When the Old Lame Excuses Fail, New Ones Will Be Invented
Judges in child custody disputes should hear from children more often. A lot more often. It should be routine, the presumptive course, the default. Not because children should decide custody…
“I’m Not Trained to Interview Children” and Other Empty Objections Behind Utah’s PGAL Default
At a recent hearing, a commissioner explained why she was appointing a private guardian ad litem instead of interviewing the child herself: "Given the age of the child, the statutory…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Why Won’t Judges and Commissioners Interview Children?
I recently participated in a hearing before a domestic relations commissioner in which the commissioner refused to interview a child and ordered a guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed, even though…