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Family Law

Family Law Prof Blog

Family law issues explored by law professors.
By Barbara Glesner Fines, Robert E. Oliphant, and Nancy Ver Steegh (William Mitchell College of Law).

Post Frequency: 12.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:18:00

Sandra Bullock and Transracial Adoption

Posted on May 11, 2010
I really enjoyed this CNN discussion of transracial adoption. I was particularly interested by the comment that people over 40 are more likely to have concerns about this type of family. It rings true for me, but I wonder how...

Playing Favorites

Posted on May 10, 2010
From MailOnline: Grandparents can't help having favourites - they prefer the grandchildren with whom they share the most DNA, research suggests. The phenomenon explains studies that have shown a paternal grandmother benefits her granddaughters' health more than grandsons...

Register now for the ISFL Conference in June

Posted on May 10, 2010
THE MIDWEST FAMILY LAW CONSORTIUM AND THE NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF FAMILY LAW SUMMER 2009 CONFERENCE JUNE 3-5, 2010 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI?KANSAS CITY SCHOOL OF LAW WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: TENSIONS IN FAMILY LAW Around the...

Cahn & Carbone: Family Classes: Rethinking Contraceptive Choice

Posted on May 09, 2010
Naomi Cahn (George Washington University Law School) & June Carbone (UMKC School of Law) have posted "Family Classes: Rethinking Contraceptive Choice" (University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The political attention paid...

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Will There Be No More Divorce?

Posted on May 08, 2010
Scientists have published a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience showing the results of a study that indicated the success of a nasal spray with oxytocin in making men more empathetic?as empathetic as a woman who did not receive...

Katner: ?Delinquency & Daycare?

Posted on May 07, 2010
David R. Katner (Tulane University--School of Law) has posted Delinquency & Daycare, 4 Harvard Law & Policy 49 (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As the nation faces policy challenges over juvenile delinquency and subsequent crime, one all-but-forgotten option...

8th Circuit Refuses to Exercise Jurisdiction in Frozen Embryo Case

Posted on May 07, 2010
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued a ruling refusing jurisdiction in a frozen embryo case. Patricia Dodson (formerly Patricia Lay) and Dr. Jackson Lay were married when they enrolled in an IVF program at...

IL Brings Finality to Disputed Custodies Earlier

Posted on May 06, 2010
The Illinois Supreme Court recently amended its rules to allow immediate appeals of child custody judgments, overruling In re Marriage of Leopando, 96 Ill 2d 114 (Ill. 1983). The change aims to bring stability to children subject to custody disputes,...

Appellate Reversal of Child Removal for Parent's Drug Possession Charge

Posted on May 06, 2010
The Nebraska Court of Appeals has overturned a trial court decision to remove a child from the home based on his father's arrest for posession of crack cocaine. Mere possession of an illegal drug does not mean the state can...

A Quarter of Adult Women Don?t Like Being Around Their Parents

Posted on May 05, 2010
Released today, Tom Rath and James K. Harter?s book Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements?a book on what makes people happy or unhappy?highlights some surprising statistics based on research done by Alan B. Krueger, Daniel Kahneman, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz and...

Legal Battle Over Visitation with Mentally Incapacitated Mom

Posted on May 05, 2010
CNN reports the heartbreaking story of a father locked in a legal battle with his in-laws over the propriety of his triplets' visitation with their mentally incapacitated mother. Abbie Dorn always wanted children, and in June 2006 she got her...

Tebbe & Widiss: ?Equal Access and the Right to Marry?

Posted on May 04, 2010
Nelson Tebbe (Brooklyn Law School) & Deborah A. Widiss (Indiana University-Bloomington, Maurer School of Law) have posted Equal Access and the Right to Marry, 158 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1375 (2010) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: How should...

Civil Unions Approved by Hawaii Legislature; Will Governor Veto?

Posted on May 04, 2010
Legislation approving civil unions was approved, somewhat unexpectedly, in the Hawaii legislature last week. Now all speculation turns toward whether Republican governor Linda Lingle will veto the bill. Lingle has long avoided saying whether she would veto the measure or...

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Diverting Cases to Probate Court?

Posted on May 03, 2010
From the Chicago Tribune: DCFS has increasingly diverted families with issues of neglect or abandonment to probate court, a system typically reserved for guardianship cases that are less complex, according to a Tribune review of court documents and interviews with...

Catholic Bishop Objects to Same Sex Marriage Class at Seton Hall

Posted on May 03, 2010
A Catholic bishop is asking Seton Hall to reconsider its offering of a course on same sex marriage: The governing board of Seton Hall University, the largest Catholic college in New Jersey, is reconsidering whether to allow a course on...

Revoking Marriage Licenses

Posted on May 02, 2010
I found this Time magazine article to be hilarious! It suggests (inspired by Larry King's anticipated 8th divorce) that some individuals should be disqualified from obtaining marriage licenses. Barring a last-minute reconciliation, Larry King is about to get unhitched for...

Domestic Violence Evidence in IL

Posted on May 01, 2010
An Illinois appellate court recenty held that section 115-7.4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/115-7.4 (West. Supp. 2007)), which allows prior acts of domestic battery to be admissible in a domestic battery trial, does...

Recordings Evidence in IL Fitness Hearing

Posted on April 30, 2010
An Illinois appellate court recently reversed and remanded a case on the basis that the trial court erred in admitting recordings of vulgar telephone conversations between parents in a hearing determining a mother?s fitness. The appellate court noted that the...

Motro: "Preglimony"

Posted on April 30, 2010
Shari Motro (University of Richmond School of Law) has posted "Preglimony" on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Unmarried lovers who conceive are strangers in the eyes of the law. If the woman terminates the pregnancy, the man owes her nothing....

Hessick: ?Disentangling Child Pornography from Child Sex Abuse?

Posted on April 29, 2010
Carissa Byrne Hessick (Arizona State, Sandra Day O?Connor College of Law) has posted Disentangling Child Pornography from Child Sex Abuse, 88 Washington University Law Review__ (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent years have seen a significant increase in...

"Win" the Lottery, Lose a Wife?

Posted on April 29, 2010
A British postal worker blames the end of his marriage on his error in throwing away a winning lottery ticket: Cemal Celikkanat, 38, a driver for the Royal Mail, said he thought the dollar amounts on the scratch-off card he...

Balancing Parental Rights with Children?s Interests

Posted on April 28, 2010
An Illinois Appellate Court recently held that not requiring a 15-year-old child to testify at a best interest hearing, when against the best interests of the child, did not deprive the mother of her fundamental right to care, custody and...

Supreme Court to Hear Argument on Privacy of Traditional Marriage Supporters

Posted on April 28, 2010
The United States Supreme Court will hear argument today in Doe #1 v. Reed, a case testing whether the Washington Secretary of State permissibly sought to release the names and addresses of individuals signing a referendum petition opposing same sex....

Collins, Leib, & Markel: ?(When) Should Family Status Matter in the Criminal Justice System??

Posted on April 27, 2010
Jennifer M. Collins (Wake Forest University-School of Law), Ethan J. Leib (University of California-Hastings College of the Law), & Dan Markel (Florida State University College of Law) have posted (When) Should Family Status Matter in the Criminal Justice System?, 13...

Preventing Adoption Disasters

Posted on April 27, 2010
The New York Times blog recently featured a discussion on "How to Prevent Adoption Disasters." Six experts in adoption law - professors, lawyers, and social workers - give their unique perspectives on what can go wrong after an international adoption...

UK Apologizes to Pope Over Gay Marriage Memo

Posted on April 26, 2010
The British government has issued a formal apology to the Pope for an internal memo suggesting that the Pope should bless gay marriage or "open an abortion ward" on an upcoming visit to England: The highly sarcastic document was written...

Sexting Bill in IL

Posted on April 26, 2010
From the Chicago Tribune: Students under 18 who use computers or cell phones to share nude photos of their peers would earn little more than a scolding under a measure the Illinois Senate approved . . . to address the...

Egging a Judge...Don?t Try it at Home

Posted on April 25, 2010
From the Chicago Sun-Times: He could have been charged with egg-ravated battery. Instead, a Naperville man was jailed Wednesday for criminal contempt for throwing a raw egg at a DuPage County judge who had previously jailed him for failing to...

Wax: "Diverging Family Structure and 'Rational' Behavior: The Decline in Marriage as a Disorder of Choice"

Posted on April 24, 2010
Amy L. Wax (University of Pennsylvania Law School) has posted "Diverging Family Structure and 'Rational' Behavior: The Decline in Marriage as a Disorder of Choice" on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The past fifty years have witnessed a growing divergence...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Impacting Domestic Violence

Posted on April 23, 2010
From Law.com: Advocates for domestic violence victims are sounding the warning about a little-noticed U.S. Supreme Court case that they say could make it much harder for battered women and men to enforce restraining orders against their abusers. The case...

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