Spring Semester 2010
Professor Franks
This syllabus lists the material to be read and briefed in advance of each class. The required casebook is K. S. Spaht, Family Law in Louisiana (2009 ed.), Louisiana State University Law Center. Students using the 2008 edition may click here. Students are required to have a current edition of the Louisiana Civil Code. Students from states other than Louisiana should please contact Professor Franks for additional materials pertaining to their state of interest.
Students are responsible for all divorce, curatorship and tutorship provisions of the Louisiana Civil Code, Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, and Louisiana Revised Statutes, as well as 28 U.S. Code §§ 1738 and 1738A, and Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:1801 et seq. Students should also familiarize themselves with the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, Louisiana Children's Code article 1301.1 et seq.
Additionally, all codal and statutory material and all cases listed in the syllabus are required reading. Furthermore, students are expected to read all items listed as required reading for this course on Professor Franks's web site, including the pleadings and discovery document available there and the articles listed there by Professor Katherine Shaw Spaht and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead.
Your attention is called to page 55 of the current catalog: "Attendance of 80 percent of the scheduled classes is a prerequisite for credit in a course." Roll will be taken. This policy will be enforced. There are 40 scheduled classes this semester. More than eight absences will be disqualifying.
Students are expected to prepare their assignments. Students are expected to attend class whether prepared or not. Attendance is a factor in your academic success. Your professor's home telephone is available from the Castle Communication Centre on the Ex Stellis web site. Your professor's office hours this semester are available from the Castle Classroom on the Ex Stellis web site. It is suggested you download this information now so it will be available to you at home in time of need.
| Day | Date | Be prepared to discuss | |
| Wednesday | 13 | January | Casebook Table of Contents. Also B. D. Whitehead, Dan Quayle Was Right, The Atlantic, April 1993, at 47 (available on the web site and also on reserve in library). Also Eunice Yu and Jianguo Liu, Environmental Impacts of Divorce (available on the web site). |
| Friday | 15 | January | Casebook pp. 1-23. |
| Wednesday | 20 | January | Casebook pp. 23-52. |
| Friday | 22 | January | Casebook pp. 53-78. |
| Monday | 25 | January | Casebook pp. 79-101. |
| Wednesday | 27 | January | Casebook pp. 101-119 and K. S. Spaht, Louisiana's Covenant Marriage, 59 La. L. Rev. 63 (Fall 1998) (available on reserve in library); also Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:307-309. |
| Friday | 29 | January | Louisiana Civil Code articles 86-100; Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:201-291. |
| Monday | 1 | February | Casebook pp. 121-141. |
| Wednesday | 3 | February | Casebook pp. 143-178. |
| Friday | 5 | February | Casebook pp. 179-200. |
| Monday | 8 | February | Casebook pp. 201-223. |
| Wednesday | 10 | February | Review grounds and procedures for divorce in Louisiana: Louisiana Civil Code articles 101-124; Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure articles 10, 3941-3958; Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:301-302, 371-375, 381-384. |
| Friday | 12 | February | Casebook pp. 224-240. |
| Wednesday | 17 | February | Casebook pp. 241-266. |
| Friday | 19 | February | Casebook pp. 266-294. |
| Monday | 22 | February | Your friendly family lawyer's guide to the use and misuse of telephones: a short course on wiretapping, including Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:1301 et seq.; Meredith v. Gavin, 446 F.2d 794 (8th Cir. 1971); Kirk v. State, 526 So.2d 223 (La. 1988); State v. West, 553 So.2d 945 (4th Cir. 1989); In re Hagarty, 257 La. 1, 241 So.2d 469 (1970); In re Marriage of Lopp, 268 Ind. 690, 378 N.E.2d 414 (1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1116, 99 S.Ct. 1023, 59 L.Ed.2d 76 (1979); Briscoe v. Briscoe, 641 So.2d 999 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1994); Op. La. Att'y Gen. 96-183 (1996). |
| Friday | 26 | February | Casebook pp. 295-311. Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000). |
| Monday | 1 | March | Casebook pp. 311-332. |
| Wednesday | 3 | March | Louisiana Civil Code articles 131-137; Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:331-356. |
| Friday | 5 | March | Casebook pp. 333-347. |
| Monday | 8 | March | Casebook pp. 347-370. |
| Wednesday | 10 | March | Casebook pp. 371-397. |
| Friday | 12 | March | Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:303-306, 311-324. |
| Monday | 15 | March | Review to date. |
| Wednesday | 17 | March | Practice midterm. |
| Friday | 19 | March | Casebook pp. 397-422. |
| Monday | 22 | March | Casebook pp. 422-452. |
| Wednesday | 24 | March | Casebook pp. 453-483. |
| Friday | 26 | March | UCCJA -- Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:1801-1842; FPKPA -- 28 U.S. Code § 1738A. |
| Monday | 29 | March | Casebook pp. 485-513; Atkins v. Atkins, 623 So.2d 239 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1993). ASSIGNMENT DUE. |
| Wednesday | 31 | March | UIFSA (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act): Louisiana Children's Code article 1301.1 et seq. |
| Wednesday | 7 | April | Casebook pp. 513-535. |
| Friday | 9 | April | Casebook pp. 535-549. |
| Monday | 12 | April | Casebook pp. 549-565. |
| Wednesday | 14 | April | Louisiana Civil Code articles 184-245; Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:391-400.1. |
| Friday | 16 | April | Casebook pp. 567-591. |
| Monday | 19 | April | Casebook pp. 593-620. |
| Wednesday | 21 | April | Casebook pp. 621-643. |
| Friday | 23 | April | Casebook pp. 645-686. |
| Monday | 26 | April | Casebook pp. 687-705. Louisiana Civil Code articles 246-399; Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure articles 3991-4643; Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:601-734, 1001-1034; Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bengston, 231 F.2d 263 (5th Cir. 1956); Fed. R. Civ. P. 17. |
| Wednesday | 28 | April | Review for final. |
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