Can a 9 Year Old Submit an Affidavit to Court?

Q:  A court ordered Attorney for the Children has claimed that her clients stated "The Father Is Mean" yet both children state that they have never made such an allegation.

This Court appointed lawyer has a history of manufactured testimony to help her favoured party in cases. She is also currently in front of a federal court for prolonging litigation for her own financial gain.

Is an affidavit from a 9 year old admissible to court? As the 9 year old client is the only one who can refute the false statements of the attorney for the children.

If a Lincoln hearing occurs, I'd expect that the Attorney for the Children would intimidate her clients rather than represent them.


A:  David's Answer:  There are multiple problems with your proposal to solicit an affidavit from one of your children. First, most Judges admonish parents not to discuss the custody issues with the children. If you're representing yourself, how can you adhere to that admonishment & still solicit the affidavit? If you're represented by an attorney (as you should be) then the attorney cannot communicate with the child - including soliciting an affidavit - so long as s/he is represented by counsel. But let's say you're representing yourself & were never admonished to refrain from discussing the case with the child - do you really think an affidavit from the child would directly contradict the Attorney for the Child? Especially when the Attorney can simply say "that's what the child told me when I interviewed him/her" - and there's no other witness to that conversation (since it would've been held in the privacy of the attorney's office)? There are better ways of handling the case rather than going to war with the Attorney for the Child (as a general rule). If you're not represented, then at the least you should sit down with an experienced NYC Child Custody lawyer at a consult to determine "best steps."   -- David Bliven, Bronx Child Custody attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)