Showing posts with label American Civil Liberties Union. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Civil Liberties Union. Show all posts

Monday

Incompetent and unscrupulous Family Court Experts enjoy immunity from malpractice claims

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An article in the July-August edition of Private Eye magazine highlights a controversial loophole which could allow incompetent and unscrupulous Family Court experts to practice whilst enjoying immunity from malpractice claims.
Private Eye

Professor Jane Ireland’s 2012 report detailing serious concerns about the quality of expert evidence from Family Court psychiatrists and psychologists – it found that over 20% of psychologists  in  family cases  were  unqualified  and  65%  of  expert  reports  were  either  of  ‘poor’  or  ‘very  poor’  quality – is also mentioned in the Private Eye piece.

Redacted version of the Private Eye piece below:
“A gaping hole in the regulation of psychologists could put the public at risk from unscrupulous, inept or unaccountable ‘experts’.
Providing  psychologists  don’t  use  one  of  nine  so-called  ‘protected  titles’  –  for  example,  educational,  clinical,  or  forensic  – any  can  offer  their  services  without  the  need  to  be  registered  and  regulated  by  the  U.K.’s  watchdog,  the  Health  and  Care Professions  Council  (HCPC).  Even  if  serious  concerns  or  complaints  are  raised  about  them,  they  remain  immune  from investigation  because  they’re  not  registered.
Nowhere  is  the  danger  of  the  regulatory  body’s  impotence  more  starkly  illustrated  than  in  the  courts,  where  it  seems  that unregistered,  unqualified  and  potentially  unfit  psychologists  can  operate  as  ‘experts’  in  even  the  most  serious  cases  of murder,  rape  or  child  sexual  exploitation.  No-one  illustrates  this  absurd  Catch-22  better  than  ‘consultant  psychologist’ [edited],  who  has  acted  as  an  expert  in  several  high-profile  cases,  including  the  [edited]  child  grooming  case,  where a  gang  raped  and  trafficked  underage  girls.
[Edited],  a  trained  educational  psychologist  who  used  to  work  in  local  government,  has  been  the  subject  of  at  least  four complaints,  including  manipulating  data  and  acting  beyond  his  qualifications  and  expertise.  Three  have  not  been  investigated because  he  has  never  been  registered  with  the  HCPC.  Because  of  the  fourth,  his  application  for  registration  in  2012  was refused,  when  he  was  judged  to  be  ‘not  of  good  character’.
According  to  his  website,  [edited]  also  acts  in  the  family  courts  in  sensitive  child  contact  and  care  cases,  in  what  looks  like a  clear  breach  of  new  guidelines  from  the  Family  Justice  Council  (a  public  body  which  advises  on  family  justice  matters) and  the  industry  body  the  British  Psychological  Society  (BPS).  The  guidelines  state  that  family  courts  expect  all psychologists  acting  as  experts  to  be  HCPC-registered  unless  they  are  academics.
In  fact  his  website  offers  services  in  several  of  the  areas  of  expertise  covered  by  protected  titles  (educational,  forensic, practitioner,  counselling),  again  contrary  to  what  the  BPS  says  in  its  online  directory  of  chartered  psychologists  (in  which [edited]  is  listed).  It  says  that  ‘anyone  offering  services  within  these  [protected  title]  areas  must also  be  registered’  with  the HCPC.
[Edited]  website  logo  even  uses  the  word  ‘educational’  –  but  because  he  simply  chooses  to  call  himself  a  ‘consultant’,  the HCPC  maintains  he  is  not  misusing  a  protected  title  and  thus  it  can’t  act.  It  adds  that  statutory  regulation  and corresponding  regulatory  titles  are  decided  by  the  government,  and  it’s  for  ministers  to  change  them.  The  BPS,  meanwhile, says  it  now  only  ‘advises’  on  standards  and  best  practice,  ‘but  where  we  are  aware  of  gaps  in  regulation,  we  raise  these with  the  regulator’  –  i.e.  the  HCPC!
The  BPS  says  it  can’t  comment  on  individual  members,  but  adds  that  it  has  raised  concerns  that  the  general  title ‘psychologist’  is  not  protected.  It  still  seems  happy  to  promote  [edited],  though.
As  the  HCPC  admits,  [edited]  is  not  the  only  one  dancing  rings  around  registration.  Prof.  Jane  Ireland  –  author  of  a damning  2012  study  which  triggered  the  recent  family  court  reform,  having  found  that  one  in  five  psychologists  in  family cases  was  working  beyond  their  expertise  and  65%  of  expert  reports  were  either  of  ‘poor’  or  ‘very  poor’  quality  –  tells  the Eye:  ‘All  practising  psychologists  who  act  as  expert  witnesses  should  be  regulated  so  that  the  public  are  protected’.
[Edited]  was  refused  registration  because  of  ‘concerns  about  his  character’  after  staff  at  [edited]  Young  offenders Institution  asked  in  2012  for  proof  of  identity  and,  er,  HCPC  registration.  It  triggered  lengthy  and  ‘inappropriate’ correspondence  between  [edited]  and  the  jail.  An  HCPC  regulatory  panel  threw  out  his  appeal  in  2013,  saying  he  was completely  unable  to  accept  that  his  written  outbursts  had  been  unacceptable,  that  he  had  demonstrated  no  insight  into  the potential  consequences  and  that  he  had  shown  no  remorse.  The  panel  said  that  he  had  displayed  a  similar  attitude  in communication  with  the  HCPC  itself,  that  it  could  not  rule  out  a  repetition  of  similar  behaviour  and  that  his  conduct  would ‘damage  public  confidence  in  the  regulatory  process’.
[Edited]  response  to  the  three  complaints  made  by  fellow  psychologists  has  been  to  fire  off  counter-allegations,  the  irony being  that  those  properly  registered  and  regulated  complainants  then  find  themselves  under  HCPC  investigation,  while  he escapes.
Thus,  in  the  [edited]  grooming  case,  [edited],  a  registered  chartered  psychologist,  was  so  alarmed  to  find  an unregistered  educational  psychologist,  whom  she  considered  neither  qualified  to  reach  his  conclusions  about  an  adult  sex attacker  nor  completely  open  about  those  conclusions,  that  she  complained  to  both  the  HCPC  and  the  BPS.  She  was  told neither  could  do  anything.  Instead  she  herself  was  investigated  when  [edited]  fired  off  a  counterblast.  ‘It  was  very  irritating, but  of  course  there  was  no  merit  in  his  complaints  and  they  were  all  swiftly  dismissed,’  she  told  the  Eye.  [Edited]  boasts on  his  website  about  the  [edited]  case:  ‘Of  the  seven  men  convicted,  five  were  given  life  sentences.  The  man  I  assessed was  given  a  sentence  substantially  below  that  of  his  co-defendants,  and  without  a  tariff’.
Another  victim  of  [edited]’s  revenge  salvos  was  [edited],  an  academic  and  leading  clinical  and  forensic psychologist.  After  taking  advice,  he  complained  to  the  then  regulator,  the  BPS,  that  [edited] had  manipulated  IQ  test scores  in  the  trial  of  a  man  accused  in  2008  of  converting  replica  weapons  into  firearms  used  in  a  series  of  murders.  It made  the  man  appear  less  intelligent,  and  therefore  less  culpable.  [The academic]  told  the  Court  at  the  time  he  had  ‘never encountered  such  extraordinary  conduct  before’.  In  the  event  it  seems  [edited]  evidence  held  little  or  no  sway:  the defendant  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  life.
When  [edited]  duly  counter-complained,  however,  the  BPS  decided  to  investigate  [edited] complaint  first.  It  swiftly  exonerated [the academic];  but  it  never  got  round  to  investigating  [edited] because,  in  the  meantime,  fitness  to  practise  and  regulatory issues  had  been  passed  to  the  HCPC.  [The academic] told  the  Eye:  ‘Guidelines  indicate  that  the  need  to  protect  clients from  unsafe  practice  from  psychological  experts  and  professional  witnesses  is  paramount.  But  there  is  absolutely  no protection  if  a  psychologist  is  not  registered’.
In  a  third  case  involving  [edited],  while  he  again  escaped  investigation  of  complaints  about  his  expertise  and  findings,  it took  almost  two  years  before  his  unfounded  counter-allegations  against  a  registered  psychologist  were  dismissed  –  this  time with  an  HCPC  apology.
No-one  can  say  whether  the  complaints  about  [edited]  would  have  been  upheld.  The  scandal  is  that  because  he  can  so easily  act  outside  the  regulatory  system,  no-one  even  bothers  to  consider  them.”
What changes would you like to see in the regulation of Family Court experts? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thursday

The Mechanisms of Civil and Criminal Courts Don't Exist in Family Court

Litigation News

TIPS FROM THE TRENCHES »Overcoming Judicial Bias

By Stan Perry 
Judicial bias may be conscious or unconscious. For example, there is the natural tendency of judges to feel more comfortable with lawyers who practice regularly before them, and to view lawyers from afar with suspicion, if not hostility. The best antidote I have found to combat bias against an out-of-town lawyer is to find the best local trial lawyer and hire her. You can gain instant credibility by associating yourself with a local favorite.


Too often, retaining local counsel focuses on who is perceived to have influence with the trial judge. Instead of influence, I suggest you look for the best courtroom skills. Even hostile judges appreciate excellence in the courtroom, especially excellence with a local flavor. It’s a mistake to ask a local lawyer to do nothing more than file pleadings until it is time to pick a jury. Instead of having the local trial lawyer sit on the sidelines, get her into the field as soon as you can and make her an integral part of your trial team.


Another antidote to potential judicial bias can be summed up in a single word: Listen. This is so very hard for lawyers to do, especially trial lawyers. Many times hostile judges will signal—if not flat-out tell you—what they do or do not want to happen in their court. Lawyers, however, are often too busy talking (or arguing) to pick up on these vital, and sometimes obvious, clues.


Recently, I was in a rural county in Texas before a trial judge who was not receptive our position. The judge mentioned, in passing, that the trial date was firm and he was not going to continue the trial. Only a few of the 20 or more lawyers in the courtroom were paying enough attention to hear the judge. Well, I heard it—and I based my discovery plan on the premise that the trial date was set in stone, and not the aspirational guideline my adversaries were expecting. When the trial date approached, we were ready, and they were not. Our timely preparation was an excellent antidote to the judge’s initial bias against my case.


Another story highlights the additional benefit of listening: you may avoid giving the judge a reason to dislike you. My local trial lawyer and I planned to divide oral argument between us, with him starting and me finishing. Five minutes into the hearing, however, it became obvious that the judge really liked and admired our local lawyer. So I decided it might be best if I never opened my mouth. To this day, the trial judge may think I am the local lawyer’s associate. I could have argued part of the motion and explained to the court that I have handled numerous cases like this one and they never have any merit and blah, blah, blah. My argument, however, would have forced the judge to defend his home turf and the local opposing counsel. Instead of that scenario, the court was entertained by two excellent local lawyers arguing about the meaning of law outside his circuit and whether it should or should not apply to our case. Had I interjected myself into this hearing, the tone and context would have been dramatically different.


Some judges are tired of arrogant, conceited lawyers marching into their courtroom and explaining how things are done in Dallas, Los Angeles, or New York. The local judge does not care. He has a courtroom to run and a docket to manage, and has done just fine without the bright lights of the big city. In this scenario, it is time for the trial team equivalent of a curveball or change-up: Have your youngest member of the trial team make the argument. Her fresh approach may eliminate some of the tension, and even resentment, the judge has toward the out-of-town, know-it-all lawyer. On more than one occasion, I have seen a hostile judge go out of his way to help a young lawyer argue a position. The judge who snarls at the experienced lawyer becomes, somehow, the judicial equivalent of the aunt or uncle trying to mentor a favorite niece or nephew.


Sometimes the best victory is the one that is never fought. I am still amazed at how many times lawyers demand to have their day in court when they have a pending proposal from the opposing side that is better than their best possible ruling from the court. It is almost as if the lawyer would rather lose in front of a hostile judge, even if this is inevitable, than reach an agreement with the other side. It is, therefore, imperative that you work, and work hard, to reach an agreement so that you can avoid these guaranteed losses.


There is no dishonor in reaching an agreement with the opposing side that might be better than a result you would get from the trial judge. In fact, the opposite is true; there is honor in working to get the best possible result for your client by agreement and avoiding the risk of appearing before a hostile judge. Sometimes even the most hostile judge will appreciate your efforts to avoid a hearing. This is particularly true when the dispute is over discovery. Discovery disputes are to judges what children fighting over broken toys are to parents: unnecessary racket. Even a hostile judge may reward your efforts to avoid making him hear a discovery dispute by being more receptive to your arguments on substantive issues.


Throughout your dealings with the biased judge, frame the issues so that if she rules against you, you have a record you can take up by mandamus or appeal. This is lawyering as a high art form. You are taking your loss, which is as sure as the sun coming up in the east, and turning it into a possible win or, at worst, giving the judge a warning that his or her conduct is subject to review by the court of appeals. If you play your cards right, the hostile judge may even make—you guessed it—a hostile statement on the record that gives you a perfect lead for your appellate brief.


Even if you lose the mandamus or appeal, your effort may ultimately reduce the judge’s hostility. It has been my experience that most hostile judges do not think they are being hostile; rather, they have busy dockets to run, they are tired of arrogant and insulting lawyers, and, often, they are just bored of the same old thing, day in and day out. Seeing their own behavior in black and white can, occasionally, take the edge off of a hostile judge.


In dealing with a hostile judge, it is necessary to persevere. Sometimes a judge is hostile because he wants to avoid hearings or disputes, and one way to do this is to make sure that neither side wants to appear before him unless absolutely necessary. If you cannot get an issue resolved and judicial involvement is necessary, then stand strong and do not let the hostile judge intimidate you. After a while, the hostile judge will, grudgingly, grow to respect your perseverance, especially if your persistence is always professional.


I have seen hardened, hostile judges worn out by docile, introverted attorneys who refuse to go away and refuse to give up. It takes a very special touch, because pursuing the same argument the same way can quickly lead the court to perceive your persistence as disrespect of the court’s authority. One example of professional persistence is requesting individual trials in multi-plaintiff cases. A defense lawyer knows that individual trials are both critical to the defendant’s right to a fair and impartial jury and something the trial court would prefer to avoid because they mean more hearings and a more congested docket. The good defense lawyer raises the issue of individual trials at each opportunity—in connection with the scheduling order, decisions on which plaintiffs to depose first, the scheduling of experts and the challenges to experts—in a manner that is both respectful to the court and germane to the issue before the court. The key here is to persevere but not bore or offend the court.


Be a professional. Be careful not to lose your integrity when you lose a hearing. Don’t return a negative ruling or attitude from a trial judge with a negative comment or attitude. Rather, try to raise your professionalism each time the court is hostile. Self-reflection is important: what did you do right, what did you do wrong, what can you do to cure these mistakes, what other approach should you take with the court? If you can remain a professional, act with dignity, and learn from your losses, you will leave the courtroom with honor and dignity, and you will, eventually, overcome this judicial bias.


Keywords: Litigation, career development, judicial bias


Stan Perry practices law with Haynes & Boone, LLP, in Houston, Texas.


This article was adapted from a longer one that was published in the Summer 2009 issue ofLitigation.

   Adversarial v Inquisitorial System 


Sunday

Dad Resources

Family First Celebrates 25 Years from Family First on Vimeo.
This year, Family First turns 25 years old! To celebrate all the families, marriages, and children that have been impacted by our work over the past 2 and a half decades, we are launching our 25th anniversary campaign: #CelebrateFamily. Family First has always been about helping families love well. We are now reaching 10 million users online, and millions more on land and on the air with truth that will help them love well. Stay tuned over the next few months as we hope to inspire more people to join us in celebrating family. www.FamilyFirst.net/anniversary
Story Behind All Pro Dad and Family First from Family First on Vimeo.
All Pro Dad is the fatherhood program of Family First, a national nonprofit that is impacting millions of families worldwide.
"Dad, be passionate about the one who provided you the opportunity to be a father in the first place"

Fatherlessness is a growing crisis in America, one that underlies many of the challenges that families are facing. When dads aren't around, young people are more likely to drop out of school, use drugs, be involved in the criminal justice system, and become young parents themselves.

President Obama grew up without his dad, and has said that being a father is the most important job he has. That's why the President is joining dads from across the nation in a fatherhood pledge — a pledge that we'll do everything we can to be there for our children and for young people whose fathers are not around.

Published on Jul 28, 2015

A teenager tells his dad, “You don’t do anything for me.” As a father of four, Carey Casey, author and CEO of the National Center for Fathering, knows that's just not true. Here he is on Today's Father.

Visit http://www.fathers.com for ideas, advice and inspiration for being the best dad you can be to your children.

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