Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University College of LawNot a member yet
884 research outputs found
Sort by
Force African-American Fathers to Parent Their Delinquent Sons - A Factor to Be Considered At the Dispositional Stage
Get PDFWhat species can survive and function when a substantial segment of its young male population is harnessed by the burdens of substance abuse, unemployment, and incarceration? Empirical data suggests that these maladies have infected African-American males at a rate alarmingly disproportionate to that of other races. This trend, if it continues, suggests that America is creating a dysfunctional class. In this Article the term dysfunctional refers to a predicament wherein African-American males engage in violent activities.\u27 Their conduct may be attributable to their inability to contribute to the family or smaller groups which form the foundation of the social order of society. In light of the increasing numbers of African-American males populating correctional facilities, becoming enslaved to drugs, and becoming unemployed, unskilled, and only minimally educated, drastic measures need to be taken to prevent them from becoming dysfunctional members of society. The problem is real. Recognizing this burden, several theories of remedy have been suggested. Some propose single-sex, single-race schools,9 while others advocate rearing African-American children in non-African-American families.\u27 ° None of the suggested remedial measures will be effective if we do not seriously consider the real problems that confront the African American male child. The consequences of racism play a substantial role in the demise of these youth, and the placement of the delinquent child is vital in correcting the situation. I suggest that a potential solution is placing African-American male children with their fathers. In proposing this remedy, I am not advocating separating them from their mothers. My focus is on children in the juvenile justice system who are thus wards of the state. I consider this remedy as pro-survival for African-American males. I am in no way implying that African-American women have failed in raising our male children, but I am suggesting that perhaps the burden is too heavy for us to bear, alone, today. I advocate state interference in a family unit only when there are signs of profound distress and disturbance, as indicated by a child\u27s entrance into the juvenile justice system. Once the child becomes a part of the system, the state has an interest in the child sufficient to merit intervention and the state should act, as when non-delinquent conduct is involved, in the best interests of the child. The best interests of the child test for deciding custodial placement is the most recent standard delineated by the courts. At early common law, a father had the paramount right to custody of his children. Courts later considered the age and gender of the child as a deciding factor, and placed children of a tender and early age with their mothers. A more recent rule, the primary caretaker rule, allowed the child to be placed with the parent who was primarily responsible for the child\u27s care. This rule allowed for a gender neutral determination. Today, however, placement decisions are determined by applying the best interests test. Courts focus on the child\u27s needs and determine placement accordingly. Placement questions, for the most part, arise during custodial disputes, neglect, and child abandonment cases. The juvenile justice system needs to be transformed so that this test is similarly applied to a child\u27s placement at the dispositional stage. Part I of this Article discusses issues plaguing African-American males. Part II addresses the best interests of the child test as it arises in the dispositional stage for juvenile delinquents. Part III discusses the AfricanAmerican father as nurturer, and considers the implications of forcing him to parent even though he is absent from the home. Part IV notes that the state has forced parents to parent in other areas, thus the notion of forced parentage can be implemented for delinquents. Part V concludes that the remedial measure of forced parentage may be necessary as a pro-survival measure, outweighing any anti-mother, anti-womanist, or anti-feminist notions. Understanding the role racism plays in our society, I conclude that forced parentage is necessary for the survival and prosperity of the African-American community, and that it would be in the best interests of both delinquent African-American male youth and society as a whole
Broadening the Scope of Environmental Standing: Procedural and Informational Injury-in-Fact After Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife
Get PDFAn Education of Their Own: The Precarious Position of Publicly Supported Black Colleges after United States v. Fordice
Get PDFIn United States v. Fordice, the United States Supreme Court revisited the awesome task of eliminating race from educational policy. Fordice ostensibly involved the duty of a state to remedy past discrimination in its formerly segregated system of higher education. Mississippi argued that it need only cease further discrimination, while private petitioners and the United States argued that the state must also undertake remedial measures beyond simply ending present discriminatory practices. The Court\u27s rejection of Mississippi\u27s approach and its adherence to the Brown v. Board of Education demand to eliminate race as a factor in educational opportunity uncovered the hidden and much more complex issue: that is, whether the continued existence of publicly supported black colleges is justifiable after nearly forty years of jurisprudence specifically oriented to the elimination of one-race educational institutions. Fordice represents merely an opening salvo with regard to that issue. The still uncertain resolution, however, may very well determine whether black colleges will continue to exist after the post-Brown struggle between racial discrimination and educational opportunity
Groundwater Law in the Great Lakes States: A Lawyer\u27s Catalog for the Benefit of Water Planners
Get PDFWater rights are of single importance in the Great Lakes region. Of primary concern are the various laws that govern the allocation and use of water. Virtually every Great Lakes state has its own rich history of judicially resolved water disputes. These disputes have occasioned the generation of a common law of waters and water rights which are often supplemented by statutes. Not only is this true for surface waters, it is also true for groundwater. It is the groundwater resource that this article addresses
The Pebble in the Shoe: Making the Case for the Government Employee
Get PDFThis Article addresses the issue of whether federal government employees should be able to use the False Claims Act, also known as the federal whistleblower statute, to personally benefit from uncovering fraud against the government during the course of their employment. The Article addresses, therefore, the apparent collision between two policies: on the one hand, the federal government has a compelling interest in vigorously pursuing those contractors who defraud it; on the other hand, the government has an interest in not encouraging its own investigators to enrich themselves by bringing personal suits for damages against the target of their investigations
Federal Liability for State Water-Adjudication Filing Fees: Has the United States Waived Its Sovereign Immunity?
Get PDF
