• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Court Appointed Attorney for minor children - Conflict of Interest

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

N

Nancy Callahan

Guest
Does a conflict of interest exist when court appointed attorney for minor children has consistent contact with one of the parties in the action (in this case the mother)and as a result has unduly influenced the attorney and the attorney sends letter to the court essentially siding with the one party (mother) without ever having contacted the other parent (father)?
 


L

lg2

Guest
Consistent contact?
friends?, investigation?, more than friends?
 
I

indysucks

Guest
As a former Court Appointed Special Advocate for children of juvenile court, my first question is: Did the advocate know the mother (in some other capacity) prior to the case-matching? If so, it is clearly a conflict of interest.

Second, my concern is that this person has biased him/herself against the father, based on what the mother may have said. Part of his/her job is to interview all parties involved with the child(ren), and to make a recommendation to the Court.

It sounds like conflict of interest -- not to mention biased and unethical. I would suggest voicing your concern -- preferably to your own attorney, as in PA, juvenile court judges put a lot of stock in court appointed advocates. Further investigation of this would be a good idea. You might want to call the director of the Court Appointed Advocate program to find out if there is a reason why they're not talking to the father. Good luck.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top