As part of the Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) series at Mount Saint Mary College, Michael Fox, assistant professor of Business Law and Pre-Law Advisor, will present “Tell Mom or Dad? Not So Fast! They May be Called to Testify,” on October 27 at 4 p.m. in room 218 of the Dominican Center.
This event is free and open to the community. The Mount is located at 330 Powell Avenue, Newburgh, N.Y.
Fox, a graduate of Columbia University School of Law, has published two books and a number of articles on various topics of law. His discussion is based on his own research completed for an upcoming publication titled, You Can’t Tell Mom or Dad: What is the Significance of Family Post-Dobbs if Congress and the Federal Courts Do Not Recognize a Parent-Child Privilege? Fox co-authored the article with his father, Mark D. Fox, a retired federal judge (U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of New York 1988-2008).
Despite numerous political and social invocations of the importance of family, in most places, if a child confides in their parent or guardian that they committed a crime and seeks parental advice, the parent or guardian may be called to testify. The proposal publication is intended to be brought to either Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court to have them consider creating a new parent-child privilege under federal law.
The iROC presentation will focus on the privileges within law in terms of testifying against family members, particularly children and parents, and the implications that may come with it. Through his research and conversation, Fox will delve deeper into the issues surrounding it and work towards finding a better solution.
The goal of the iROC series is to provide a forum for Mount faculty, staff, and students to showcase their research endeavors with both Mount Saint Mary College and the local community.