Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide
Date:
Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide
Published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Clare Dalton of Northeastern University is one of the three authors. Jacqui Bowman of Greater Boston Legal Servies is on the advisory committee.
- Publication is designed to be a practical tool for judges on how to order, interpret, and act upon child custody evaluations and includes bench cards and supplementary materials.
- While there are rules of evidence to direct judges in determining who qualifies as an expert, practical resources are lacking to help judges
- critically review the expert testimony of child custody evaluators,
- determine whether the evaluator’s testing methods were accurate and reliable, or
- tease out the biases of individual clinicians, particularly when domestic violence is involved.