Michael H. v. Gerald D.: A Case Study of Political Ideology Disguised in Legal Thought

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Abstract

Semiotic analyses are applied to a question of family law. By examining the language used by the Supreme Court in the title case, Michael H. v. Gerald D., along with the case briefs, lower court opinions, other Supreme Court cases and prior legal scholarship, one determines the requisite relationships between father and child and father and mother in order for a legal tie to exist between a father and his biological child. The chapter focuses on the necessary circumstances and also the political ideology that distinguishes these familial ties. Legal semiotics delivers the tools to analyze the goals of such underlying political ideologies.

Keywords

Biological Father Legal Reasoning Plurality Opinion Internal Citation Unitary Family 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.JD, LLMSt Lawrence CtyUSA

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