Cross-examination is a fundamental right and a key component of due process. Implicit in the right to cross-examine is the opportunity to do so effectively. Unfortunately, idiosyncratic practices by some judges with respect to disclosure of custody evaluation reports and the records underlying them often thwart the exercise of this most important right. Despite the official call for reform by the Matrimonial Commission, archaic limitations on access reminiscent of Star Chamber protocols continue to obstruct the disclosure essential to effective cross-examination.
A Core Value
Wigmore long ago declared that cross-examination is “the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth.”1 Current commentators underscore its status as a fundamental right: “Cross-examination is considered so fundamental to the adversary system of trial that it has assumed the status of a right.”2
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