BLS Library Blog

Brooklyn Law School Library’s most recent New Book List has the 2d edition of The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage & Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps) by Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong (Call #KF539 .N52 2011a). This 40 page volume depicts the history and current state of marriage and relationship recognition rights for same-sex couples in the United States in charts and in maps with endnotes citing to relevant cases and statutes. Not included in this list is the recent Order by a Livingston County Supreme Court allowing a suit challenging New York’s landmark marriage equality law to proceed based on claims of violations of NY’s open meeting law. Beginning with a detailed history of efforts to achieve marriage rights and other forms of relationship recognition (such as domestic partnerships and civil unions) for gay and lesbian Americans, from the first lawsuit filed in 1970 in Minnesota to the Illinois civil union law that goes into effect in June 2011, it goes on to provide detailed information on relationship recognition in the United States, including which states permit same-sex couples to marry or to enter into other types of legal unions; the rules for entering into or terminating such relationships; a comparison of the rights that each state provides to same-sex couples; the extent to which same-sex relationships entered into in one state are recognized by other states; and which cities and counties have domestic partnership registries and equal benefits ordinances. It also looks at efforts to ban same-sex marriage at the ballot box, including selected vote details by state and county; a closer look at where support for such efforts was weakest and strongest; and a comparison of the processes for amending state constitutions across the US. 

The BLS Library also recently added to its collection Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America by Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman (Call #KF505 .G765 2011). This comprehensive social history of twentieth-century family law in the United States tells the story of the institution of family, exploring the ways in which law tried to penetrate and control this realm of personal life. Chapters include: Tying the knot: marriage and promises to marry — Marriage and the state — Marriage, law, and society: a tangled web — Common-law marriage — The end of heart balm — Anything goes: love and romance in a permissive age — The rise of sexual freedom — Cohabitation — Same-sex relationships — When the music stops: dissolving a marriage and the aftermath — Untying the knot: divorce and annulment — Dollars and sense: the economic consequences of divorce — Collateral damage: the children of divorce — The old and the new generation — The extended family: elder law and the law of inheritance.

November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside each year to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth from foster care. The Administration for Children and Families estimates there are 107,000 children and youth in the foster care system waiting for families to adopt them. Saturday November 19, 2011 is National Adoption Day when courts around the country will be opening their doors to finalize the adoption of foster children. Several County Courts in NY State are hosting Adoption Day celebrations in recognition of National Adoption Month. The New York State Citizens’ Coalition for Children (NYSCCC) which represents the citizen’s viewpoint and works to improve and expand the services available to children and families includes on its website these resources:

• The Basics: Adoption in New York State from the NYC Cross Borough Collaboration
• Adoption in New York from the NYS Bar Association Pamphlet
• New NY State Law Allows Unmarried Couples to Jointly Adopt

Brooklyn Law School Library has in its collection The Adoption Law Handbook: Practice, Resources, and Forms for Family Law Professionals by Jennifer Fairfax (Call #KF545 .F35 2011) published by the American Bar Association, Section of Family Law. The book has chapters on Adoption overview — Client intake, advice, and consultations — Home study — Domestic private agency adoption — Public agency adoptions — Independent adoption — Interstate compact on placement of children — Biological fathers — Consent, relinquishment, and termination of parental rights — Second-parent or co-parent adoptions — Post-adoption contact agreements (PACA) — Indian Child Welfare Act — Stepparent adoptions — Cost and financing — Adult adoption — Open adoption records — Disruption and dissolution — Failure of disclosure and tort of wrongful adoption.

Earlier this month the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation designating October 2011 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, stating that “an average of three women in America die as a result of domestic violence each day. One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.” Domestic Violence Awareness Month has been observed nationally starting with the Day of Unity observed in October 1981. In 1989, the U.S. Congress designated the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month commemorative with passage of S.J. Res. 133 as Pub. L. 101-12.

The BLS Library recently added to its collection the 2011 edition of Domestic Violence: Practice and Procedure by Isabelle Scott a comprehensive volume for practitioners which offers analysis of domestic violence case law and statutes, scientific and medical information, practical advice, and proven tips. Discussion covers the full sweep of domestic violence law, including criminal, civil, tort, divorce, child custody, immigration, civil rights, and equal protection.