Family Law Commons^™

Friends With Social Benefits: Queerplatonic Relationships And The Future Of Marriage

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Introduction—Bioethics After Dobbs, James Toomey

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Gloria And Stanley Plesent Lecture: The Architecture Of Desire: How The Law Shapes Interracial Intimacy And Perpetuates Inequality With Professor Solangel Maldonado, Gertrud Mainzer Program In Family Law, Policy And Bioethics, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

2024 Event Invitations

Professor Maldonado is Eleanor Bontecou Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School. She writes and teaches in the areas of family law, gender, race and their intersections. She is an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law, Children and the Law, and author of The Architecture of Desire: How the Law Shapes Interracial Intimacy and Perpetuates Inequality (NYU Press, 2024). She is the co-editor of two casebooks—Family Law: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 7th ed. 2019) and Family Law in the World Community (Carolina Academic Press, 3rd ed. 2015). She serves on the editorial board …

What's Love Got To Do With It? Davis V. Henderson And A Proposed Revision To Mississippi's Termination Of Child Support Standard, Maddie Woodhead

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Three-Dimensional Chess For Parents Facing A Child Protective Services Investigation: Navigating The Child Welfare Exception To The Constitution, Gregory M. Varner

Pace Law Review

This article examines the intricate dynamics faced by parents dur-

ing a child protective services (CPS) investigation, highlighting the complexities of navigating the child welfare system within the framework of constitutional exceptions. It outlines the unique challenges parents en- counter, including legal rights, procedural requirements, and the emotional toll of being under investigation. By analyzing relevant legal standards and the roles of various stakeholders, the article provides essential guidance for parents on how to effectively engage with CPS while protecting their family’s interests. Emphasizing the importance of in- formed advocacy, the article aims to equip parents with the knowledge and …

Judicial Leadership In Family Court: A Cautionary Tale, Jane M. Spinak

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Fatherhood, Family Law, And The Crisis Of Boys And Men, June Carbone, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Boys and men in all racial and ethnic groups and across most socioeconomic groups are struggling on many fronts, including education, employment, physical and mental health, and social integration. In these areas and more, boys and men are much worse off than they were only a few decades ago. The crisis — which is concentrated among men without college degrees — is rooted in large-scale structural changes to the economy that have decimated jobs for this group and policy choices that emphasize incarceration while doing little to address economic inequality.

The decline in male well-being is not just a problem …

Kindly Remove My Child From The Bubble Wrap - Analyzing Childress V. Madison County And Why Tennessee Courts Should Enforce Parental Pre-Injury Liability Concerns, Joshua D. Arters, Ben M. Rose

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

“I overstepped my parental boundaries at the Aiguille Rock Climbing Center . . . . I signed a waiver absolving it of blame if my daughter pulled a Humpty Dumpty from the top of a wall. The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled I didn't have that right. I can make all kinds of decisions for my girl, including life-and-death calls on medical care. But I can’t judge the risk she will take scaling a 20-foot wall and decide it is so miniscule that I’m willing to sign a waiver so she can do it—not even if I’m holding the safety …

In Re: Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 40a No. M2009-01926-Sc-Rl2-Rl, The Supreme Court Of Tennessee

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

No Champion For Children: Tennessee's Rule 40a And The Appointment Of Guardians Ad Litem In Custody Proceedings, Austin Elizabeth Kupke

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Is Parenting Authority A Usurpation Of Judicial Authority? Harmonizing Authority For, Benefits Of, And Limitations On This Legal-Psychological Hybrid, Joi T. Montiel

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

A “Parenting Coordinator” assists high-conflict parents in resolving disputes that arise in the parents’ efforts to jointly parent their children after a divorce. The Parenting Coordinator simultaneously educates the parents so as to minimize the degree and frequency of future conflict. While Parenting Coordination is not mediation or arbitration, it is also not counseling. Instead, Parenting Coordination is a “legal-psychological hybrid.” A trial court’s delegation to one in this hybrid role the power to determine a fit parent’s access to her child is arguably an improper delegation of judicial authority. While thirteen states have comprehensive schemes setting out their Parenting …

Panel Discussion 4: Best Practices In Representing Children In Court, Timothy Irwin, Carlton Lewis, Dwight Stokes

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Florida’S Privacy Paradox, Emily Grady

University of Miami Law Review

For almost half a century, Floridians have enjoyed a right to privacy specially guaranteed to them by the Florida constitution. This broad right to privacy, pre-Dobbs, guaranteed several specific rights like the right to have an abortion, the right to be left alone in one’s own home, and the right to be able to direct the upbringing of one’s children, amongst other rights. Despite the fact that these specific rights were nestled in the same broad right to privacy, their treatment has been far from similar in recent years in Florida.

This Note examines the evolution of Florida’s …

In Re Misty Lee H.: Application Of The Best Interests Standard In Parental Rights Terminations, William L. Dawson Jr.

Maine Law Review

The family unit is perhaps America's most deeply rooted social institution. The integrity of the family unit has been repeatedly recognized by the United States Supreme Court as warranting constitutional protection. As a means of protecting family autonomy, natural parents possess a fourteenth amendment liberty interest in the care and custody of their children. The parental liberty interest encompasses a wide range of rights. Although substantial, these parental rights are not absolute. By virtue of the parens patriae power, the state may interfere with parental rights in order to preserve and promote the welfare of the child. The most extreme …

Legal Standards Governing Modification Of Child Custody Orders, Christian T. Chandler

Maine Law Review

Child custody is an area of the law where the courts have tread cautiously. Bitter disputes between separating parents often erupt into court struggles over which parent will gain custody of the minor children. As a result of this discord, and the terrible toll it can take on both the parents and the children, the courts are wary of modifying the original custody decree and moving a child from one parent to another. Courts must vigilantly deter custody suits brought purely for vengeance or harassment. The court acts as the child's legal protector when a change of custody issue is …

Habeas Corpus—A Better Remedy In Visitation Denial Cases, James A. Albert, Gregory A. Brodek

Maine Law Review

Most family law statistics are sobering. For example, in 1986, there were 2,400,000 marriages in the United States and 1,159,000 divorces. In 1985, there were 2,425,000 marriages and 1,187,000 divorces. Millions of children are affected by these divorces each year as courts decide which parent should be awarded their custody. In 1986, there were approximately 63,000,000 American children and 6,139,000 of these children came from broken homes. According to official census statistics, twenty-one percent of America's children live only with their mother while less than three percent live only with their father. In most divorce cases, Mom gets custody and …

Legal Standards Governing Modification Of Child Custody Orders, Christian T. Chandler

Maine Law Review

Child custody is an area of the law where the courts have tread cautiously. Bitter disputes between separating parents often erupt into court struggles over which parent will gain custody of the minor children. As a result of this discord, and the terrible toll it can take on both the parents and the children, the courts are wary of modifying the original custody decree and moving a child from one parent to another. Courts must vigilantly deter custody suits brought purely for vengeance or harassment. The court acts as the child's legal protector when a change of custody issue is …

Intimate Partner Violence: Access To Protection Beyond The Pandemic, Rachel J. Wechsler

Faculty Publications

Civil protection orders are the most common legal remedy victims pursue in response to intimate partner violence (IPV). They are more empowering for victims than the criminal legal system because victims themselves drive the process, instead of prosecutors, and they offer more flexible and tailored relief. This Article argues that victims should be able to choose how they file petitions and participate in civil protection order hearings, and that judges should be required to honor those preferences absent good cause. This conclusion is driven by two new, original sets of empirical data collected from IPV survivors who have sought civil …

Three's A Crowd: Addressing Discrimination Faced By Queer De Facto Parents In Child Custody Standing Proceedings, Shannon E. Callaghan

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

In the United States, between five percent and eight percent of adults identify as queer, and as of 2020, fifteen percent of queer couples have children in their households. While recent legal victories have expanded queer rights, family law continues to lag in affording legal recognition to “nontraditional” families. This is particularly problematic for unmarried, queer co-parents who have virtually no legal claims to the children they have raised with their partners. Current standing requirements for custody proceedings treat these de facto parents as legal strangers to their children due to the absence of biological, marital, or adoptive ties. As …

In Loco Reipublicae And The Parental Duty To Expose Children To Ideas Outside The Home, Catherine Smith

Scholarly Articles

In Loco Reipublicaie boldly centers children’s rights and adeptly fills an existing jurisprudential gap by infusing parental rights with important duties to respect and facilitate children’s exercise of their own citizenship rights. It is a children’s-rights-forward shot across a heavily prioritized parents’ rights bow. It’s about time.