A new year begins with many old problems remaining unresolved in the custody arena. Of particular importance is the longstanding need for a uniform rule affording attorneys and their retained experts full access to the reports and files of court-appointed evaluators.1 Nearly a decade ago the Matrimonial Commission recommended such a rule.2 That proposal languishes somewhere in the labyrinth of an inert judicial bureaucracy. An admirable legislative effort last year—the Weinstein Bill3—still awaits passage. Though 2014 saw no administrative or legislative breakthroughs, a hint of hope did appear on the judicial horizon by way of a scholarly decision by Justice Jeffrey Goodstein in J.F.D. v. J.D. 4

Disclosure Analysis

In J.F.D. v. J.D. the father requested release of the court-appointed evaluator’s file so that it could be reviewed by his retained expert. Granting the motion over the mother’s objection, Justice Goodstein prefaced his analysis by acknowledging the existence of those few trial-level decisions that have denied similar requests.5 Noting that broad disclosure is “routinely permitted” in other practice areas, Goodstein identified the core issue at stake, namely the need of the custody court to “exercise every means possible” to ensure it obtains all relevant and reliable information before it decides a child’s future.

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