Expert Witness / Case Review

An expert witness is an individual, with specialized training and expertise, that offers testimony in court or during deposition in the area of his/her exptertise. Optimally and ethically, a psychologist who serves as an expert witness is not retained to put forth a particular point of view. Instead, the psychologist testifies about his/her expert opinion on a subject based upon the available research, data and clinical experience of the expert. When conducting a court ordered psychological custody evaluation, the psychologist is the court’s expert. Other times, psychologists are retained by one of the sides to a dispute to offer expert observations on the matters at hand.

Yes. Parents involved in custody litigation often wish to bring in their own expert to offer testimony that supports their point of view. It is not uncommon that after the completion of a custody evaluation that the parent who is not favored in the report will hire their own expert in an attempt to refute the recommendations in the report. However, it is important to remember that expert testimony is only useful and helpful when the expert is truly free to reach his/her own independent opinion on the matter and when the expert is asked to comment on areas that they are truly experienced in. In other words, just because you retain and pay a psychologist to be your expert does not mean that when the case is analyzed by the expert that they will agree with your point of view. True experts are not invested in the outcome of the case. They are invested in “educating the court” about important issues. An ethical expert will not agree to be a “hired gun” saying what you want them to say. They will first carefully review the case and advise you of their objective opinion. At that point, you may choose to retain further services or to disengage their services.

Sometimes, attorneys retain the services of a qualified expert so help them understand the contents of a psychological report and to help them prepare questions to be asked of mental health experts who are to take the witness stand. This “behind the scenes” type of expert involvement is also known as litigation support. While your attorney may be excellent at what they do, it is important to remember that they may not be as familiar with some of the psychological concepts and issues as they may wish they were or as you may wish they were. Using an expert to provide litigation support helps to educate your attorney so that they can be more effective in advocating for you. Believe it or not, a report that favors you does not necessarily guarantee that the judge will make orders consistent with the recommendations in the report. In some cases, it is very helpful to have an expert available to assist your attorney in preparing questions to support the evaluator’s recommendations, particular when the evaluator is likely to come under intense cross-examination.

Always note that an expert hired by one side cannot offer his/her own recommendations with regard to custody and child sharing on a case. This can only be done by an evaluator who has had the opportunity to evaluate all individuals involved in a custody dispute.