Horton Looks at the Ali Principals

Abstract

This essay investigates the use of ALI Prinicpals in child custody issues arising between not only biological parents but also "third-parties" who have been situated in loco parentis. Generism is a term coined by the author to describe the method that explores legal issues through a child-centered lens. This essay uses generism to probe the outcome on child custody when ALI principals are used and exposes the shortcomings of those principals, which adopt an adult-centric view when defining parenthood and thus fail to adequately recognize the importance to children of a de facto parenting relationship.