Dr. Stahl receives many inquiries about being an expert witness following the completion of a child custody evaluation by another mental health professional. While his preference is to serve as consultant to both parties to assist them in reaching decisions without litigation, he recognizes that there are times when litigation is necessary.

As a consulting expert witness, Dr. Stahl reviews the child custody evaluation performed by others and assists in cross examination or expert witness testimony. It is always Dr. Stahl's position to act in a neutral manner, as his primary focus is the best interests of children. In any review of someone else's evaluation, Dr. Stahl will critique the procedures, findings, and conclusions of the evaluations in question.

At times, there are no major flaws, and Dr. Stahl will encourage parties to accept the findings of the evaluator, or testify on behalf of the well-done evaluation.

In other cases, it may be unclear whether the evaluator has made sound recommendations. In those situations, the evaluator's logical analysis may not be clear and the report may have conflicting data. In those cases, Dr. Stahl may be quite helpful in clarifying questions for cross-examination at deposition or trial in order to help in understanding whether the evaluation findings and recommendations are in the child's best interests.

Finally, all too often, there may be significant weaknesses in the evaluation. These weaknesses may be in one or more of the following areas:

1. The procedures may contain significant flaws or omissions that weaken the validity of the findings. This may include a lack of collateral information, limited interview or observational data, or significant differences in time spent with each parent.

2. The findings may rest on inaccurate interpretation of the data (including psychological test results) or the data may suggest alternative possibilities that have not been adequately considered. This inability to consider alternative hypotheses is a significant flaw in many poorly done child custody evaluations.

3. The conclusions and recommendations may not be warranted by the findings and may reveal biases on the part of the evaluator. It is not uncommon for an evaluator to rely on unproven theories or only some of the available data. Exposing such flaws are important in challenging the custody evaluation.

When any of the above such problems are discovered, Dr. Stahl may be available to assist the attorney in preparing for depositions and cross-examinations. If he testifies, Dr. Stahl can testify on hypotheticals or on the specific issues raised in the evaluation, but he cannot make recommendations if he has not seen all parties involved in the family matter.