Judge Approves Settlement Sharply Reducing Court Oversight in District’s Juvenile Detention Facilities

Washington, DC – A DC Superior Court judge has preliminarily approved a settlement agreement that significantly reduces court oversight and monitoring in a three-decade-old class-action lawsuit on behalf of children confined in District of Columbia juvenile-detention facilities, Attorney General Karl A. Racine and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) Acting Director Clinton Lacey announced today. The case is known as Jerry M., et al. v. District of Columbia, et al.

Attorney General Racine Joins Coalition of 18 Attorneys General Opposing Trump’s Contraception Coverage Rollback

WASHINGTON D.C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine is part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general warning the Trump administration that it should expect legal action over its discriminatory, ill-considered, and dangerous move to effectively end the contraception coverage rule created by the Affordable Care Act. The 18 attorneys general have written Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Don Wright, Secretary of Labor R.

Council Unanimously Passes Attorney General’s Bill Making it Easier to Fight Synthetic Drugs in the District

WASHINGTON, D. C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine thanked the D.C. Council for their unanimous passage today of legislation creating one of the nation’s most comprehensive synthetic drug statutes. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) introduced the Synthetics Abatement and Full Enforcement Drug Control Act (“SAFE DC”) last fall, incorporating best practices in enforcement from multiple jurisdictions around the nation.

Parentage and Paternity -- Marriage and Domestic Partnerships

Marriage

District law presumes parentage in the following circumstances:

  • If the parents were married to each other when the child was conceived (i.e., when the mother became pregnant) or when the child was born
  • If the parents were in a registered domestic partnership with each other at the time of conception or birth
  • If the parents married each other after the child was born and the father/second parent acknowledges the child

Frequently Asked Questions -- Parentage and Marriage

Is parentage presumed if the marriage occurred in another country?

If parents were married in another country, but were in this marital relationship at the time of the child's conception, birth, or period in between, there is no need to take formal action to establish parentage. If there is a question, it may be necessary to show the marriage certificate.

Can a person acknowledge parentage if the child's mother is married to, or in a domestic partnership with, another person?

A person other than the mother's spouse or domestic partner may not acknowledge parentage because a legal parent-child relationship already exists. In such situations, the parents may wish to seek guidance from a private attorney about the best way to establish parentage.

However, a man can legally acknowledge paternity of a child who is born to a woman other than his wife, as long as the woman was not married or in a domestic partnership with another person when the child was conceived or born.

Are people living together considered to be married?

Under certain very stringent conditions, District law recognizes a couple as married if they live together and hold themselves out to the community as being married. However, because the conditions are so stringent, the best way to be sure that the both parents' names will be placed on the birth certificate is for the parents to establish parentage through acknowledgement (AOP) or court order.

Domestic Partnerships

A domestic partnership refers to an opposite-sex or same-sex couple that registers as domestic partners.

Frequently Asked Questions -- Parentage and Domestic Partnerships

What is required to establish a domestic partnership?

To establish a domestic partnership in the District, each person must:

  1. Be over the age of 18 and competent to contract (not impaired).
  2. Not be married to someone else or in another domestic partnership.
  3. Be the sole domestic partner of the other person.
  4. Complete and file the Declaration of Domestic Partnership at the Vital Records Division of the DC Department of Health.

What is the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Amendment Act of 2009 (DC Law 18-33)?

As of July 18, 2009, the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Amendment Act of 2009 (“Domestic Partnership Act”) creates a presumption of parentage in persons who are in a registered domestic partnership.

A man is presumed (believed to be) the father of a child if he and the mother were in a domestic partnership at the time of conception or birth, or the period between conception or birth, and the child was born during the domestic partnership or within 300 days after it ended.

Similarly, a female domestic partner is the presumed (believed to be) the parent of a child if she and the child’s mother were in a domestic partnership at the time of conception or birth, or the period between conception and birth, and the child was born during the domestic partnership or within 300 days after the domestic partnership ended.

What happens if domestic partners have a child?

For legal purposes, a child born to parents in a registered domestic partnership is treated like a child born to a married couple.

The child is considered the legitimate child of both parents, as well as the legitimate relative of its parents’ relatives by blood or adoption.  The child is entitled to the same rights, privileges, duties, and obligations under DC law.

Both parents’ names will be included on the child’s birth certificate if the domestic partnership existed at the time of the child's conception or birth or it was entered during the period between the child's conception and birth.

How is parentage established for a child born to domestic partners?

Under the domestic partnership law, parentage is established by virtue of the domestic partnership relationship.  Parentage is established as long as the opposite-sex or same-sex couple files the Declaration of Domestic Partnership; is in the domestic partnership at the time of conception, birth, or the period between conception and birth; and the child is born during the domestic partnership or 300 days after it is terminated. 

Domestic partners do not have to take any of the following actions to establish parentage:

  1. Sign the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (“AOP”).
  2. Undergo genetic testing.
  3. File a parentage action in court.

What happens if a domestic partnership ends and the individuals have a child together?

The person who does not have primary custody of the child will have a continuing duty to support the child financially. If a formal child support case is opened, that parent will be responsible for following the order that is entered regarding financial and/or medical support for the child.

If the custodial parent is receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the case will automatically be sent to the Child Support Services Division (CSSD) to establish child support unless there is “good cause” for the custodial parent not to cooperate with CSSD.

The child support amount will be computed using the Child Support Guidelines, which takes into account both parents’ income.

AG Racine Leads 18-State Coalition Opposing South Carolina’s Witness Requirement For Mail-In Ballots

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced today that he is leading a group of 18 state Attorneys General in supporting a challenge to a South Carolina law that requires a witness signature for voters to cast their ballots by mail. The lawsuit, filed by a group of South Carolina voters and political organizations, claims that the witness requirement puts the health and safety of voters at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in Middleton v. Andino in the U.S.