Family Court Review最新文献

Youth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem-solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two-days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths-based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re-investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

The juvenile “justice” system in the United States and the expansion of the carceral state into communities of color are deeply rooted in white supremacy. To challenge these oppressive systems, it is essential for system-impacted youth to have access to these subjugated histories. We argue that critical youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a powerful tool for providing these youth with the necessary exposure, space, and support to access these histories, develop critical consciousness, and transform their personal pain and experiences into reflection, collaboration, and actions aimed at challenging oppressive systems such as the juvenile legal system. To illustrate this potential, we present an overview of recent YPAR projects in partnership with system-impacted youth. We underscore the importance of system-impacted youth in meaningful, non-tokenistic ways. Concrete recommendations for supporting YPAR projects with system-impacted youth are provided.

Marriage provides a key insight to American life. Marriage is a significant factor when analyzing our society and our current structure – a widening gap among social classes. The decline in marriages among middle and lower class reflects issues with education attainment and financial stability. Unfortunately, there has been no initiative to address the declining marriage rate. This Note proposes a two-alternative approach to implementing family-friendly policies and a nationwide network of Family Centers that will aid the current and next generation. Society will obtain a more educated, cooperative workforce, with a more stable family structure across all classes.

In the 1970s, the movie Kramer versus Kramer dramatized the destructiveness of child custody disputes. It helped inspire family law reform and careers. The central problem identified was an adversarial system and hostile litigation. The proposed solution was alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Over time, these alternatives became an integral part of the family law response to child custody cases, except in cases of vulnerable parties. Today's parents are under greater legal and social pressure to resolve disputes without resorting to court. This can be welcomed and resisted by parents. This article focuses on parental resistance to dispute resolution over litigation through a return to Hollywood. The movie Marriage Story is used to show how parents might feel alienated rather than relieved by opportunity to cooperatively problem-solve differences. Implications are explored in part through drawing from ethnographic research on parents who engaged in mediation through a U.S. family court program and through two Australian Family Relationship Centres (FRC).

This paper tells the coinciding stories of same-sex marriage's arrival in Cuba and the evolution of Cuban property law. It argues that greater privatization in the Cuban system, including access to real estate ownership and small-scale entrepreneurship, contributed to (did not solely determine) the advent of same-sex marriage even though it was, practically speaking, wholly unnecessary to the goal of equalizing same-sex couples with regard to property rights. Same-sex marriage nonetheless scaled the priority list for advancing the interests of gays and lesbians in Cubans due, at least in part, to the discursive entwinement of marriage and property allocation including the “common sense” assumption that marriage is a regime of material benefits access to which determines whether gays and lesbians are being treated equally.

Intimate partner femicide has caused growing concern in Italy, as instances continue to occur frequently. The Italian legislature has a long history of legislation that failed to protect women from violence, especially within their family units. Despite significant improvements to legislation over the last few decades, the problem of intimate partner femicide persists. This Note focuses on the failures of the penal code and accompanying statutes in preventing intimate partner femicide. The proposal is for legislation that will impose higher sentences for intimate partner homicide, remove judicial discretion in sentencing procedures, and require anti-violence and gender equality education in schools.

Litigation abuse is a pattern of conduct that misuses the Family Court process in a way that could reasonably be expected to cause emotional or financial harm to the other party or their children which is greater than would occur with the proper use of the family justice process. Litigation abuse may be motivated by a perpetrator's desire to gain an unfair advantage in the litigation or to control a former partner, or may be the result of anger, vengeance, or mental health issues. Litigation abuse is a particular concern in cases of coercive controlling violence that may victimize women and their children, or in cases that involve parental alienation. Previous empirical research has mainly involved studies of women who report that they have been victims of litigation abuse, with one study focusing exclusively on male victims. No previous study has considered both men and women as possible victims (or perpetrators) of litigation abuse, or the perspectives of neutral professionals like judges for assessing whether there has been litigation abuse. This empirical research project is based on an analysis of Ontario Family Court decisions over a three-year period dealing with litigation costs, which under provincial law may be awarded at a higher level against a party whom the judge considers acted unreasonably, vexatiously or in bad faith during litigation (n = 222). Men were somewhat more likely to have engaged in litigation abuse than women (53% vs 47%). Self-represented litigants were roughly twice as likely to engage in litigation abuse, though most cases of litigation abuse involved parties with lawyers. Women were more likely be victims of litigation abuse in economic cases, while men were more likely to be victims of litigation abuse in cases focused on parenting.

Parent education programs have been designed explicitly for separated and divorced parents. These programs typically aim to help parents navigate the challenges of co-parenting, reduce their children's exposure to interparental conflict, and promote their children's well-being post-separation and divorce. Evaluating the effectiveness of parent education programs has been challenging, given the heterogeneity of formats, duration, and settings of these programs. This meta-analytic review aimed to complete a compressive search of relevant studies of parent education programs for separated and divorced parents. Among 40 studies, 103 treatment effects were included across education programs. The overall weighted standardized mean difference across all education programs was 0.24 (CI = 0.14, 0.34, Q = 1274.69, df: 97, p < 0.001, I² = 0.96.7), but these small effects were not maintained at follow-up (ES 0.00, CI: −0.09, 0.09). Given the considerable heterogeneity across effect sizes, a meta-regression and multiple regressions were computed to assess the influence of moderator variables. This review provides further evidence of the effectiveness of parent education programs. Implications are provided to create evidence-based guidelines.

Privacy laws have yet to effectively deal with the ever-growing implementation of predictive technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), making critical decisions for children. To resolve this issue, COPPA should be revised, and a new division of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should be created to provide a central informational source on the risks related to AI− a more effective means for parents to determine what types of data are being collected and used by AI, and allow parents to provide prior express consent for such usage.