Without question, however, a mental health professional s most valuable contribution in family court is as an independent evaluator, appointed by the courts. The downside to any expert being hired by one side or the other is that if his or her findings are negative, they are unlikely to be introduced into evidence. That professional is also unlikely to be hired by that attorney again. Most importantly, the mental health professional has no valid opinion to render on ultimate question of custody because he has not had the opportunity to observe the interaction of the parties. Ultimately, relationship dynamics determine the best interests of the child, not specific data about one parent or the other, or even that parent s relationship with the child.
Custody evaluation is a comparative study.
In a recent episode of Law and Order, a program that seems to square with my experience of court, the prosecutor realizes that he has created a dilemma for himself by having a mentally ill killer certified as competent. Now he wants to prosecute the HMO executive that put this dangerous man back on the street without medication or supervision. However, his own witness has said that the man was competent. He discusses the matter with the chief DA, saying that if this psychiatrist had not done what he wanted, he would have kept looking until he found one who would. His boss said, That s called prosecution.