The work of Urie Bronfenbrenner is a key framework in Family Science, yet there are many areas where it has seldom been applied, including in the processes experienced by divorcing families in Family Court. Acknowledging the paucity of scholarship applying ecological systems theory to these topics, the paper offers instructive interpretations of…

March 18, 2013, marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's unanimous 1963 decision in "Gideon v. Wainwright." "Gideon," a petty criminal, accused of suspicion of breaking and entry was the seminal Supreme Court case that ruled that defendants in criminal cases have the right to an attorney even if they cannot afford to…

When New Hampshire's 13 newest lawyers were sworn in to the state bar in May, the ceremony took place a day before they actually graduated from law school. This speedy swearing-in as officers of the court was part of an unorthodox program at the state's only law school, Franklin Pierce Law Center. And while their classmates and thousands of other…

Just over a month after the Supreme Court of the United States' ruling in the Seattle and Louisville cases, news analysts and school district officials from Boston to Berkeley, California, from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Evanston, Illinois, are still trying to assess its impact on their student reassignment programs. But the community of scholars…

The author decided to minimize the stressful emphasis on assessments in learning in his 11th grade American History and Government classes and put the fun back into teaching. Tired of the repetitive aspects of teaching the required state standards related to the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court cases, the author switched gears from simply…

Discusses the problems posed for scientifically untrained judges and lawyers in ensuring the scientific validity of scientific evidence. Cites recent cases which indicate the results when courts do not hold expert witnesses to the standards and criteria of their own disciplines. (CW)

The problems the mentally retarded defendant confronts in the legal system are discussed, and a model to correct some of the problems is proposed. It is emphasized that the police, lawyers, and judges are often ill-informed about the mentally retarded. (Author/SW)

Law often appears to be in a limbo between the Social Sciences and the Humanities. Movements within legal scholarship itself, the law and economics movement and the law and literature movement, represent efforts to portray law as a social science or as a humanity. But if one looks at what lawyers do, one finds that law is more like…

The term gender bias was coined by the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts and is defined as the predisposition or tendency to think about and behave toward people primarily on the basis of their sex rather than their status, professional accomplishments, or aspirations. An effective method for…

Three studies--two of trial judges' perceptions of trial lawyers' performance and one of law school graduates' perceptions of the utility of legal training--are discussed. The state of lawyer competence and the effect of law schools on that competence are also reevaluated. (Author/MLW)

Identifies and discusses sections of the U.S. Constitution that support the provision of legal aid to poor people. Reviews Supreme Court cases that deal with this topic. Includes five suggested learning activities and a vocabulary list. (CFR)

Described are various models and methods that have helped communities around the United States and Canada give the public a better understanding of legal and judicial systems. An introductory section discusses the role of the legal profession in improving public understanding of the law, how to put together a team to teach about the judicial…

Admission to the legal profession in England is controlled by organizations representing the solicitors and barristers, the two great divisions into which the profession is divided. this control by private organizations is peculiar to England, and a proper appreciation of the present condition and tendencies in English legal education therefore…

Part I of this report describes processes used to develop and implement the 2-year Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Sexual Abuse Intervention and Treatment Project. The underlying focus of the 5-day training sessions is a team approach to investigation, intervention, and treatment. A process description discusses the impetus for the project…

"Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) is one of the greatest achievements of the American judicial system. It decisively declared racial segregation in the schools unconstitutional, inaugurating the modern civil rights era. In addition to advancing equality, "Brown" initiated a new type of judicial decision making. After…