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Topic Proposal

Topic Proposal- Is the Judicial Branch giving fair custody of children to divorced parents?

In my research paper this semester I am interested in researching about the judicial branch and how in my opinion, they do not give fair custody of children to divorced parents. I chose this topic because I have suffered from my parent’s divorce and at some point in my life I felt that I was being forced to live with my mother because to the court it was best for me as well as my siblings. I understand that it was the best choice for us, but it is not always the same case for every other family. This topic is interesting because I feel that the courts are some way biased towards women and give them the full custody of their children. I do not think this fair because in some cases the mother is not all that well with her children and he father is the one who cares for them like a mother should and they do not get custody because the court says the child is better off with their mother. In this research I am wanting to have a better understanding as to why the court chooses and how they come to conclusion of giving custody to either parent. Do they have certain requirement the parents have to pass in order to receive custody? And what if both parents qualify all requirements equally, what happens then? I believe that even though the child might be under the age of 15, they have an understanding as to who they feel more comfortable with and what parent they communicate with best. This will allow the child to be more comfortable and have a greater success in life due to them being able to be who they are and not have to suffer each day living with someone they do not feel secure with. Also, in this research I want to learn what other factors might affect the children when forced to live with a certain parent. How might the choices of the courts affect the children in the long run. For example, in my family, I have a brother who is now 19 years old. I believe that his actions now are because of him not having that same connection my mother and I have, like him and my father could’ve had. This was taken away because at the age of 8 years old he was forced to live with my mother. Although my mother married again, the connection he had with our step-father wasn’t the same connection he could’ve had with his real father. He doesn’t feel the same trust as he has for my father. This all comes back to him not having a father figure. If he could’ve had that choice of living with my father I feel that my brother would be an entire different person. In this research I also want to talk about the positive point of view of the judicial branch choosing for the child because we can suggest that the government only wants what’s best for the children. All in all I would want to know more of how the judicial branch works towards giving the correct custody without being biased.

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Bibliography Report

Clarissa Ovalle

English 1302

Deva Arumugam

Bibliography Report

 AUSTIN, WILLIAM G. "Child Custody Evaluation and Relocation: Part III of III: Forensic Consultation Services and Common Errors by Evaluators." American Journal of Family Law, vol. 30, no. 1, Spring2016, pp. 32-45. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=113050643&site=ehost-live.

In this article, we will analyze the laws and rules behind giving a divorce parent custody of the child/children. This article also gives us examples of errors the courts have made in the process of choosing the designated parent that will have the child’s custody.

Amundsen, Amy J. and Jeffrey L. Levy. "Confusion." Tennessee Bar Journal, vol. 52, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 12-25. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=114859671&site=ehost-live.

This article gives us the process the parents have to go through before the court decides on who will be responsible of the child. Parents must attend counselling prior to their court dates and any mental illnesses should not be a factor of the parent not being eligible for full child custody.

Bjarnason, Thoroddur and Arsaell M. Arnarsson. "Joint Physical Custody and Communication with Parents: A Cross-National Study of Children in 36 Western Countries." Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 42, no. 6, Dec. 2011, pp. 871-890. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=67719630&site=ehost-live.

In this article its main focus is interactions and communications of children with both parents. This is relatively important because the children only have limited interactions with the parents they are not living with.

Bretherton, Inge, et al. "Children's Attachment-Related Self-Worth: A Multi-Method Investigation of Postdivorce Preschoolers’ Relationships with Their Mothers and Peers." Attachment & Human Development, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 25-49. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/14616734.2012.744733.

In this article, the author gives us examples of many experiments made throughout the years with various mothers and children. They explain to us there findings and find that mother-child interactions is little to none.

Burman, Monica. "Fathers' Rights in Swedish Family Law Reform: Taking Account of Fathers' Violence against Mothers." Canadian Journal of Women & the Law, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 152-181. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/cjwl.28.1.152.

In this article, the author examines who in Sweden violent fathers are tagged as non-fatherly like. This is in part due to violence towards the child’s mother. The author believes this is a gender problem and should be fixed because the father also should be able to have rights in being able to interact with the child.

Cancian, Maria, et al. "Who Gets Custody Now? Dramatic Changes in Children's Living Arrangements After Divorce." Demography, vol. 51, no. 4, Aug. 2014, pp. 1381-1396. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s13524-014-0307-8.

Chao-ju, Chen. "The Chorus of Formal Equality: Feminist Custody Law Reform and Fathers' Rights Advocacy in Taiwan." Canadian Journal of Women & the Law, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 116-151. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/cjwl.28.1.116.

In this article, the author differentiates between Taiwan and other countries. It gives us many of Taiwan’s laws that defend fatherhood of men with children. The author points out that in this city men are preferred during a child custody case.

CLARKE, JACQUELINE. "Do I Have a Voice? An Empirical Analysis of Children's Voices in Michigan Custody Litigation." Family Law Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3, Fall2013, pp. 457-484. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=102824285&site=ehost-live.

This article details how a child is evaluated by being interviewed by the court prior to court. This allows the courts to get an idea of what the child thinks about each parents and give the court the child’s preference of parents which will determine who the child will live with.

Coenraad, L.M. "Voices of Minor Children Heard and Unheard in Judicial Divorce Proceedings in the Netherlands." Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, vol. 36, no. 4, Dec. 2014, pp. 370-380. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09649069.2014.967984.

In this article, the author gives a comparison from the Netherlands and the US about giving the children the right to have their voices heard. This is a great example of how the US could give children the opportunity to say what they feel about their parents and have the judge decide the custody from the child’s testimony.

Dolan, Mary Jean and Daniel J. Hynan. "Fighting over Bedtime Stories: An Empirical Study of the Risks of Valuing Quantity over Quality in Child Custody Decisions." Law & Psychology Review, vol. 38, 2013/2014, pp. 45-96. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=97431663&site=ehost-live.

In this article the author argues that certain test that the courts were doing towards deciding the custody of the child, the test were giving unpredictable answers which lead to conflicts in the family. The author gives us new ideas the courts have in order to stop and control the conflicts between families.

Kruk, Edward. "A Model Equal Parental Responsibility Presumption in Contested Child Custody." American Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 39, no. 5, Oct-Dec2011, pp. 375-389. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/01926187.2011.575341.

In this article it argues that allowing equal parenting will allow both parents to spend quality time with the child. It also will allow the removal of post-divorce family therapy. Although it argues that it is up to the child’s best interest about having to go from one household to another.

Kruk, Edward. "Arguments for an Equal Parental Responsibility Presumption in Contested Child Custody." American Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan/Feb2012, pp. 33-55. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/01926187.2011.575344.

In this article the author gives us sixteen arguments the courts have toward equal parenting and gives us another way of looking at things. This allows us to have different aspects of this situation.

Levy, Robert J. "Custody Investigations in Divorce-Custody Litigation." Journal of Law & Family Studies, vol. 12, no. 1, June 2010, pp. 431-451. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=60762961&site=ehost-live.

In this article the author gives us a family example. This gives us an example of denial of a father wanting to spend more time with his child and is denied that request due to his physiological report.

MAYERI, SERENA. "Foundling Fathers: (Non-)Marriage and Parental Rights in the Age of Equality." Yale Law Journal, vol. 125, no. 8, June 2016, pp. 2292-2392. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=116830805&site=ehost-live.

In this article, it explains how fathers won their equality in custody with children in the 1980s. This article gives us examples of fathers who fought for their rights towards their children.

NIELSEN, LINDA. "Shared Residential Custody: Review of the Research (Part II of II)." American Journal of Family Law, vol. 27, no. 2, Summer2013, pp. 123-137. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=87290075&site=ehost-live.

In this article, it focuses mainly on the fathers perspective and how they feel about not having equal rights as mothers with their children. It also gives us the outcomes of children who have quality time with their fathers and show a significant difference in the child’s attitude.

Sadowski, Christina and Jennifer E. McIntosh. "A Phenomenological Analysis of the Experience of Security and Contentment for Latency Aged Children in Shared-Time Parenting Arrangements." Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, vol. 46, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 69-104. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/15691624-12341285.

In this article it shows us experimental outcomes of teenage children that have significantly affects towards divorced parents. This shows us that teenagers become more in need of both parents and by equal parenting have made changes in their teenage life.

Shevchenko, I.O. "The Situation After Divorce." Sociological Research, vol. 55, no. 2, Mar. 2016, pp. 91-103. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10610154.2016.1187024.

In this article, the author’s main focus is how the children act after a divorce. It also goes into detail as to what major concerns the father has for his children. This article identifies three stages of development in the father-child relationship.

SIMON, ROBERT A. and PHILIP M. STAHL. "Analysis in Child-Custody-Evaluation Reports: A Crucial Component1." Family Law Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 1, Spring2014, pp. 35-51. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=102370031&site=ehost-live.

In this article the author focuses on what can become a conflict later in the divorce process and after the courts have determined who the legal guardian of the child will be, whether it be the mother or the father. This article also mentions what fails the court could have which will put the child in risk of domestic violence after.

Vanassche, Sofie, et al. "Commuting between Two Parental Households: The Association between Joint Physical Custody and Adolescent Wellbeing Following Divorce." Journal of Family Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, Aug. 2013, pp. 139-158. EBSCOhost, doi:10.5172/jfs.2013.19.2.139.

In this article, the author analyzes the cons of the equal parenting and the stress the children could face while having to commute between two different households. The author tries to persuade the reader to believe that this new law could have effects toward the child.

Woodhead, Yvonne, et al. "Family Court Judges' Decisions Regarding Post-Separation Care Arrangements for Young Children." Psychiatry, Psychology & Law, vol. 22, no. 4, Aug. 2015, pp. 520-534. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13218719.2014.960034.

This article focuses on children under the age of four. The author examines many different effects the post-divorce process. It allows us to think about what the child might suffer after not having communication with the parent in which they do not live with.

  Summary:

           At the beginning of this research I was always raised to believe that all woman have the motherly instinct in them and are the ones who will care for their children as much as they can. I was raised this way because at the age of only eight years old my parents got a divorce. My mother trained me to always believe my father was the bad guy in the picture and always gave me reasons to believe so. As I became older I still believed everything my mother told me.

           This research has opened my eyes and given me many ways of thinking about the situation that affects many of us children of divorced parents. Although I still believe and stand with my belief that children are better off with their mothers, I do believe the child should have communications with their father. In many cases, the courts make the mistake in choosing the in correct parent. This affects the child severely and can be deadly to the child.

I do not agree that the courts should pass a law in which states that parents should have equal time with the child and parent equally. I believe this can be emotionally stressful to the child because a child can only handle so much and having to move from one home to another will be overwhelming to the child. This will cause the child to feel unwanted in both household.

I do not think that although many of my entries rely on equal parenting I still stand with my belief in the mother having full custody of the child, although the father should have his part in being commucative with his child.

This is a great topic to me because it gives me many more ways of looking at things and specifically this topic. Even though I am biased with my opinion, I am still opened minded to what the authors of these articles might have in store for me.

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