Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children

The past year was considerably more tranquil than recent years with regard to legal developments involving children. For example, there were no major United States Supreme Court decisions directly affecting children, and the 1991 Virginia General Assembly\u27s actions impacted on children mainly through budget cuts and the disappointing abolition of the Department for Children - a result of those cuts. Virginia\u27s child labor laws were extensively revised in 1991, but few of these revisions will make a noticeable difference in the work relationships of the state\u27s youth because they largely conform state law to existing federal law. Finally, legislation was enacted, after several sessions failed to do so, regarding surrogacy contracts and assisted conception technologies

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children

This section focuses on Virginia and federal developments affecting children from January 1984 through June 1985. The discussion will concentrate on legal developments impacting on juvenile delinquency; abused, neglected and missing children; paternity; child support; and the problems of educationally disadvantaged and handicapped children. Child custody developments are addressed in the section on Domestic Relations

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children

Three events in the past year significantly impacted the way the legal system treats children. First, the family court experiment being conducted under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Judicial Council was concluded. Second, the General Assembly established a state-wide, community-based, inter-agency system to deliver services to children and youth. Third, the Virginia Supreme Court promulgated the first set of statewide rules governing proceedings in juvenile and domestic relations district courts. The year\u27s other developments were not as systemic or far reaching as those above, although recommendations flowing from the Youth Services Commission\u27s\u27 legislatively-mandated study of services and violent juvenile crime have the potential to impact the way this highly visible problem is dealt with in the future

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children

In the past year, several significant developments affecting children and the legal system have occurred: first, the General Assembly\u27s enactment of Family Court legislation introduced under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Judicial Council; second, the reaffirmation of the Comprehensive Services Act, a state-wide, community-based, inter-agency system of delivering services to children, youth and their families; third, the adoption of a number of bills which address the growing problem of violence by juveniles; and fourth, an increasing number of decisions concerning transfer of juveniles to the circuit courts to be tried as adults, which also reflects greater youth participation in serious crime. The 1993 legislative session further saw the enactment of significant bills based on the work of the Commission on the Reduction of the Incidence of Sexual Assault Victimization in Virginia. Other developments were less far reaching, although the continuing, legislatively-mandated Commission on Youth\u27s study of serious and violent juvenile crime will probably have a major impact based on the Commission\u27s recommendations for dealing with the high profile problem

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children

The past year has been another significant year for children and the legal system with the completion of the Virginia Commission on Youth\u27s Serious Juvenile Offender study and the enactment of comprehensive legislation intended to implement the recommendations of that study as the General Assembly continues to focus on juvenile delinquency and school behaviors. The Governor and General Assembly failed to agree on a funding scheme for the Family Court, created in 1993, which consequently postponed the date for the Family Court\u27s implementation from January 1, 1995 until July 1, 1996. Also, the past year experienced a series of different results in a nationally prominent and highly publicized case involving the emotionally charged issue of the custody rights of gay or lesbian parents. The year also saw the continuing affirmation by the United States Supreme Court of the principle of separation of church and state in the setting of public education, which has been recurring issue

Solomon\u27s Sword: Adjudication of Child Custody Questions

It is significant that this story from the reign of King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. uses as its setting a battle over child custody to illustrate the legendary wisdom of Solomon. \u27 It is equally meaningful that after the passage of some three thousand years of civilization and supposed social progress, a twentieth century Amer- ican judge could remark that a judge agonizes more about reaching the right result in a contested custody issue than about any other type decision he renders. And this agony intrudes into an ever-increasing number of cases

The Repudiation of Plato: A Lawyer\u27s Guide to the Educational Rights of Handicapped Children

Plato\u27s solution for the handicapped children of Athens advanced some 2400 years ago was rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States in famous dictum in Meyer v. Nebraska as being ideas. . . wholly different from those upon which our institutions rest .... However, it took about half a century for the ultimate repudiation of the ideas espoused by the great philosopher as the Supreme Court\u27s 1923 dictum finally bore fruit in federal court decisions establishing a constitutional right to education for handicapped children and in a congressional definition of such a right in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. These actions of the last decade have not only put to rest the ancient view that handicapped persons are of no worth and should be set apart or destroyed but they have also wrought at least a small revolution in the delivery of educational and other services to such persons