Modern Family Law Supplement Book

Table of Cases     xv
Preface     xxiii
Private Family Choices: Constitutional Protection for the Family and Its Members     1
Evolution of the Right to Privacy     1
The Birth of Privacy     1
Meanings of Privacy     1
Roots of Privacy     2
The Growth of Privacy     2
Abortion as a Private Choice     2
Anti-Abortion Laws: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives     3
Burdens on Privacy     3
Gonzales v. Carhart     3
Notes and Questions     16
The Liberation of Privacy     29
When Privacy Rights Conflict     31
Wives and Husbands     31
Children and Parents     31
Life and Death     34
Getting Married     35
Introduction: Public versus Private Dimensions of Courtship and Marriage     35
Courtship Patterns     35
Preparing to Marry: Premarital Controversies     36
Breach of Promise to Marry     36
Gifts in Contemplation of Marriage     38
Premarital Contracts     40
Getting Married: Substantive and Procedural Regulations     43
Constitutional Limits on State Regulationof Entry into Marriage     43
Evan Wolfson, Loving v. Virginia-and Mrs. Loving-Speak to Us Today     43
State Regulation of Entry into the Marital Relationship     46
Substantive Restrictions     46
Capacity to Marry     46
Same Sex     46
In re Marriage Cases     46
Problem     65
Incest     66
Bigamy     67
Age     70
State of Mind Restrictions: Fraud and Duress     72
Procedural Restrictions     74
Licensure and Solemnization     74
Letter to the Editor, Declaring Muslim Marriages Void Will Have Ruinous Effect on Wives     74
Informal Marriages     78
Common Law Marriage     78
The Putative Spouse Doctrine and Other Curative Devices     80
Being Married: Regulation of the Intact Marriage     81
Roles and Responsibilities in Marriage     81
Duty of Support     81
Names in the Family     82
Employment     85
Parenting     86
Balancing Work and Family     86
Tort and Criminal Law     92
Tort Actions Against Third Parties: Alienation of Affections and Criminal Conversation      92
Bailey v. Faulkner     93
Notes and Questions     96
Tort Actions Between Spouses     98
Interspousal Immunity     98
Wiretapping     100
Problem     101
Domestic Violence: Wife Beating     101
Battered Woman Syndrome     101
Duties of Law Enforcement     105
Testimony of Jessica Gonzales before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights     105
Crimes: Marital Rape     111
Evidentiary Privileges Arising from the Marital Relationship     111
Alternative Families     113
Definitions of Family     113
The Extended Family     113
Peggy Cooper Davis, Moore v. East Cleveland: Constructing the Suburban Family     113
Cohabitation: Unmarried Couples     115
Traditional Response: Criminal Sanctions     115
Unmarried Couples' Rights Inter Se     116
Unmarried Couples, Third Parties, and the State     119
Tort Recovery     119
Employment     121
Health     123
Domestic Violence     124
State v. Carswell     124
Notes and Questions     127
Familial Benefits: Housing, Inheritance, Adoption     128
Parents' and Children's Rights in the Nonmarital Family     132
Support Rights of Nonmarital Children     132
Limitations on Unmarried Parents' Rights     135
Extending Paternity Laws to Same-Sex Couples     140
Divorce     145
Introduction     145
Divorce as a Historical Phenomenon     145
Fault-Based Defenses     146
Recrimination     146
Condonation     146
No-Fault Divorce     147
Divorce Reform     147
Update: Divorce Reform in New York     147
Early Problems of No-Fault     148
Problem     148
Legal Problems Raised by No-Fault Divorce     148
What Role for Fault?     148
Assessment of the No-Fault "Revolution"     151
Divorce Reform: The Gay Divorce     151
Beth R. v. Donna M.     151
Gonzalez v. Green     154
Access to Divorce     158
Economic Obstacles     158
Problem     159
Access to Alternatives to Divorce     161
The Role of Counsel     162
Conflicts of Interest     162
Sexual Ethics      163
Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Morrison     162
Divorce Jurisdiction     166
Over the Plaintiff and Defendant     166
Durational Residency Requirements     167
Problem     167
Domestic Relations Exception to Diversity Jurisdiction     168
Financial Consequences of Dissolution     171
Property Distribution: From Title Theory to Contribution     171
Spousal Support: Theories of Need, Self-Sufficiency, and Beyond     172
"Winding Up" a Marriage: Applying Theories of Property and Support     172
Two Couples' Stories     172
Special Problems in Achieving a Fair Dissolution     174
Changing Circumstances     174
Problem     174
Bankruptcy     175
Pensions and Employee Benefits     176
Child Support     177
Parental Duties     177
Imposing Support Obligations: From Discretion to Guidelines     179
Modification of Child Support     180
Employment Changes     180
Enforcement     180
Imprisonment: Criminal Nonsupport and Contempt of Court     180
The Transformation of Enforcement: From Private to Public Responsibility      181
Congress Intervenes     181
The Challenge of Multistate Cases     182
Jurisdictional Limitations on Establishing Awards     182
Modification and Enforcement     182
Separation Agreements     183
Richardson v. Richardson     183
Child Custody     189
Introduction: Effects of Parental Divorce     189
Parental Disputes Concerning Child Custody     190
Standards for Selecting the Custodial Parent: What Should Be the Standard?     190
Presumptions?     190
Tender Years Presumption     190
Primary Caretaker Presumption     191
Best Interests of the Child?     192
Constitutional Factors     192
Race     192
Religion     193
Problem     193
Fitness     194
Sexual Orientation     194
Careers     197
Domestic Violence     198
Joint Custody: Presumption, Preference, or Option?     200
Standards Governing the Noncustodial Parent: Visitation     204
Restrictions on Visitation     204
Denial of Visitation     205
Standards Governing Parent versus Nonparent Disputes     205
The Role of Special Participants     208
The Child's Preference     208
Representation for the Child     209
Role of Experts     210
Modification     211
Standard     211
Relocation     211
Jurisdiction and Enforcement     214
What Process Should Govern Custody Disputes?     216
The Adversary System versus Mediation Process     216
State Regulation of the Parent-Child Relationship     219
Parental Autonomy: Family Privacy Revisited     219
Constitutional Doctrine and Limitations     219
Procedural Challenges     221
Child Abuse and Neglect     222
Introduction     222
The Abusive Parent and the Abused Child     222
Child Maltreatment 2006     222
Standards for Intervention in the Family     223
Defining the Threshold     223
Parental Privilege to Discipline     225
Problem     227
Neglect     228
Medical Neglect     228
Emotional Abuse and Neglect     230
Problem     230
Sexual Abuse     231
Problem      233
Procedures     235
Reporting Requirements     235
Hearsay and the Confrontation Clause     236
Dispositional Alternatives     238
Temporary Dispositions: Foster Care     238
Liability for Selection of Disposition     238
Monitoring the Provision of Foster Care     239
Permanent Disposition: Termination of Parental Rights     239
Standard of Proof     239
Reasonable Efforts Requirements     240
Children's Autonomy?     240
Emancipation     240
When Can Children Sue Their Parents?     241
Tortious Injury     241
"Divorce" Actions Against Parents     242
Problem     243
Adoption and Alternatives to Adoption     245
Parental Consent to Adoption     245
Validity and Revocability     245
Unmarried Fathers' Rights     246
Choosing an Adoptive Family     249
Placement Criteria     249
Matching     249
Sexual Orientation     252
The Attorney's Role     253
Equitable Adoption     254
Jurisdiction     255
Finstuen v. Crutcher      256
Notes and Questions     259
Consequences of Adoption     262
Legal Status of the Child     262
Stepparent and Second-Parent Adoptions     262
Secrecy versus Disclosure     264
"Open Adoption"     264
Adoption Failure     265
Alternatives to Adoption     266
Artificial Insemination     266
Creating Traditional Families     266
Creating Nontraditional Families     267
Jacob v. Shultz-Jacob     270
Notes and Questions     274
In Vitro Fertilization     277
Expanding Reproductive Privacy     277
Deciding the Fate of Frozen Embryos     277
IVF's Progeny: Egg Donation, Gestational Surrogacy, and "Embryo Adoption"     277