Court-appointed forensic evaluators, who may be psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers, wield extraordinary influence in New York custody litigation. Judges usually go along with their recommendations, which can include the smallest minutiae of visitation; they can present the court with a bill for $40,000 or more, which the parents have no choice but to pay; and some parents and lawyers believe that cronyism plays a part in some judges’ handing out of the lucrative appointments. “And many — including some forensics — question whether there is any scientific basis to justify the evaluators’ recommendations.” (Leslie Eaton, “For Arbiters in Custody Battles, Wide Power and Little Scrutiny”, New York Times, May 23).
Custody law’s inquisitors
Court-appointed forensic evaluators, who may be psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers, wield extraordinary influence in New York custody litigation. Judges usually go along with their recommendations, which can include the smallest minutiae of visitation; they can present the court with a bill for $40,000 or more, which the parents have no choice but to pay; […]
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