Juvenile Law Commons^™

Preserving The Purchasing Power Of Child Support Awards: Can The Use Of Escalator Clauses Be Justified After The Family Support Act?, Sarah K. Funke

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Divorce, Custody, Gender, And The Limits Of Law: On Dividing The Child, Lee E. Teitelbaum

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Dividing the Child: Social and Legal Dilemmas of Custody by Elanor E. Maccoby and Robert H. Mnookin

Black Identity And Child Placement: The Best Interests Of Black And Biracial Children, Kim Forde-Mazrui

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to question whether racial matching by courts and child-placement agencies serves the best interests of Black children. The principle that guides this Note's analysis is that racial matching is justified only if such a policy better serves the interests of Black children than a policy in which race is not a factor in a child-placement determination. This Note also questions whether racial matching serves the interests of biracial children and those of Black people as a cultural group.

Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel: In Re Jeffrey V.

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Multidisciplinary Representation Of Children: Conflicts Over Disclosures Of Client Communications, 27 J. Marshall L. Rev. 617 (1994), Gerard F. Glynn

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Realistic Due Process Rights Of Children Versus Parents, Raymond C. O'Brien

Scholarly Articles

The purpose of this Article is to analyze the Santosky presupposition and demonstrate why it is misdirected. In particular, the Article posits that the clear and convincing standard adopted by the Court deprives the child of his or her due process rights. The minimum standard should be reduced to at least one of preponderance of the evidence. Such a standard would recognize the so-called parental presumption, i.e. the historical preference given to parents, but give greater recognition to the rights of the child.

This Article examines the due process concerns of parent and child from both a legal and a …

War And P.E.A.C.E.: A Preliminary Report And A Model Statute On An Interdisciplinary Educational Program For Divorcing And Separating Parents, Andrew Schepard

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article is a report on P.E.A.C.E. (Parent Education and Custody Effectiveness), an interdisciplinary attempt to create a parent education program in New York. P.E.A.C.E. is an educational program that provides information to parents on three topics: the legal process for determining custody and child support; the effects of divorce and separation on adults; and the effects of divorce and separation on children, and how parents can help children cope with this difficult transition. P.E.A.C.E. is education-nothing more. It is not mediation or therapy. Parents do not talk to each other directly during P.E.A.C.E. sessions and the program makes no …

The Adversarial And Mediation Processes: An Exploration Of Outcomes In Child Custody Disputes, Cheryl Barakey

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts have seen increases in child custody disputes. This increase has caused many jurisdictions to seek alternatives to the traditional adversarial process. Mediation has attracted the most attention. Several jurisdictions such as Norfolk, Virginia, the one used in this study, now refer parents to mediation before the court will hear the case.

Unlike previous studies where divorce mediation was researched with child custody being one of the factors, this study examines the differences in the outcomes of the mediation and litigation processes used to solve only child custody disputes. The outcomes examined …

Designating Male Parents At Birth, Jeffrey A. Parness

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In focusing on legal designations of male parentage as of the time of birth, this Essay first reviews the methods by which such designations currently are made. The difficulties raised by contemporary methods then will be explored, together with suggested reforms involving laws that could promote earlier, more complete, and more accurate designations of male parentage as of the time of a child's birth.

Assisted Conception And Surrogacy - Unfinished Business, 26 J. Marshall L. Rev. 775 (1993), Keith J. Hey

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Child Protection Law, Suellyn Scarnecchia

Book Chapters

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution protect a parent's custodial rights. However, such rights are not absolute and may be terminated. There is no substantive due-process right to live together as a family. Doe v Oettle, 97 Mich App 183, 293 NW2d 760 (1980). Parents are not held to ideal standards in the care of their children but to minimum statutory standards. Fritts v Krugh, 354 Mich 97, 92 NW2d 604 (1958).

The Art Of Line Drawing: The Establishment Clause And Public Aid To Religiously Affiliated Child Care, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

The Article analyzes both the meaning and the constitutionality of Child Care Development Block Grant's church-and-state-related provisions in light of existing Supreme Court Establishment Clause jurisprudence. The CCDBG's church-and-state-related provisions represent a legislative effort to perform the type of Establishment Clause line drawing that the Supreme Court has traditionally undertaken and continues to undertake in cases involving aid to religious institutions. The congressional debate and the public controversy it engendered over line drawing between permissible and impermissible aid to religiously affiliated child care, and the resolution reached in the CCDBG, all achieve an important constitutional aim. They reflect and reinforce …

When The Bough Breaks: Federal And Washington State Indian Child Welfare Law And Its Application, Kim Laree Schnuelle

Seattle University Law Review

Although removal of any child from his or her family is traumatic, too frequently Indian child removal has been performed with little prior investigation and with an absence of cultural sensitivity. The resulting inequalities in Indian child foster placement and adoption rates led to a recognition of the need for Indian child welfare reform, both on a federal and state level. This Article provides an overview of Indian child welfare issues and addresses both the evolution and nature of Indian child welfare reform. Initially, this Article discusses the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, including the cultural history behind the Act, …

Religion And Child Custody, Carl E. Schneider

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Essay, I want to reflect on some problems at the intersection of religion, law, and the family. Specifically, I will explore the ways courts may consider a parent's religiously motivated behavior in making decisions about the custody of children. More precisely still, I will ask two questions. First, may a court refuse to award custody because of a parent's religiously motivated behavior in a dispute between a natural mother and a natural father? Second, when should a court agree to resolve a dispute between divorced parents over the religious upbringing of their children? These are topics of quiet …

The Meaningful Representation Of Children: An Analysis Of The State Bar Association Law Guardian Legislative Proposal, Merril Sobie

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article will outline the background and history of the law guardian system, summarize the Task Force proposal and analyze the proposal's effects. The intent is to present a synopsis of the issues addressed by the proposal, which has been forwarded to the Legislature for consideration during the 1992 session.

The Enforceability Of Religious Upbringing Agreements, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 655 (1992), Martin Weiss, Robert Abramoff

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Minor Changes: Emancipating Children In Modem Times, Carol Sanger, Eleanor Willemsen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article reports on the use of still another mechanism for removing children in conflict with their parents: statutory emancipation, the process by which minors attain legal adulthood before reaching the age of majority. Statutorily emancipated minors can sign binding contracts, own property, keep their earnings, and disobey their parents. Although under eighteen, they are "considered as being over the age of majority" in most of their dealings with parents and third parties. Thus, while emancipated minors can sign contracts and stay out late, their adult status also means that their parents are no longer responsible for the minors' support. …

Beyond Parens Patriae: Assuring Timely, Informed, Compassionate Decisionmaking For Hiv-Positive Children In Foster Care, Deborah Weimer

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discretion, Rules, And Law: Child Custody And The Umda's Best-Interest Standard, Carl E. Schneider

Michigan Law Review

One barrier facing any attempt to devise a uniform law for diverse jurisdictions is the occasional - perhaps even frequent - difficulty of writing rules that will accurately guide judges. The law's ordinary solution to that difficulty is to give judges some measure of discretion. This article inquires into the nature and legitimacy of that technique. It does so by analyzing a particularly controversial provision of the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act (UMDA). Section 402 of that Act states: "The court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interest of the child." It then instructs the court to "consider …

A Tale Of Two Religions: A Contractual Approach To Religion As A Factor In Child Custody And Visitation Disputes, Rebecca Korzec

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the role of religious conflict between parents in determining child custody and visitation disputes. It suggests a framework for reconciling parental control over religious observance and training with the state's duty to protect the child's best interests. First, it examines the history of English and American child custody law and analyzes modern custody cases in which religion is a factor. Next, it addresses the alarming recent attempt by courts to resolve religious disputes with a shared custody approach, awarding 'spiritual custody' to one parent and 'physical custody' to the other. Finally, this article proposes a contractual …

Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide For The Concerned, Denise Esposito

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned by Douglas J. Besharov

Legal Issues Confronting Families Affected By Hiv, 24 J. Marshall L. Rev. 543 (1991), James Monroe Smith

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where The Reason Stops: Babcock V. State Establishes An Unjustified Immunity For Foster-Care Placement, Christine A. Mccabe

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will argue that the Babcock court's application of this immunity fails to serve the traditional goals of judicial immunity and undermines the factors that should protect dependent children. This argument will develop by first considering the development of judicial immunity and the significance of the concept of functional comparability. The Note will then begin the discussion of the Babcock case with an explanation of the nature of a dependency proceeding and the duties performed by a caseworker during initiation of a dependency proceeding and during placement in foster-care. The Note will then consider the caseworker's actions in the …

Stemming The Modification Of Child-Support Orders By Responding Courts: A Proposal To Amend Ruresa's Antisupersession Clause, Jane H. Gorham

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note examines the practice of using the Act to modify existing child-support orders. Part I explores the question of whether the Act's enforcement mechanisms were designed to permit the responding court to modify existing support orders. It emphasizes the problems involved with concurrent support orders and modification and describes the range of positions courts have taken to support or oppose allowing responding courts to modify support orders. Part II explores the federal child-support enforcement programs, their interstate applications, and their relationship to the Act's enforcement mechanisms. The analysis in these parts leads to Part III, which proposes an amendment …

Eroding The Myth Of Discretionary Justice In Family Law: The Child Support Experiment, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Reliance on judicial discretion to resolve disputes is one of the most fundamental characteristics of the American legal system. Nowhere have judges exercised more unfettered discretion than in family law. Judicial discretion in this area, however, is not without its critics. In this Article Professor Jane Murphy recommends limiting the use of judicial discretion in family law matters. Professor Murphy argues that the lack of predictability which flows from discretionary decisions undermines our confidence in the equity of decisions and encourages protracted litigation.

Professor Murphy reviews the developing consensus that fixed rules are necessary to guide judges' discretion in divorce …

Commentary: Meeting The Financial Needs Of Children, David L. Chambers

Articles

Those who drafted the equitable distribution statutes adopted in New York and elsewhere wanted to help assure women and children an acceptable level of financial well-being after divorce. Marsha Garrison has shown that divorcing couples rarely possess enough resources to attain financial well-being even when they live together as a couple, let alone when they live in two separate households. She has also shown that, even in the cases of couples with substantial assets, the broad and general language of the equitable distribution statute did not lead (and could not have been expected to lead) to consistent distributions that assured …

Illinois Ex Rel. Sheppard V. Money: Income Withholding Provision Of The Illinois Parentage Act Of 1984 Expedites Child Support Enforcement At Employers' Expense, 23 J. Marshall L. Rev. 285 (1990), Timothy G. Compall

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stepparents, Biologic Parents, And The Law's Perception Of 'Family' After Divorce, David L. Chambers

Book Chapters

The drama of divorce always contains at least two characters, a woman and a man, and often a third, a child born to the woman and the man. If you have read the other chapters of this book, you have rarely encountered any of the other persons who may be affected by a divorce, such as the children of either person from a prior marriage, or later spouses or partners of either party, or later born children of either party-all the persons who are or become stepchildren or stepparents. You have not encountered them because, in this country, with minor …

The Relevance Of Temporary Child Custody Orders To The Formation Of An Established Custodial Environment: A Model Statute For Uniform Application Under Michigan Law, Christine M. Drylie

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note presents a Model Statute that clearly indicates when a court may find that an established custodial environment has arisen out of a temporary custody order. The Model Statute thus clarifies when it is appropriate to apply the clear and convincing evidentiary standard to situations involving temporary child custody orders. Part I of this Note describes the court's use of temporary custody orders to determine whether an established custodial environment exists. Part II sets forth the Model Statute, which integrates current case law into statutory language designed specifically for temporary custody situations. Part II also analyzes each section of …

The Seventeen Percent Solution: Formula Guidelines For Determining Child Support Awards Arrive In North Carolina, J. Brad Donovan

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.