child interviews

The Child Still Testifies—Just “Off the Record”?

I. The System’s Logic When courts appoint custody evaluators and/or private guardians ad litem (PLALs), the justification is usually straightforward: The judge does not want children to testify.So instead, the…

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Part I – The Fragility Rationale and the Case for Making and Preserving Records

The Fragility Rationale The most common justification for not making and keeping a record of child testimony rests on fragility. Knowing that the interview will be recorded, it is said,…

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The Lack of a Record of Child Interviews in Child Custody Disputes

A 5-part series Series Introduction Modern legal systems run on records. Depositions are transcribed. Hearings are recorded. Police interrogations are preserved. Financial transactions generate digital trails. Making and preserving records…

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Reject the Contemporary Utah Custody Evaluation or PGAL Couse of Action: Record the Interviews of the Children Involved in Utah Child Custody Disputes

In legal disputes over the physical custody and parent-time awards, minor children have the greatest stake in the outcome. Minor children who are mature and intelligent enough to articulate their knowledge…

Continue ReadingReject the Contemporary Utah Custody Evaluation or PGAL Couse of Action: Record the Interviews of the Children Involved in Utah Child Custody Disputes

Absolute Opposition to Recording Child Interviews in Child Custody Dispute Cases Is Groundless.

[Full disclosure: I make no secret of the fact that I have yet to encounter a custody evaluation conducted in Utah that is not pseudo-scientific, incompletely and incompetently documented, and…

Continue ReadingAbsolute Opposition to Recording Child Interviews in Child Custody Dispute Cases Is Groundless.