Introduction: Family Law: Cases, Texts, Problems

Abstract:     
The intent is to clearly present the law so that teachers can spend class time focusing instead on its applications and on policy issues. To do so, this text presents cases, with explanations and excerpts from the literature, as well as problems designed to reinforce and enhance understanding. Coverage begins with overarching themes such as the revolution in ideas about what constitutes a family, whether the state has a legitimate interest in privileging particular families, the centrality of marriage, rights to privacy, and work and gender issues. Subsequent sections address marriage and divorce, non-traditional families, and parents and children. The text has adapted and changed in the 25 years since publication of the first edition in 1986. In the preface the authors remark on how the original work was delivered by Ira Mark Ellman (Arizona State U.) to the publisher in a box containing hundreds of pages of typescript with plenty of cut-and-paste editing. Technology has radically changed how books are made, of course; and the contents have been kept current over the years with the addition of authors. There are now six, with affiliations at U. of Georgia, U. of California, U. of Minnesota, U. of Maryland, and U. of North Carolina.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 118

Accepted Paper Series