In Utah child custody and parent-time disputes, courts routinely defer to a familiar class of professionals: private guardians ad litem (PGALs) and custody evaluators. These professionals are held up as…
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…
Legal systems evolve. Practices that function adequately become routine. Routine hardens into assumption. Over time, assumption begins to resemble necessity. Unrecorded child interviews in custody and parent-time cases appear to…
In most areas of litigation, original testimony is preserved. Depositions are recorded. Hearings are transcribed. Statements given in investigative settings are documented. Context is retained because meaning does not reside…
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…
A constitutional critique of Utah Code § 81-9-204(5)(a) Utah, like every state, bears a solemn and compelling responsibility to protect children involved in custody and parent-time disputes. That responsibility is…
When Courts Hear About Children Instead of Hearing From Them In Utah child-custody and parent-time disputes, motions to appoint a Private Guardian ad Litem (PGAL) and/or a custody evaluator have…
Utah courts deciding child custody and parent-time disputes are charged with acting in the “best interests of the child.” But with exceptions so rare as to be almost meaningless, Utah…
In the practice of family law, we often hear a sentiment that is as ubiquitous as it is hollow: "We must protect the children from the litigation." On its face,…
Appointing a private guardian ad litem in a child custody and parent-time dispute case often creates a closed loop in which children who are the subject of the dispute cannot…
If Utah’s domestic-relations legal system is serious about accuracy, fairness, and reducing unnecessary conflict, then the system needs processes that beneficially affect how cases are litigated and how evidence is…
Utah law allows a child to be represented by an attorney—either a guardian ad litem (GAL) when there are allegations of child abuse, or by a private guardian ad litem…
If a parent is awarded sole legal custody of a child, does that award not carry with it an implicit obligation to exercise that sole legal custody power in good…
Given that the 3rd District requires mediation under § 81-9-102(a). (Expedited Parent-time Enforcement Program (emphasis on “expedited”), before it will hear motions to enforce and for sanctions (MTEs) that allege court-ordered…