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Flawed Forensic Custody Reports

By Jeffrey P. Wittmann
March 28, 2013

Matrimonial attorneys who engage in trial practice know that sinking feeling when: 1) a forensic custody report arrives and offers opinions that work to the benefit of the parent being represented, yet; 2) it becomes apparent that the process and/or reasoning used by the evaluator were flawed in meaningful ways, rendering the favorable opinion vulnerable. Some reports are based on inadequate data, a long list of serious technical errors, ethically questionable behavior, and/or custody-related reasoning that is either profoundly illogical or in direct opposition to peer-reviewed, replicated research.

We must remember, however, that while on occasion a report arrives that is so flawed as to be unsalvageable (suggesting that the report or the evaluator should not come within a mile of the courtroom door), there are certain trial strategies that can assist in preserving the aspects of a report that are both empirically supportable, consistent with the interests of one's client, and consistent with a trial process focused on discerning bests interests.

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