Modernizing Capacity Doctrine

62 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2022

See all articles by Lisa V. Martin

Lisa V. Martin

University of South Carolina School of Law

Date Written: July 7, 2021

Abstract

Federal capacity doctrine—or the rules establishing whether and how children’s civil litigation proceeds—has largely remained the same for more than a century. It continues to presume that all children are incapable of directing their own cases, and that adults must litigate on children’s behalf. But since that time, our understanding of children, and of adolescents in particular, has significantly evolved. This Article contends that it is well beyond time to modernize the capacity doctrine to better account for the capabilities of adolescents and support their transition to adulthood.

Keywords: child, minor, adolescent, capacity, access to justice, civil litigation, civil procedure, courts

Suggested Citation

Martin, Lisa V., Modernizing Capacity Doctrine (July 7, 2021). Florida Law Review, Vol. 73, No. 4, 2021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4028872

Lisa V. Martin (Contact Author)

University of South Carolina School of Law ( email )

1525 Senate Street
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

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