Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy Volume 7 Issue 2 Article 3 April 2014 The Politics of Protecting Children Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/tjlp Recommended Citation (2014) "The Politics of Protecting Children," Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy: Vol. 7 : Iss. 2 , Article 3. Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/tjlp/vol7/iss2/3 This Symposium Material is brought to you for free and open access by Volunteer, Open Access, Library Journals (VOL Journals), published in partnership with The University of Tennessee (UT) University Libraries. This article has been accepted for inclusion in Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy by an authorized editor. For more information, please visit https://trace.tennessee.edu/tjlp. 7.2 Tennessee Joumal of Law and Policy 167 X 200A x CONTENTS TRANSCRIPT "THE POLITICS OF PROTECTING CHILDREN" ............................. 169 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Doug Blaze, Dean, University of Tennessee College of Law .............. 170 John Evans, 2010-2011 Editor-in-Chief........... ........ 170 Jessica Van Dyke, 2010-2010 Symposium Editor........................ 171 PANEL DISCUSSION 1: "GUARDIANS AD LITEM IN TENNESSEE AND THE EVOLUTION OF TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT RULE 40A" Elizabeth Sykes, Lucie Brackin, Jennifer Evans Williams .............. 172 PANEL DISCUSSION 2: "LITIGATION FOR CHANGE" JacquelineDixon, Professor Dean Rivkin, Robert Schwartz ........... 219 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: "REVISITING LUZERNE COUNTY: PROMOTING FAIRNESS, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN JUVENILE COURT" Robert Schwartz .............................................................. 264 PANEL DISCUSSION 3: "CONFRONTING POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES" Rep. Sherry Jones, Connie Steere, Mary Walker ........................ 290 PANEL DISCUSSION 4: "BEST PRACTICES IN REPRESENTING CHILDREN IN COURT" The Honorable Timothy Irwin, Carlton Lewis, Dwight Stokes ......... 325 1 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 168 ESSAY IS PARENTING COORDINATION A USURPATION OF JUDICIAL AUTHORITY? HARMONIZING AUTHORITY FOR, BENEFITS OF, AND LIMITATIONS ON THIS LEGAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL HYBRID Joi T. Montiel .................................................................. 364 STUDENT ESSAY No CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN: TENNESSEE'S RULE 40A AND THE APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIANS AD LITEM IN CUSTODY PROCEEDINGS Austin Elizabeth Kupke ...................................................... 440 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL IN RE: TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT RULE 40A The Supreme Court of Tennessee.......................................... 458 Publication of contributions does not signify adoption of the views expressed therein by the TENNESSEE JOURNAL OF LAW AND POLICY, its editors,faculty advisors, or The University of Tennessee. 2 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 166 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy FACULTY ADVISORS PENNY J. WHITE Directorof the Centerfor Advocacy and Elvin E. Overton DistinguishedProfessor of Law OTIS H. STEPHENS, PH.D. Alumni DistinguishedService Professorof Political Science and Resident Scholar of ConstitutionalLaw IRIS GOODWIN Associate Professor ofLaw UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF LAW ADMINISTRATION DOUGLAS A. BLAZE Dean of the College of Law and Art Stolintz and Evlin E. Overton DistinguishedProfessor of Law CAROL M. PARKER Associate Deanfor Academic Affairs, Directorof Legal Writing, and Associate Professorof Law KATRICE MORGAN Assistant Deanfor Student Affairs 3 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 169 TENNESSEE JOURNAL OF LAW AND POLICY AND CENTER FOR ADVOCACY AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYMPOSIUM "THE POLITICS OF PROTECTING CHILDREN" FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2011 THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF LAW 169 4 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 170 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS DOUG BLAZE: I'm Doug Blaze, the Dean of the UT College of Law. I want to welcome everybody here today to this incredible program on the politics of protecting children. A symposium like this really represents the best in our law school and what we're trying to do. What we're about is trying to connect the theory that our students learn in the classroom through their textbooks and apply it in a real world setting, or at least explore with folks from the profession what's going on in terms of what they've learned and how it actually applies in real life. We do that through our clinical programs; we do it through field placements; we do it through our simulation classes; and we do it through symposia like this. I think that's a wonderful way for our students to see what's going on. It's also a wonderful way for the law school to bring folks together to talk about what I consider to be a vitally important issue. Most of you probably know that our clinical program and various faculty members for years have been involved in these issues, and so we're very pleased to welcome you. I applaud the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy for having come up with this particular topic and idea. It's also a great collaboration between the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy and the Center for Advocacy, so I want us to thank the Center for Advocacy, Corinna, and particularly the incomparable Professor Penny White for helping to put this together. I want to applaud and thank the editor-in- chief, John Evans, who you'll hear from in a second, and especially the symposium editor, Jessica Van Dyke, for putting this together. I also want to thank all the panelists, the rest of you in the audience, and the students for being here. It is a terrific day. I think it will be great. So let's get started. JOHN EVANS: Thank you, Dean Blaze. I'm John Evans. I'm the editor-in-chief of the Tennessee Journal of Law and 170 5 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 171 Policy. We're just absolutely thrilled that you're here. We came up with this topic a while back and our biggest worry was that people might not be interested. But, if you look around, obviously it's a topic that means a whole lot to this community and people across this state. We have wonderful presentations from a variety of different speakers today, so we hope you're here for the whole day if you can, and ask as many questions as you like. Again, thank you so much for coming. Now Jessica Van Dyke is going to introduce our first panel. JESSICA VAN DYKE: Good morning. I'm Jessica Van Dyke. I'm the Symposium Editor for the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy. I think any symposium about child law has to start with a little bit of Dr. Seuss. He said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know; the more that you learn, the more places you'll go." For us sitting here in this room today, there is a good chance that we have fond memories of our parents reading from this or another of Dr. Seuss's books to us as children. But as we all know too well, not all children have these opportunities. That's why we're here today. I am thrilled that so many practicing attorneys took time out of their schedules to sign up and attend today's symposium. I think the numbers say very promising things about the future of service to children in the state of Tennessee. This Dr. Seuss motto really guided the Journal as we planned and orchestrated this symposium. The motto that, as future attorneys, the more that we know and the more that we read, the more places we can go in protecting children in the future. I have to say the very best aspect of planning this symposium has been the enthusiasm and the dedication of the individuals asked to sit on panels or for their input, and of those who simply just said, "We're so glad you're having this symposium today." The feedback we have received over the past several months has been incredibly positive, with individuals from the legislature, 6 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 172 the legal field, nonprofits, academia, and social services all supporting our efforts to put together a day where advocates could really discuss what has already been done, what worked and what didn't, and what should be done in the future. Today, we have some outstanding speakers for you. I'm so excited. I think it's going to be a great day. At the end of each session we're going to have a question and answer period, and I would encourage each of you to ask questions and to share your thoughts with the panelists, because the more we learn, the more places we can go. Thank you so much for being here. Let's move on to panel one. We have a great line-up today. We have Ms. Jennifer Evans Williams, who joins us from Springfield, Tennessee, and she is a certified child law specialist. We have Ms. Elizabeth Sykes from the Administrative Office of the Courts in Nashville, Tennessee. And all the way from Memphis, we have Ms. Lucie Brackin of the Landers Firm. She is on the Rule 40A l work group for the Tennessee Supreme Court. So thank you all so much for being here and I'll turn it over to you. PANEL DISCUSSION 1: TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT RULE 40A Elizabeth Sykes Lucie Brackin Jennifer Evans Williams ELIZABETH (LIBBY) SYKES: Thank you very much. My name is Libby Sykes. I'm the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts in Nashville, and it is my pleasure to be here today. We're going to talk a little bit about Rule 40A, which governs the appointment of guardians ad litem in parenting cases. When we were 'TENN. SUP. CT. R. 40A. 7 7.2 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 173 talking about the program and how we wanted to present it today, it was decided that I was not as much the expert on the day-to-day application of the rule as Jennifer and Lucie are, so I will start with a little bit about the evolution of this rule and how it got started.