ABSTRACT
In Priest and Whybrow's 1986 study 'Custody Law in Practice in the Divorce and Domestic Courts' it was revealed that in several studies done between 1973 and 1985 the mother was awarded custody in between 72% and 81% of cases. The problem emerges in a very acute form for women like Marcia Clarke, the prosecutor in O. J. Simpson case, who faced an argument in a custody dispute with her husband that the welfare of her children was better served by their father having custody. There was thought to be a preference in custody cases for courts to award custody of young children to their mothers under what may be called the tender years or maternal preference doctrine. It is probably true that the 'tender years/maternal preference' doctrine is merely a make-weight factor in determining the welfare of the child in cases where the scale pans are evenly balanced.
