Testimony

A Better Approach to Acquiring Child Testimonial Evidence in Child Custody Disputes

In Utah child custody disputes, the voices of children are almost always filtered through court-appointed private guardians ad litem (PGALs) and/or custody evaluators. These intermediaries will claim to represent what…

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“A Child Is More Honest in His Interview if He Knows the Interview Is Not Recorded” Makes About as Much Sense as “The Runner Goes Faster if He Knows He Is Not Timed.”

The overwhelming majority of judges and domestic relations commissioners in Utah will refuse to have the interview of children who are the subject of child custody disputes recorded by sound-and-visual…

Continue Reading“A Child Is More Honest in His Interview if He Knows the Interview Is Not Recorded” Makes About as Much Sense as “The Runner Goes Faster if He Knows He Is Not Timed.”

Should You Sling Mud at Your Spouse at Any Phase of Your Divorce Case? By Braxton Mounteer, Legal Assistant

If you were not fortunate enough to settle your divorce case on acceptable terms, you now or soon will likely find yourself  preparing for trial. Trial will be the day(s)…

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Doing What’s Best for Children by Refusing to Hear From Them on the Subject (And Other Nonsense).

Recently an attorney posed a question on a forum for fellow Utah family law attorneys. The question involved how to find out what the children’s experiences have been with one…

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Blanket prohibitions on child testimony in custody and parent-time disputes are irrational and irresponsible

Thomas Sowell said (in a discussion of politics and governance), “There are no solutions. There are only tradeoffs, and whatever you do to deal with one of man's flaws it…

Continue ReadingBlanket prohibitions on child testimony in custody and parent-time disputes are irrational and irresponsible

Pgals (Private Guardians Ad Litem) Are a Bad Idea.

Why? You’ll hear the argument that a PGAL should be appointed for a child because we don't want to traumatize children by having them testify on the record. Where is the…

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How Could I Use Transcripts of a Victim Impact Statement to Show the Other Party Has Told Lies in Court and Cannot Be Trusted to Be Honest?

If the statement: is a sworn affidavit or in a form accepted by the court as equivalent to a sworn affidavit; and the content of the affidavit/statement is relevant to…

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Do letters vouching for one’s character really matter?

My lawyer asked me to get letters of my character from my friends for family court to introduce as evidence, but do they really matter and is 12 enough? Do…

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Does saying after an answer “I truly believe that”, “it truly is”, damage your credibility as a lay witness in court or is it better to don’t add this type of qualifiers?

First, whether you “truly believe” something or “find it hard to believe,” testifying to something you believe or don’t believe, as opposed to testifying as to something you know, is…

Continue ReadingDoes saying after an answer “I truly believe that”, “it truly is”, damage your credibility as a lay witness in court or is it better to don’t add this type of qualifiers?