A Judge’s Guide

EXPERT HELP
1 ANN M. HARALAMBIE, HANDLING CHILD CUSTODY, ABUSE AND ADOPTION
CASES 226 (West 1993).
2
SANDRA MORGAN LITTLE, CHILD CUSTODY AND VISITATION, 24-6, 24-7
(2000). Almost half the states permit court-appointed experts by statute. In
many other states it can occur through evidence rules.
3
Vivienne Roseby, Uses of Psychological Testing in a Child-Focused Approach to Child
Custody Evaluations, 29 FAM. L. Q. 97, 98 (1995).
4 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579, 597 (1993). This case
requires a federal judge (consistent with the Federal Rules of Evidence) to
ensure that an expert’s testimony rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant
to the task at hand. If expert evidence is offered and objected to, the judge
may have to hold a separate evidentiary hearing. Some states have adopted
Daubert, as well as specific rules about the process judges must follow. See G.
Michael Fenner, The Daubert Handbook: The Case, Its Essential Dilemma, and Its
Progeny, 29 CREIGHTON L. REV. 939 (1996).
5 See Chapter 3: Child and Youth Developmental Considerations.
6 See Chapter 4: Parenting Considerations.
7
NATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLOQUIUM ON CHILD CUSTODY, LEGAL
AND MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD CUSTODY LAW: A
DESKBOOK FOR JUDGES 303-05 (Robert J. Levy ed., West 1998).
8
Kirk Heilburn, Child Custody Evaluation: Critically Assessing Mental Health Experts
and Psychological Tests, 29 FAM. L. Q. 63, 64-66 (1995).
9
FED.R.EVID. 702 states: “If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge
will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in
issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training
or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.”
10
Bill Swann, The Dangers in Using Court-Appointed Experts in Child Custody Cases,
27 JUDGE’S J. 17, 18 (1988).
11 NATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLOQUIUM ON CHILD CUSTODY, supra
note 7, at 303-05.
12
American Psychological Association, Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in
Divorce Proceedings, 29 FAM. L. Q. 51 (1995).
13
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Practice Parameters for
Child Custody Evaluation, 36 J. AM. ACAD. CHILD ADOLESC. PSYCHIATRY 575-
685 (Supp. 1997).
14
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Model Standards of Practice for
Child Custody Evaluations (2006), available at
http://www.afccnet.org/resources/standards_practice.asp.
112 112