Essay Exam 1 hour

Danielle Leerhoff
Essay Exam 1 hour
When asked about what I wanted to write about I chose something that is an ongoing battle. I chose to write about Child Custody Laws and the father’s role. I believe every person has rights. The information that I researched was very informative and hard to understand why some of the choices that were made, were made.
I researched on the internet Hawkeye Library about the tender year doctrine. The article by Julie E. Artis , she talks to judges in Indiana about the tender year doctrine. What they say baffled me. The new statue in Indiana and all other states, state to use the gender-neutral doctrine, but many of the judges still refer to the old tender year doctrine. With this new information I really got into the article. Why do they still use it? They use it sometimes as a tie breaker for battles because it is easier. What about the best interest of the kid(s)? The judges think that the mother is the natural nurturer, she is caregiver. The judges could have been wrong or right in their decisions but did they look at the case itself? Some just assumed the mother get custody in fake scenarios just because of the natural nurturer and care giving. What about fathers? Don’t they have a say? Fathers can be a nurturer just like the mother is. The evidence is clear, that many judges now matter what, still go by what they think is right. Should this be fair? Some judges think that the tender year doctrine being used is unfair to fathers. The more I read the more I understand why the laws have changed. I believe in the new laws but why can’t the judges use it. The article is a very typical one about the matter but still lacks in research about how the judges decide each case. Artis did not get much case evidence in this article which makes it hard to agree or disagree with. What if the mom was unfit? How did they justify that? I still stand for the rights of fathers to have custody but I also had to do a lot of in depth understanding of the judges to. Artis has written other informative articles that have helped others. So when she did all the questioning and prodding into the minds of the judges she learned just how they thought to. Some of the article was hard to read because I got frustrated and angry at the judges for what they were saying but I had to continue on and learn more about their aspects of the debate was.
Leaving you with a thought….Anyone can be a parent but it takes a real true man and/or woman to be one.