The 'Players'
Having to negotiate any legal or court room situation is never easy for the inexperienced. Within the Family Court, it seems that there are just so many people who have control over the lives of parents and decisions about the welfare of the children.
It is important to understand the role that each of these services or people play and the guidelines that govern their actions.
Child Contact Services
Children's Contact Services provide safe, neutral and child-focused venues for facilitated (supervised) contact visits and changeovers to occur between children and their parents experiencing conflict in managing their contact arrangements. Children's Contact Services aim to minimize children's exposure to unacceptable risk, conflictual or unsafe situations.
Guidelines for Child Representatives
Full guidelines that should be followed by child representatives, which include the direction to seek information from children as to what they want, and to consider the safety of the child in the circumstances.
Expert evidence
Makita (Australia) Pty limited v Sprowles (2001) 52 NSWLR 705 Heydon JA In short, if evidence tendered as expert opinion evidence is to be admissible, it must be agreed or demonstrated that there is a field of "specialised knowledge"; there must be an identified aspect of that field in which the witness demonstrates that by reason of specified training, study or experience, the witness has become an expert; the opinion proffered must be "wholly or substantially based on the witness's expert knowledge"; so far as the opinion is based on facts "observed" by the expert, they must be identified and admissibly proved by the expert, and so far as the opinion is based on "assumed" or "accepted" facts, they must be identified and proved in some other way;
Domestic Violence - Improving Police Practice NSW Ombudsman
Domestic violence incidents are often complex and time-consuming, and police officers express a variety of frustrations. Some feel hopeless and powerless to effect real change to the lives of domestic violence victims, and are often disappointed when victims fail to provide a statement or attend court, making it difficult or impossible to prove an assault or breach of a protection order. Police also find the administrative and legislative requirements associated with responding to domestic violence onerous.
Family Relationship Centre concerns
Retiring judge Justice Kemeri Murray told a 200-strong crowd she is concerned that staff at the centres are not obliged by law to tell separating couples that any parenting agreements they enter into are not legally recognised. But Justice Murray says she is most concerned that clients are not told they do not have to attend the compulsory mediation sessions if they are a victim of domestic violence.
Ambigous CSA Evidence in Family Court Matters.
The author is a family report writer for the Family Court. As you read this, consider this: can this person be truly objective with all the mothers he interviews or are preconceived notions influential in the format of the interview and the reports written?
Research has demonstrated that what may appear to be often is not, and more importantly, that worried questioning by people who are genuinely concerned that a child may have been sexually abused may even inadvertently put into a child's mind beliefs which would appear to confirm such a risk. ...These women are so distrustful that they worry that since the father was the way he was to them, he may go a step further and sexually abuse their child.
Family Reports: Comments from Litigants
Family Report Writers are meant to be objective and assist the court in determining the risk of abuse to children. From what we hear, this is far from the situation that is occurring, all seem to follow a similar pattern, as can be seen from the comments collated.
Forensic Evaluator
For Arbiters in Custody Battles, Wide Power and Little Scrutiny
(these people perform a similar function to Family Report Writers in Australia)
When warring parents head to court to fight over child custody in New York, their lawyers often let them in on a little secret: The most powerful person in the process is not the judge. It is not the other parent, not one of the lawyers, not even a child.
No, the most important person in determining who gets custody, and on what terms, is frequently a court-appointed forensic evaluator. Forensics, as they are often called, can be psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers; they interview the families and usually make detailed recommendations to judges, right down to who gets the children on Wednesdays and alternate weekends. And the judges usually go along.
OTHER SUBJECT HEADINGS:
The Players
Evidence and Discretion
Legislation and Law
Venues
Self Representation
Family Court Decisions