Catholic Charities case – contraception law that applies to all employers will even apply to a Catholic employer, since the secular nature of their employee’s duties and services provided outweighs the right to free exercize.
Marvin v. Marvin: the basis of recovery in implied contracts between nonmarital partners. As long as the contractual relationship is not based purely on sexual consideration, courts will enforce and allow recovery for valuable services rendered.
Understand that not all jurisdictions recognize this approach:
Hewitt– contract law not appropriate for dealing with nonmarital relationships, public policy requires proper legislative approach.
Watts The test won’t focus on California, but you should know what the various approaches are. State will not recreate common law marriage where it has been abolished, but in case where couple held themselves out as husband and wife, the court may allow wife to recover based on shared effort and investment.
Marriage Generally
Term marriage: Also known as a “contract marriage.” A form of legal union between two(or potentially more) people where, instead of life-long or until divorce, the union will end at a time agreed on at the time of union. The suggested lengths of such unions generally span from one year to twenty.
Covenant marriage: Religious reaction to no-fault. Limits the availability of divorce to abuse, imprisonment, or adultery. Only available in Arkansas, Arizona, and Louisiana.
Confidential marriage: Special provision in California allowing couples to marry without witnesses or publically-available documents. Cal. Code p. 205 – 206
Note: These Constitutional Law cases are required, but no others:
Renoylds– laws against polygamy are a restriction on behavior, not belief, and are thus constitutional.
Sharma– religious restrictions on marriage. Individual’s right to free exercize may be outweighed by compelling state interest. May not compel people to stay married if one believes in the religious restriction and the other does not.
Griswald– Marriage is a fundamental right / strong privacy interest (“penumbra”), so more searching inquiry than rational basis is required.
Eisenstadt v. Baird– Ct. contraception case – equal protection extends to married v. non-married status. Primacy of marriage unit is thrown out in favor of individual.
Roe v. Wade– trimester approach to balancing state vs. mother’s interest.
Casey–“fundamental burden” test, disgards trimester distinctions from Roe.
Gonz
homestead survivorship;
· veteran’s loans;
· “family farmer” status;
· anatomical gifts;
· state pay for military service;
· application for absentee ballot;
· family landowner rights to fish and hunt;
· assignment of wages;
· affirmance of relationship.
domestic partnership – more informal than civil unions, but still gives many marriage rights.
reciprocal benefits – non-marital “household” rights. Indiviuals prohibited by state law from marrying one another include, but are not limited to, relationships such as brother and sister of the half as well as to the whole blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, widowed mother and her unmarried son, and two persons of the same sex or gender.
Rights granted include: inheritance rights, workers compensation, the right to sue for wrongful death, health insurance and pension benefits for state employees, hospital visitation, and healthcare decisionmaking.
