Family Law | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Baltimore City’S Child-Focused Court, Barbara A. Babb, Judith D. Moran

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Comparing Race And Sex Discrimination In Custody Cases, Katharine T. Bartlett

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Interstate Establishment, Enforcement, And Modification Of Child Support Orders, Patricia W. Moore

Faculty Articles

Intended to improve the collection of child support across state lines, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act has now been in effect in all fifty states for approximately three years. This Article examines the history and operation of this statute and its companion federal statute, the Full Faith and Credit For Child Support Orders Act. Following UIFSA's structure, the Article details the provisions governing the establishment, enforcement, and modification of child support orders in the interstate context and explains which federally-promulgated forms to use in each situation. Analyzing the abundant case law already decided under these statutes, the article concludes …

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Couples: Marriage, Civil Union, And Domestic Partnership, David L. Chambers

Book Chapters

In this country, during the last decades of the twentieth century, thousands of lesbians married other women and thousands of gay men married other men. Many of these couples recited traditional vows in churches and synagogues. Others have pledged to each other in their own backyards in words that they wrote themselves. But not one of these thousands of solemn occasions was recognized as creating a legally valid marriage. In the United States, each state has its own statute defining who can marry, and as far as the states were concerned, these couples were playing dress up. One state has …

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Stalking: Cultural, Clinical, And Legal Considerations, Carol E. Jordan, Karen Quinn, Bradley O. Jordan, Celia R. Daileader

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Crimes of violence against women are unique in their treatment by our culture and our system of legal justice. Both culturally and statutorily, victims of crimes which have historically been perpetrated against women, such as rape, domestic violence, and stalking have received significant focus. This article highlights cultural considerations and provides a statutory and case law analysis.

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Why Truth Is Not A Defense In Paternity Actions, 10 Tex. J. Women & L. 69 (2000), Diane S. Kaplan

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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International Child Custody Jurisdiction And The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act, Robert G. Spector

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

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A Custody System Free Of Gender Preferences And Consistent With The Best Interests Of The Child: Suggestions For A More Protective And Equitable Custody System, Shannon Dean Sexton

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Conceiving Nonmarital Fathers' Rights: An Inquiry Into The Constitutionality Of West Virginia's Adoption Statute, Lisa Kelly

Articles

When do the rights of nonmarital fathers to their children quicken? Is it only upon the father's establishment of a substantial economic and emotional relationship with his child? Do such fathers' interests gel only after the ink has dried on an order or affidavit in which paternity is established or acknowledged? Do there fundamental rights lie inchoate in the beating hearts of the newborn or gestating child? How should the law regard the role of the nonmarital father in the adoption context? Should there be one standard for all or two-one for fathers of infants and another for fathers or …

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The Silent Victims: Children And Domestic Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

Few of us would fail to intercede if we happened upon a child being physically attacked. Most of us would shield even an unknown child from witnessing a traumatic event. If we knew that a child might come to harm, such as a toddler playing in traffic, most of us would escort that child to safety. On a personal level, we are committed to the well being of our children. As a society, however, we close our ears to the cries of the children growing up in violent homes. It is now time to give them voice. New research reveals …

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The Legal Regulation Of Adult Personal Relationships: Evaluating Policy Objectives And Legal Options In Federal Legislation, Brenda Cossman, Bruce Ryder

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

Few would dispute that adult personal relationships characterized by caring and commitment ought to be recognized and supported by the state because of their fundamental importance to the well-being of individuals and communities. The law has long sought to identify these relationships by reference to ties of blood, marriage or adoption. Contemporary norms, however, value adult personal relationships by reference to their qualitative attributes rather than their formal legal status. This shift in normative assumptions has accompanied profound shifts in Canadians’ living arrangements over the course of the last thirty years. We have witnessed a decline in the marriage rate, …

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Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Ohio law regarding second-parent adoptions remains unsettled. Section II of this article provides an overview of Ohio adoption law. Section III presents the case of In re Jane Doe, starting with the decision of the lesbian couple to jointly bring a child into this world, and continuing with the efforts of both mothers to obtain legal recognition for the de facto parent's status through adoption, and the legal strategies employed by the mothers' attorneys, also addressed are the court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), the social science data supplied by the amicus curiae to help the court reach a fully informed …

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In The Best Interest Of The Child: What Have We Learned From Baby Jessica And Baby Richard, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 353 (2000), Gregory A. Kelson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

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The Undue Burden: Parental Notification Requirements For Publicly Funded Contraception, Stephanie Bornstein

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the legal impact of legislative proposals in 1998 and 1999 to require parental notification for minors seeking publicly funded contraception. Part I explores the history of Title X and some of its amendments, the HHS interpretive “squeal rule,” and the federal courts' rejection of the HHS rule based on the congressional intent behind Title X. Part II focuses on the Parental Notification Act of 1998 and its likelihood for success against a constitutional challenge, based on an analysis of precedent on parental consent requirements for contraception and abortion. Part III discusses the change in the legislative and …

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Contract Sports, Martha M. Ertman

Cleveland State Law Review

I explore ways that the private law of commerce can be imported to the private law of domestic relations to remedy family law's inadequacy and inequality. Existing domestic relations law posits heterosexual marriage as naturally superior to other forms of intimate affiliation, rendering the others (such as cohabitation, same-sex sexuality, and polyamory) unnatural and inferior. As such, it fails to recognize many intimate affiliations. Two examples of bridging the divide between private business law and private family law that I discuss in this essay are cohabitation contracts and Premarital Security Agreements. Importing private business models to domestic relations law has …

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Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk

Cleveland State Law Review

My topic for today's presentation is second-parent adoption. I hope to accomplish four things in my discussion. First, I will define second-parent adoption and give some reasons that it is desirable for both parents and children. Second, I will summarize the state of the law in terms of legislative enactments and case law in the United States. Third, I will discuss the role of social science in second-parent adoption cases. Finally, I will discuss some of the implications of recognizing these adoptions.

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Promoting The Best Interests Of Children Whose Parents Are Divorcing: The Next Steps For Arkansas, Kenneth S. Gallant

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

A law guardian for a child has an extremely difficult job, one that arguably requires a higher degree of diligence than that of an attorney representing a competent adult. Yet, under New York law, the role of the law guardian for a child involved in a custody is not clearly defined. When domestic violence is involved, the law guardian's role becomes crucial. The role of the law guardian for a child in a custody case involving domestic violence has been expanded as a result of the enactment of chapter 85 of the 1996 Laws of New York. This article outlines …

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The Uccjea: What Is It And How Does It Affect Battered Women In Child-Custody Disputes, Joan Zorza

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA") is the revised version The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act ("UCCJA"), which states are now being asked to adopt immediately in its stead. The UCCJA was the original model act for states to determine when they have jurisdiction to decide a custody case and when they must give full faith and credit to the custody decrees of other states. When the National Conference of Commission on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL") wrote the UCCJA in 1968, it sought to correct two major problems of its day: child abductions by family members and jurisdiction …

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Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Many new laws and policies are emerging in the area of domestic violence. In 1994, the Legislature passed the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act- a complete overhaul of laws dealing with domestic violence in both the civil and criminal arean. The Legislature declared that domestic violence is now a crime. It is unfortunate that batterers are not always consider criminals when they seek custody of their children. If convicted of a stranger crime, courts are known to accord weight to the batterer's criminal history. When the victim is the child's mother, it seems to be another story. All …

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Understanding The Victim: A Guide To Aid In The Prosecution Of Domestic Violence, Jennice Vilhauer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

As one of the most prevalent crimes in the country, domestic violence is one of the most frequently handled cases for prosecutors across the nation. Despite their commonality, however, domestic violence cases can raise the anxiety level of even the most experience prosecutors. There are several causes of such anxiety. First, domestic violence cases are often plagued by evidentiary problems that occur when a victim does not desire prosecution. Second, even in states where mandatory prosecution laws have been enacted, it can still be difficult to successfully prosecute a case when a victim is hostile, uncooperative and acting in direct …

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The Criminalization Of Child Welfare In New York City: Sparing The Child Or Spoiling The Family?, Alison B. Vreeland

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The trend in child welfare has been to err on the side of protection, often considered erring on the side of the child. While this approach may have been appropriate to overcome a long history of State abstinence from involvement in the family domain, it has been under-inclusive in protecting the child's fundamental right to a parent-child relationship. A delicate balance must be struck between family autonomy and State intervention. This balance is best achieved in the family court when the child's best interest is represented and the family is addressed as a whole. Under traditional criminal procedure, which focuses …

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The Changing American Family: A Reevaluation Of The Rights Of Foster Parents When Biological Parental Rights Have Been Terminated, Cassandra S. Haury

Georgia Law Review

During the past twenty years, the American ideal of the traditional nuclear family made up of heterosexual parents and their children has been increasingly replaced by a number of new and unconventional family systems. Although many of these novel family systems have received recognition by the courts, foster families have been consistently denied legal rights to the children that they raise. Due to the reality of changing dynamics in family systems in the United States, and the failure of the present foster care system, the judicial system needs to reevaluate its denial of foster parents' due process rights. This Note …

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The Baker [Baker V. State, 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999)] Case, Civil Unions, And The Recognition Of Our Common Humanity: An Introduction And A Speculation, David L. Chambers

Articles

Every. Vermonter seems to know about two recent decisions of the Vermont Supreme Court. In the first, the court struck down the system of local financing of public schools. Like similar decisions in many other states, the school financing case led to a struggle in the legislature and difficulties for legislators at election time. In the second and even more controversial decision, the court reached an outcome that no other state supreme court had ever reached: it held unconstitutional the state's marriage law on the ground that it inappropriately denied the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. This decision, …

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Due Process Rights Of The Second Parent In Child Protection Proceedings, Donald N. Duquette

Articles

When one parent is charged with child neglect or abuse under MCL 712A.2(b)and the other parent is not an active participant in the abuse, is absent, or is not part of the same household, what process is due the second parent?' If the second parent comes forward and asks for custody, should he or she be able to get it, absent a finding of neglect or abuse as to that parent? Or is the child a ward of the Family Court, based on the misconduct or maltreatment of one parent so that the second parent is subject to the court's …

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Charging Battered Mothers With "Failure To Protect": Still Blaming The Victim

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Domestic violence harms children and families. In the past several years, efforts to recognize this harm have led to the passage of new state laws that allow for concurrent criminal and family court jurisdiction in domestic violence cases, mandate arrest in domestic violence situations and require courts to consider domestic violence as a factor in custody decisions. Unfortunately, the heightened awareness of the harm domestic violence causes children has also resulted in a punitive policy towards battered women in the child welfare system. Increasingly in New York City, abuse and neglect proceedings are brought against battered mothers. Their children are …

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Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In 1996, the New York State Legislature mandated that rial courts consider the effect of domestic violence in child custody and visitation disputes. In 1998, the legislature amended the law to provide that, under most circumstances, a person convicted of murdering a child's parent shall be denied custody and visitation. The amendment was in response to a growing national trend to give greater attention to the serious effect domestic violence has on children. While the law now conveys the seriousness with which the legislature view domestic violence, many problems inherent in resolving custody and visitation disputes involving domestic violence still …

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Stopping New Yorkers' Stalkers: An Anti-Stalking Law For The Millennium, Demetra M. Pappas

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay concerns itself with some of the legislative responses to stalking in New York and examines some of the specific anti-stalking provisions of the Clinic Access and Anti-Stalking Act of 1999, recently signed by New York Governor George Pataki. The author interviews Senator Michael A.L. Balboni, Assemblyman Scott Stringer, and the Assemblyman's former Legislative Director Rob Hack, who were all heavily involved in getting the legislation passed, offering a unique perspective.

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Gender Difference In Perceiving Violence And Its Implication For The Vawa's Civil Rights Remedy, Renee L. Jarusinsky

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 was viewed as "a potential vehicle of empowerment" for women, and was a long-awaited morve toward gender equality in the United States. By enacting the VAWA, Congress emphatically expressed a strong commitment to curb and attack the pervasiveness of sex-based violence. In practice, however, the civil rights remdy has fallen short. In the few VAWA cases brought under the civil rights remedy, the "crime of violence" requirement has been interpreted in such a narrow way that it strips the remedy of any effect. While there is confusion as to …

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The Process Geography Of Law (As Approached Through Andalucian Gitano Family Law), Susan G. Drummond

Articles & Book Chapters

Comparative law and legal anthropology have for long theorized on the basis of a traditional geography which saw states, regions, locales and social fields as having durable boundaries containing stable and homogenous cultures. This idea of place is now undergoing a massive transformation in response to the effects of and theories about globalization. The emerging ‘process geography’ rejects these traditional ideas, arguing that they are not, and indeed have never been aspects of reality, which is better represented by an imagery of processes. However, it is argued here that globalization is not a synonym for homogenization, nor has place suddenly …

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Full-Text Articles in Family Law

Baltimore City’S Child-Focused Court, Barbara A. Babb, Judith D. Moran

All Faculty Scholarship

Comparing Race And Sex Discrimination In Custody Cases, Katharine T. Bartlett

Faculty Scholarship

Interstate Establishment, Enforcement, And Modification Of Child Support Orders, Patricia W. Moore

Faculty Articles

Couples: Marriage, Civil Union, And Domestic Partnership, David L. Chambers

Book Chapters

Stalking: Cultural, Clinical, And Legal Considerations, Carol E. Jordan, Karen Quinn, Bradley O. Jordan, Celia R. Daileader

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Why Truth Is Not A Defense In Paternity Actions, 10 Tex. J. Women & L. 69 (2000), Diane S. Kaplan

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

International Child Custody Jurisdiction And The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act, Robert G. Spector

Faculty Articles

A Custody System Free Of Gender Preferences And Consistent With The Best Interests Of The Child: Suggestions For A More Protective And Equitable Custody System, Shannon Dean Sexton

Kentucky Law Journal

Conceiving Nonmarital Fathers' Rights: An Inquiry Into The Constitutionality Of West Virginia's Adoption Statute, Lisa Kelly

Articles

The Silent Victims: Children And Domestic Violence, Nancy Ver Steegh

Faculty Scholarship

The Legal Regulation Of Adult Personal Relationships: Evaluating Policy Objectives And Legal Options In Federal Legislation, Brenda Cossman, Bruce Ryder

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In The Best Interest Of The Child: What Have We Learned From Baby Jessica And Baby Richard, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 353 (2000), Gregory A. Kelson

UIC Law Review

The Undue Burden: Parental Notification Requirements For Publicly Funded Contraception, Stephanie Bornstein

UF Law Faculty Publications

Contract Sports, Martha M. Ertman

Cleveland State Law Review

Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk

Cleveland State Law Review

Promoting The Best Interests Of Children Whose Parents Are Divorcing: The Next Steps For Arkansas, Kenneth S. Gallant

Law Faculty Scholarship

The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Uccjea: What Is It And How Does It Affect Battered Women In Child-Custody Disputes, Joan Zorza

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Understanding The Victim: A Guide To Aid In The Prosecution Of Domestic Violence, Jennice Vilhauer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Criminalization Of Child Welfare In New York City: Sparing The Child Or Spoiling The Family?, Alison B. Vreeland

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Changing American Family: A Reevaluation Of The Rights Of Foster Parents When Biological Parental Rights Have Been Terminated, Cassandra S. Haury

Georgia Law Review

The Baker [Baker V. State, 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999)] Case, Civil Unions, And The Recognition Of Our Common Humanity: An Introduction And A Speculation, David L. Chambers

Articles

Due Process Rights Of The Second Parent In Child Protection Proceedings, Donald N. Duquette

Articles

Charging Battered Mothers With "Failure To Protect": Still Blaming The Victim

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Stopping New Yorkers' Stalkers: An Anti-Stalking Law For The Millennium, Demetra M. Pappas

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Gender Difference In Perceiving Violence And Its Implication For The Vawa's Civil Rights Remedy, Renee L. Jarusinsky

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Process Geography Of Law (As Approached Through Andalucian Gitano Family Law), Susan G. Drummond

Articles & Book Chapters