Children

Rights Work: UChicago constitutional law course brings together incarcerated youths, law students

The eight-week class is designed to give incarcerated youths an opportunity to consider their rights while exposing the law students to the younger students’ worldview through in-class discussions on topics that include freedom of speech, due process and reproductive freedom, along with weekly mentoring sessions.

May 31, 2023 8:12 AM CDT

Colorado bill limits ‘reunification treatment’ in child custody cases, requires training and expertise

Family courts in Colorado custody cases can’t cut off a child’s contact with a protective parent to whom they are bonded just to improve a relationship with a rejected parent accused of abuse or domestic violence, according to a bill signed into law last week.

May 30, 2023 3:37 PM CDT

Pregnant criminal defense lawyer on bed rest loses trial-delay bid in top state court

The Ohio Supreme Court on Sunday rejected a bid by a pregnant lawyer on bed rest to stay a trial scheduled to begin the next day.

May 9, 2023 9:48 AM CDT

Transgender girl can stay on team, for now, after SCOTUS denial; action comes as US proposes new Title IX rule

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate a West Virginia law that bans transgender athletes from playing on female sports teams.

Apr 7, 2023 9:17 AM CDT

Former Cohen Milstein partner who led firm’s sex-abuse team charged with child-porn possession

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll has fired a Florida partner after he was charged with possession of child pornography.

Apr 3, 2023 9:30 AM CDT

Taking Sides

Parental alienation happens when one parent engages in behaviors that cause a child to reject the other parent for no legitimate reason. It can become the subject of fierce debate in high-conflict divorce cases when one parent claims the other parent intentionally turned a child against him or her.

Apr 1, 2023 4:00 AM CDT

Colorado will license paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work

The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new rule that allows licensed nonlawyer paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work in some divorce and child-custody matters.

Mar 30, 2023 11:26 AM CDT

Supreme Court sides with deaf student in quest for damages for inadequate education

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a deaf student can pursue damages for an inadequate education under the Americans With Disabilities Act, even though he didn’t exhaust remedies under a federal education law.

Mar 22, 2023 12:04 PM CDT

Embryo decision citing slavery law is ‘reprehensible and offensive,’ law prof says

A judge’s decision last month allowing a divorced woman to pursue use of frozen embryos is raising eyebrows because of its reliance on an 1849 law that regarded enslaved people as goods that can be bought and sold.

Mar 17, 2023 3:15 PM CDT

Federal judge faces probe after he orders handcuffing of 13-year-old girl in gallery in ‘scared straight’ approach

A federal judge faces an ethics probe initiated by the judiciary after a transcript indicated that he ordered the handcuffing of a 13-year-old girl during a probation revocation hearing for her father. The allegations are against Judge Roger Benitez.

Mar 1, 2023 11:15 AM CST

South Carolina laws that prosecute kids for ‘disorderly’ conduct are unconstitutional, 4th Circuit says

A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down two South Carolina laws that punish elementary and secondary school students who act “disorderly,” use “obscene” language or “act in an obnoxious manner” in or near a school.

Feb 23, 2023 3:22 PM CST

Examining juvenile crime and punishment in songs

In the years since its initial release, “I Hung My Head” has been covered by both Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. In fact, if you perform a Google search for the track’s title, it’s Cash’s version that appears first and foremost.

Feb 13, 2023 8:41 AM CST

Protection Services: Meet the lawyers and staff behind the ABA’s work in children’s law

Nearly 45 years after its founding, the ABA Center on Children and the Law has evolved into a midsize nonprofit with nearly 20 staff members who promote access to justice for children and families. The center now helps manage as many as 30 grant projects each year that focus on diverse areas of children’s law, including legal representation; foster care and education; kin and relative caregivers; child, adolescent and parental health; youth engagement; and state and court initiatives.

Feb 1, 2023 12:40 AM CST

‘Romeo and Juliet’ actors file child-abuse suit for 1968 nude scene filmed while they were teens

The actors who were teenagers when they portrayed Romeo and Juliet in the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet are relying on a California law to sue Paramount Pictures for filming them in the nude.

Jan 5, 2023 1:38 PM CST

Supreme Court will consider future of Indian Child Welfare Act

The Indian Child Welfare Act faces a broad, multipronged legal attack led by the state of Texas, which along with seven individuals sued the federal government challenging various provisions of ICWA as unconstitutional. The most attention-getting is the attack on the law’s preferences for placing Native American children with family members or other tribe members.

Nov 3, 2022 10:33 AM CDT