Timothy M Tippins

September 06, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, a consultant and special counsel in contested custody cases and an adjunct professor of law at Albany Law School, writes that the overwhelming majority of evaluation reports never face the crucible of cross-examination. They are filed with the court and often conduce - or even coerce - a settlement so there is no trial, no testimony, no cross-examination, and, hence, no opportunity to reveal the report as the bastion of bias it often is.

By Timothy M. Tippins

13 minute read

May 06, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In his Matrimonial Practice column, Timothy M. Tippins writes that idiosyncratic practices by some judges with respect to disclosure of custody evaluation reports and the records underlying them unfortunately often thwart the exercise of the important right to cross-examination.

By Timothy M. Tippins

12 minute read

July 01, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, a practitioner and an adjunct professor of law at Albany Law School, examines the peer-review/publication process and explores its value and its limitations as a measure of evidentiary reliability.

By Timothy M. Tippins

15 minute read

March 06, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, an adjunct professor of forensic psychology at Siena College and an adjunct professor of law at Albany Law School, writes that the new court rule clarifying the proper role of law guardians states that the attorney for the child must zealously advocate the child's position, a provision which is not as straightforward as it might seem at first reading.

By Timothy M. Tippins

15 minute read

March 05, 2003 | New York Law Journal

By Timothy M. Tippins

11 minute read

July 01, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In his Matrimonial Practice column, Timothy M. Tippins, an adjunct professor at Albany Law School, reviews the Court of Appeals' decision in Howard S. v. Lillian S., writing: While the court seems to draw a morally arbitrary line in the sand, its indeterminacy is such that it can be swept away with whatever wave of emotionality may wash over an individual case. Such ambiguity leaves the question subject to the unpredictable idiosyncratic value judgments of individual judges.

By Timothy M. Tippins

13 minute read

July 15, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, special counsel in contested custody cases and an adjunct professor of law at Albany Law School, writes that because the custody evaluator comes to court as an expert witness, he or she may be impeached by the published writings of other professionals in his or her field.

By Timothy M. Tippins

11 minute read

November 03, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, who conducts a national practice and is an adjunct professor of law at Albany Law School, concludes that, given the lack of fidelity within the clinical community to the core principles of scientific method that are the heart and soul of the psychology discipline, the judicial gatekeeper can hardly have confidence in the reliability of that community as assessors of scientific validity.

By Timothy M. Tippins

13 minute read

October 04, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, a consultant and special counsel in contested custody cases, and Jeffrey P. Wittmann, a trial consultant, write that recent months have seen a number of responses to criticisms that have been lodged against the practice of custody evaluators offering "best interest" opinions. They address the rationalizations offered in defense of that practice.

By Timothy M. Tippins and Jeffrey P. Wittmann

18 minute read

January 06, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Timothy M. Tippins, a consultant and an adjunct professor at Albany Law School, writes that over fifty years' worth of behavioral science research demonstrates that a mental health professional's clinical experience does not increase the accuracy of his or her clinical judgment to any appreciable degree.

By Timothy M. Tippins

14 minute read