Children and the Law
Spring 2016
Monday and Wednesday – 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Professor Ellen Marrus
Office - TUII 230
713.743.0894
emarrus@uh.edu
Office hours: Monday: 11:00 AM to Noon and 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Wednesday: 2:30 – 3:30 PM
And by appointment.
Book:
CHILD W ELFARE LAW AND PRACTICE: REPRESENTING CHILDREN, PARENTS, AND
STATE AGENCIES IN ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND DEPENDENCY CASES, Duquette &
Haralambie (eds.).
A current copy of the Texas Family Code
Additional materials will be distributed during the semester.
Objectives:
1.
Students will learn the substantive law of child welfare (abuse and
neglect) proceedings.
2.
Students will consider practical and ethical issues in this area.
3.
Students will learn skills necessary to represent children, parents,
and the state in these hearings.
Assignments:
All assignments are subject to change. Reading assignments on the syllabus are
from CHILD W ELFARE LAW AND PRACTICE and additional readings will be distributed
in class. Role play assignments will be distributed in class. Texas Family Code
sections will also be discussed.
Class Participation:
All students are expected to be on time. Persistent problems with attendance
and/or tardiness will result in a reduced participation grade OR being dropped
from the class rolls. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late to class you will be
counted absent for that day. Students are not allowed to miss more than five
classes.
Grading:
This course fulfills the practice requirement for graduation. Your final
grade will be based on the following:
25 Points – Class Participation – This will be based on your individual
1
participation in class discussions and any group participation.
155 Points – Role plays – As this is a practice course, one of the most important
components will be the role plays. There will be seven role plays and/or written
assignments for you to complete during the semester. Some will be conducted in
class, but some will be done outside of class time and will have to be recorded.
You will be graded on your preparation and the quality of your work, verbal and
written. Prior to a role play written work may be required.
15 Points – Court observation of dependency cases. You may observe in any of
the juvenile courts, but it must be on a day that they conduct dependency
hearings. A one-two page review of the hearings must be turned in. The paper
should include the date that you observed, the court you were in, the name of the
judge who conducted the hearings, and a synopsis of the hearings – what type of
hearing it was and a very brief summary of what you observed. Although the
observation paper will not be due until April 6th I suggest that you do the
observation prior to any hearings we conduct in class.
70 Points – Final Exam/case file– The final exam will be your case file. It is to be
turned in on the date of the final exam.
Students with Disabilities:
The faculty, staff and administration of the Law Center want to provide
every reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities, including
learning disabilities. For detailed information, please obtain a copy of the
disabilities handbook available through Student Services. I will be happy
to work with that office and you to make any necessary accommodations.
Assignments:
January 20th
Read pages 1-36 and 163 – 197.
2