Marriage Mimicry: The Law of Domestic Violence
William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 47, 2006
Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 45
OSU Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies Working Paper No. 29
64 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2005
Abstract
In this article, Professor Colker argues that the legal system does not simply privilege those in marital relationships but has now begun to privilege those in "marriage-like" relationships through what she terms a marriage mimicry model. She uses the law of domestic violence to critique this method of according benefits and protections. She traces the haphazard development of the law of domestic violence and argues that it has served to underprotect many of the victims of domestic violence because lawmakers have reflexively privileged marriage-like relationships without asking who is most in need of protection. She argues that the legal system should disentangle benefits and protections from marriage and, instead, use a functional approach to deciding who receives benefits and protections.
Keywords: domestic partner, common-law marriage, battered spouse, battered wife
JEL Classification: K14, K30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation