Family Law Commons^™

Michigan Family Law Research Resources: Review And Update, Barbara H. Garavaglia

Articles

"Family law" includes topics relating to "marriage, divorce, adoption, child custody and support, child abuse and neglect, paternity, juvenile delinquency, and other domestic relations issues,"] including cohabitation and domestic violence. Michigan family law research continues to be facilitated by a combination of print and electronic research resources. As in other areas of law, web-based access to legal research resources in the realm of family law continues to improve and expand, following the general trend in legal publishing toward electronic publication. This article is primarily a review of the web-based resources provided by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), although …

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

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence In Ghana: The Open Secret, Nancy Chi Cantalupo, Lisa Vollendorf Martin, Kay Pak, Sue Shin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This report discusses the findings of a Georgetown Law International Women’s Human Rights Clinic fact-finding team that traveled to Ghana, Africa in March 2003 to investigate domestic violence. The report reviews the contours of the domestic violence problem in Ghana and outlines the ways in which Ghanaian law and procedure was insufficiently addressing the problem at the time. Its chief findings include that the Ghanaian laws existing in 2003 inadequately punished perpetrators and protected victims of domestic violence and that court and police enforcement of the existing law was lacking, including because the government was allowing the removal of domestic …

Gun Related Youth Violence: Fear Of Victimization Versus The Influence Of Significant Others, Ryan Spohn, Samantha Lane

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

Differential association/social learning theories have received considerable empirical support as an explanation of participation in delinquent acts, including violent delinquency (Heimer 1997). More recently, and primarily as a result of highly publicized school shootings in suburban high schools, fear of crime and victimization have received attention as motivators of gun-carrying and gun violence. These phenomena are generally not examined in unison, however, leaving open the question of their relative role as a cause of gun carrying and violence amongst youth. The current research project addresses this question. A major strength of the current research is the adoption of multiple measures …

Review Of The Cultural Lives Of Capital Punishment: Comparative Perspectives Edited By Austin Sarat And Christian Boulanger, Ryan Spohn

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

This volume examines the interconnectivity of culture and punishment across an impressive variety of states and nations. The authors convincingly argue that research is strengthened by developing an understanding of the "cultural life" of capital punishment, defined as the embeddedness of this punishment in the discourse and symbolic practices of specific locales and times. This book is abolitionist in nature, representing the praxis of social research.

The editors argue that independent variables like crime rates, economics, religion, and public opinion fail to explain international variation in the use of the death penalty. Eschewing variables, they argue for analysis of individual …

Principles Of U.S. Family Law, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

What explains U.S. family law? What are the origins of the current chaos and controversy in the field, the home of some of the most vituperative debates in public policy? To answer these questions, this Article identifies and examines family law's foundational principles. It undertakes a conceptual analysis of the legal practices that govern families. This analysis has yet to be done, and its absence hamstrings constructive thought on our family law. The Article develops a typology that conceptualizes U.S. family law and exposes its underlying principles. First, it identifies the significant elements, or rules, of family law. Second, it …

Constitutional Thematics And The Peculiar Federal Marriage Amendment, Scott Dodson

Faculty Publications

These symposium remarks are a discussion of themes running through the Constitution, how the FMA, if adopted, might affect those themes, and why we ought to care. I first demonstrate that our Constitution is a thematic document, filled with broad, recognizable, and (mostly) coherent concepts. Separation of powers, representative democracy, federalism, individual liberty, and equality come readily to mind. I then explain that the thematic nature and the inter-coherence of these themes is critical in two ways: to identify those values held to be fundamental in our society, and to assist in the interpretation of the Constitution. The themes in …

Newfound Religion: Mothers, God, And Infanticide, Susan Ayres

Faculty Scholarship

This essay focuses on cultural constructions of infanticide and psychosis, especially cases in which the mother heard delusional commands to kill her children. Part I examines the background of the Yates, Laney, and Diaz cases. Part II explores whether these mothers can be seen paradoxically as feminist subjects of empowerment rather than as victims. This essay argues that psychotic mothers have been disempowered and silenced, so their acts cannot be seen as subversive feminist gestures. Part III, however, arguest that the legal trials of Laney and Diaz demonstrate a possible subversion through trial strategy. These two trials more fully told …

Perpetuating The Impermanence Of Foster Children: A Critical Analysis Of Efforts To Reform The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

The importance of expediting the placement of foster children into permanent homes has emerged as a dominant theme in child welfare policy. Identifying and finalizing legally secure placements provides children with psychological stability and a sense of belonging, and limits the likelihood of future disruptions of familial relationships. Upon a child's entry into foster care, child welfare agencies, under both federal and state laws, are compelled to develop a detailed plan to ensure a child's prompt placement into such a home. If a parent is unable to rectify the conditions causing the child's placement in foster care within a year, …

Are You My Mother? Defending The Rights Of Intended Parents In Gestational Surrogacy Arrangements In Pennsylvania, Krista Sirola

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Holy War: Polygamy, Homosexuality, And The Paradox Of Community And Autonomy, Gregory C. Pinfree

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Adoption Consents: Legal Incentives For Best Practices, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

When a state places its legal imprimatur on the unmaking of one family and the making of another, the state should insure to the greatest extent possible that all the individuals involved have followed or have been afforded the best practices that ethics and humanity demand. The Uniform Adoption Act sets out commonly accepted goals of state adoption laws, among them the goals of protecting minor children against unnecessary separation from their birth parents and of ensuring that a decision by a birth parent to relinquish a minor child and consent to the childs adoption is informed and voluntary. With …

Let's Talk About Sex: School Surveys And Parents' Fundamental Right To Make Decisions Concerning The Upbringing Of Their Children, Robert Kubica

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

A Truancy Court Program To Keep Students In School, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

Under Maryland law, "[e]ach person who has legal custody or care and control of a child who is 5 years old or older and under 16 shall see that the child attends school..." MD. Education Code Ann. Sect. 7-301 (c) 2006. The law also provides penalties for violations, as the legal custodian or caregiver "who fails to see that the child attends school...is guilty of a misdemeanor," which could result in fines of $50 to $100 per day of unlawful absence and/or imprisonment for 10 to 30 days, depending on whether the conviction is a first or subsequent conviction. MD. …

Infant Safe Haven Laws: Legislating In The Culture Of Life, Carol Sanger

Faculty Scholarship

This Article analyzes the politics, implementation, and influence of Infant Safe Haven laws. These laws, enacted across the states in the early 2000s in response to much-publicized discoveries of dead and abandoned infants, provide for the legal abandonment of newborns. They offer new mothers immunity and anonymity in exchange for leaving their babies at designated Safe Havens. Yet despite widespread enactment, the laws have had relatively little impact on the phenomenon of infant abandonment. This Article explains why this is so, focusing particularly on a disconnect between the legislative scheme and the characteristics of neonaticidal mothers that makes the use …

A Case For Civil Marriage, Carol Sanger

Faculty Scholarship

There has been a frenzy of legislative activity aimed at nailing down the legal definition of marriage to make sure that there will be no more nonsense about same-sex monograms or same-sex marriage applications. In an effort to slow down the frenzy, and to encourage those within the academy to think harder about the on-going problem of what to do about marriage, Professor Edward Stein has posed a straightforward question: Should civil marriage simply be abolished? In this mini-symposium, Professors Edward Zelinsky and Daniel Crane have provided two answers to his question: yes and yes.

Although I am a Contract …

Immigration Status And The Best Interests Of The Child Standard, Kerry Abrams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rights Myopia In Child Welfare, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

For decades, legal scholars have debated the proper balance of parents' rights and children's rights in the child welfare system. This Article argues that the debate mistakenly privileges rights. Neither parents' rights nor children's rights serve families well because, as implemented, a solely rights-based model of child welfare does not protect the interests of parents or children. Additionally, even if well-implemented, the model still would not serve parents or children because it obscures the important role of poverty in child abuse and neglect and fosters conflict, rather than collaboration, between the state and families. In lieu of a solely rights-based …

Protecting Children From The Dark Side Of The Internet, Anne Dupre, John Dayton, Christine Kiracofe

Scholarly Works

This article examines the history of judicial and legislative responses to the issue of consumption of pornography and other harmful materials over the Internet by children. The article begins by giving a brief overview of free speech law in the US. Next, summaries of relevant U.S. legislation and corresponding litigation on Internet free speech are given. Highlighted are: 1) the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s response in Reno v. ACLU; 2) The Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition; 3) the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and United States v. American …

Crossing Borders In The Classroom: A Comparative Law Experiment In Family Law, Barbara Atwood, Graciela Jasa Silveira, Nicole Laviolette, Tom Oldham

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Domestic Relations, Barry B. Mcgough, Gregory R. Miller

Mercer Law Review

This survey period saw major changes to domestic relations law. With the political changes in the state legislature came sweeping reforms to what seemed to be deeply entrenched laws. Although Georgia law presently requires appeals of all domestic relations cases occurring through the discretionary application process, the Georgia Supreme Court extended its 2003 pilot project into its third year, agreeing to accept all "non-frivolous" applications filed in divorce and alimony cases. As a result, those interested in domestic relations law have benefited from many more substantive decisions from the appellate courts on a variety of issues. Revisions to the Uniform …

The Child Client: Representing Children In Child Protective Proceedings, Merril Sobie

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article outlines the historical context and addresses the child's right to legal representation. Part II discusses the child's legal status by defining the specific legal interests, her procedural rights as a party to the litigation, the right to choose counsel, and the child's right to be involved as a participant. The penultimate Part analyzes the role of the child's counsel, including an outline of the relevant statutes, the diametrically opposed positions of state legislatures and the organized bar, and the hopelessly conflicting contemporary case law. The final Part addresses the fundamental deficiencies of the “best interests” …

Taking The Stand: The Lessons Of The Three Men Who Took The Japanese American Internment To Court, Lorraine K. Bannai

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Parent Perceptions Of Child Care Choice And Quality In Four States, Helen Raikes, Brian Wilcox, Carla Peterson, Susan Hegland, Jane Atwater, Jean Ann Summers, Kathy Thornburg, Jacqueline Scott, Wayne Mayfield, Julia C. Torquati, Carolyn P. Edwards

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

The purpose of the Year 2 Studies of the Midwest Child Care Research Consortium was to assess parent perceptions of child care choices and quality across four states. The states studied — Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska — comprise U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 7. The current study was conducted by asking 1,325 parents to complete a paper and pencil survey. The parents all had children receiving child care from providers who participated in an earlier telephone survey of 2,022 providers and in observations of 365 providers. Results from that study are reported elsewhere1. Providers in the …

The Custody Battle Over Cryogenically Preserved Embryos After Divorce: Advocating For Infertile Women’S Rights, Cori S. Annapolen

ExpressO

This paper focuses on the struggles that infertile women face to achieve motherhood because their rights are underrepresented in the American court system. It specifically centers on how the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF) helps infertile women conceive children, but then details the problems that increasing technology now causes for these women after they freeze embryos and then divorce. Because the courts of only four states have determined who gets custody of these embryos after a divorce, and because the divorce rate and the number of couples utilizing IVF are increasing, future states will likely be forced to answer …

Evaluating Marriage: Does Marriage Matter To The Nurturing Of Children?, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Three decades ago, it would have been inconceivable for people to discuss seriously the idea of withdrawing the legal and financial support society gives to marriage. In recent years, however, thinkers and policymakers have given more serious thought to the possibility of eliminating marriage as a category entitled to the State’s support. An important consideration in this debate is whether keeping or eliminating the State’s support of marriage matters to the well-being of children. A wealth of studies contemplating modern family forms now exists, many of which invariably stack newer family structures up against the more traditional nuclear family. Until …

Removing Violent Parents From The Home: A Test Case For The Public Health Approach, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Few decisions are as determinative of a child’s well-being and long-term success as the decision to remove a child from his or her own home following an allegation of abuse by a parent. Using the public health lens Professor Marsha Garrison develops elsewhere in this Issue, this Comment examines one of the most critical questions Child Protective Services agencies face thousands of times a day: whether to remove a child who is a possible victim of abuse or neglect from his or her home. This evidence-based approach shows that the choice to remove the child rather than the alleged offender …

Post-Crawford: Time To Liberalize The Substantive Admissibility Of A Testifying Witness's Prior Consistent Statements, Lynn Mclain

All Faculty Scholarship

The United States Supreme Court's 1995 decision in Tome v. United States has read Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(B) to prevent the prosecution's offering a child abuse victim's prior consistent statements as substantive evidence. As a result of that decision, the statements will also be inadmissible even for the limited purpose of helping to evaluate the credibility of a child, if there is a serious risk that the out-of-court statements would be used on the issue of guilt or innocence.

Moreover, after the Court's March 2004 decision in Crawford v. Washington, which redesigned the landscape of Confrontation Clause analysis, other …

Collapsing Liberalism's Public/Private Divide: Voldemort's War On The Family, Danaya C. Wright

UF Law Faculty Publications

As a legal scholar setting out to explore themes of law in Harry Potter, I am acutely aware of the absence of family law conflicts in these different family structures and relationships. Rowling's obvious fascination with different family structures and her relatively strong sense of an isolated, private sphere that is free of state intervention seems in keeping with traditional liberal values of the public/private divide. Yet her rejection of state interference in the private sphere of the family does not correspond to an autonomous state that is focused on the public sphere. Where liberalism separates the private world of …

Two Mothers And Their Child: A Look At The Uncertain Status Of Nonbiological Lesbian Mothers Under Contemporary Law, Rachel E. Shoaf

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

No abstract provided.