, social norm, perceived behavioral control, and financial capability in explaining the influence of climate-conditions information and short-term and long-term forecasts on agronomic, crop insurance, and crop marketing decisions. Attitude, serving as a proxy for the utility gained from the use of such information, had the most profound positive influence on the outcome of all the …

The Uncertain Future Of Marriage And The Alternatives, Daniel I. Weiner

ExpressO

The cultural and institutional predominance of marriage in our society has lately been challenged by two important social trends: growing dissatisfaction with or indifference to marriage on the part of those eligible to marry, and the emergence of nontraditional families headed by adults who may wish to marry but are presently excluded from doing so. This Essay argues that proactive law reformers have responded to these trends by taking two very different approaches. The first approach, “diversity of forms,” is exemplified by the cultivation of alternatives and substitutes to traditional marriage ranging from same and opposite-sex domestic partnerships and other …

Rethinking Civil Contempt Incarceration, Jessica C. Kornberg

ExpressO

Under current federal law civil contempt is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, yet it often results in incarceration. This incarceration can, and in a few cases has been, indefinite. The unlimited duration of civil contempt represents the pinnacle of judicial power, and yet it is a topic which has generated surprisingly little scholarship or case law. This Article explores the history and development of modern contempt law, and finds that while the federal law treats all civil contemnors equally, historically and in many states, contemnors are classified by the type of civil contempt committed. This Article proposes …

Parental Consent And Notification Laws In The Abortion Context: Rejecting The "Maturity" Standard In Judicial Bypass Proceedings, Anna Bonny

ExpressO

The choice to become a parent, to give a baby up for adoption, or to terminate a pregnancy presents a life-altering decision for a minor. The majority of states require minors to engage their parents or legal guardians in their choice to obtain an abortion, but not in decisions to give their babies up for adoption or to become parents. Though the Supreme Court has held that parental consent and notification laws do not infringe on a minor's constitutional rights if judicial bypass options are available, the reality of these judicial proceedings demonstrates a biased and unworkable legal avenue. Even …

Marriage And The Elephant: State Regulation Of Intimate Relationships Between Adults , Maxine Eichner

ExpressO

This essay considers the current debate in legal theory over the future of marriage. Should the state, as some scholars argue, privilege marriage because of the benefits it provides to society? Or should it, as others argue, distance itself from relationships between adults on the ground that adults should be left to order their own affairs? The essay argues that scholars involved in this debate have reached such diametrically different conclusions from one another because each side has focused on a particular, narrow range of goods at issue in these relationships. Relationships between adults, however, implicate a number of important …

The Purpose Of Child Support, Ira M. Ellman

ExpressO

What is the appropriate amount of child support to require in particular cases? How should we take account, if at all, of subsequent events such as either parent’s remarriage? It seems obvious that the answers to such questions ought to turn on our purpose in requiring support payments in the first place. But while fixing the amount of child support can be politically contentious, and has attracted the attention of partisans on both sides of the gender gap, the literature contains no systematic examination of support rules in light of their underlying policy purpose. This article fills that gap. It …

Same-Sex Marriage In New York, Lewis A. Silverman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Adult's Sexual Orientation And State Determinations Regarding Placement Of Children, Michael S. Wald

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Rights Of Non-Custodial Parents, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

One More Time: Alimony, Intuition, And The Remarriage-Termination Rules, Judicial Termination Rules, Al Termination Rule, Cynthia Lee Starnes

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Rights Of Non-Custodial Parents, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Untying The Knot: An Analysis Of The English Divorce And Matrimonial Causes Court Records, 1858-1866, Danaya C. Wright

ExpressO

This paper is an analysis of the petitions, answers, affidavits, and court docket for the first nine years of the English divorce and matrimonial causes court. It examines in detail the child custody, alimony, gender, and class components of the court’s first nine years. After analyzing the petitions and court docket along gender lines for the different causes of action (divorce, separation, annulment, and restitution of conjugal rights), and their success rate by gender and by age of the marriage, it then breaks down marriages by age and speculates on a variety of causes for the different results and considers …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Vicious Circle: Coptic Divorce Between Positive Law And Canon Law, Jacqueline Samir Saad

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Regulation Of Intercountry Adoption, Mary E. Hansen, Daniel Pollack

ExpressO

As of January 2006, the United States was the only major receiver of children through intercountry adoption that had not implemented the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The U.S. signed the Hague Convention in 1994, but did not pass implementing legislation until 2000. Regulations pursuant to the legislation were proposed in 2003, but final regulations did not go into effect until March 2006. The slow pace was partly the result of Congressional wrangling over designation of a regulator and partly the result of a prolonged conversation between the designated regulator and the adoption community over specific regulations.

Finalization of …

Amir V. The Great Rabbinical Court In Jerusalem, Ayala Procaccia, Mishael Cheshin, Salim Joubran

Translated Opinions

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

This petition puts to the test the question of the Rabbinical Court's authority to adjudicate a property dispute between a couple after the divorce proceeding between them has been completed, and it focuses on an alleged breach of the divorce agreement by one member of the couple. Is the matter within the jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court or is it within the power of …

Marriage Mimicry: The Law Of Domestic Violence, Ruth Colker

William & Mary Law Review

In this Article, Professor Colker argues that the legal system does not simply privilege those in marital relationships but has now begun to privilege those in "marriage-like" relationships through what she terms a marriage-mimicry model. She uses the law of domestic violence to critique this model. She traces the haphazard development of the law of domestic violence and argues that it has served to underprotect many of the victims of domestic violence because lawmakers have reflexively only provided legal recourse for those in marriage-like relationships without asking who is most in need of legal protection. She argues that the legal …

Methamphetamine Addiction, Treatment, And Outcomes: Implications For Child Welfare Workers, Cathleen Otero, Sharon Boles, Nancy Young, Kim Dennis

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

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant associated with serious health and psychiatric conditions, including heart damage and brain damage, impaired thinking and memory problems, aggression, violence, and psychotic behavior. Methamphetamine is also associated with the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

Child welfare workers are seeing growing numbers of children and families affected by the parent’s use of methamphetamine. In order to make sound decisions for the benefit of children and families, child welfare workers need accurate information about methamphetamine, its effects on parents and their children, and the effectiveness of treatment. This paper presents the most …

The Legal Status Of Pregnant And Parenting Youth In Foster Care, Cynthia Godsoe, Eve Stotland

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Violence Against Pregnant Women, Deborah Tuerkheimer

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Hair Analysis To Test Children For Exposure To Methamphetamine, Michael T. Flannery, Jerry Jones, Karen Farst, Karen Bord Worley

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Family Boundaries: Third-Party Rights And Obligations With Respect To Children, Joanna L. Grossman

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The article introduces the topics discussed within the issue, which defines the law pertaining to the rights and obligations of a third parties with respect to children in the U.S. According to the author, the articles regard whether the law should recognize a continuum of those adults with claims to children in which a third party might deserve more or fewer rights based on his relationship with the child. In the article "Philosophy, Morality and Parental Priority," the fundamental right of parents to raise their children is being dealt with. Another article talks about the rights of same-sex partners in …