Court Opinion

ID: 9819493
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 06:26:24.268509+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:38:30.784960
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE SCHMIDT, dissenting: I would affirm the trial court in its entirety. We are sending this case back and, in essence, telling respondent to go find some evidence that he did not offer before. Had he suggested alternative counseling below and had the trial judge refused to even consider it, that would be another matter. That is not what happened here. I do not believe it is our function to say to a party, “Here is what you should have done. Now go back, get a new expert witness who will say you are fit, and try it again.” Even if respondent finds a counselor who says he can treat him without an admission, DCFS will undoubtedly continue to refute respondent’s fitness and the trial judge will have to decide which opinion on fitness is more credible. On what other kind of case do we vacate judgments on the basis that one party or the other ought to have a chance to produce an expert that the party did not offer prior to the judgment? The trial court did not err. Therefore, we should affirm.