"J" wrote in message
oups.com...
I think the fifty state models could actually help with 14th amendment
challenges to unfair CS awards. Georgia just declared their guidelines
unconstitutional, maybe other states could follow? What about a
challenge based on equal protection because state formulas differ so
much? Just a thought....

14th amendment challenges to CS law have been tried repeatedly using
different legal tactical approaches. While there has been some success in
getting CS law ruled unconstitutional at the trial court level, the
appellate process has consistently overturned the trial court judges.

The legal logic used by appellate courts is the equal protection clause is
not intended to provide equality among individuals. Instead, it is intended
to provide equal application of the laws. Using this logic the courts rely
on what they call a "rational basis." They conclude the state legislature
had a rational basis for creating the law to support a legitimate state
purpose and the law is being applied equitably. (In the case of CS law the
legitimate state purpose is to provide for the care and maintenance of
children of divorced or separated parents, or in the case of adult children
attending school, to provide for an educated populace.)

What fathers have been unable to accomplish is to come up with a legal
argument that rises above the "rational basis" and get the courts to rule
under "strict scrutiny" legal definitions. To get to the strict scrutiny
level of decision making under the 14th amendment, fathers have to provide
an argument that they are a "suspect classification" within society. The
appellate courts have routinely denied all the arguments about fathers being
a suspect class, and go back to the fact all divorced or separated fathers
are treated the same way.

I have always thought fathers rights advocates should switch their legal
tactics away from how fathers are treated to attempts to show children and
second families are really the suspect classifications. And the unequal
treatment of subsequent children, step-children, second wives, etc. is where
the real 14th amendment challenges could be successful.