Children’s Involvement in the Legal Process When children witness violent or abusive behaviour in their home, they are certainly affected by it; however, from a legal standpoint, it is extremely rare for a child to be called in as a witness in family court. Typically, family court judges dealing with divorce custody issues will let a parent testify about what a child said or did at the time an abusive act occurred, even though technically, the testimony of this nature is categorized as “hearsay” and is therefore inadmissible. Most family court judges make protecting a child involved in a divorce custody case their priority, which is why a parent testifying on behalf of their child is allowed. Read the following article about child witnesses.
If a judge presiding over a divorce custody case decides that your child should, in fact, be allowed to testify, an attorney or guardian ad litem will be appointed to your child. (The term “ad litum” refers to someone appointed by the court to act on behalf of another party who is deemed incapable of representing themselves, such as children. This is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 9.) Often, the court takes child protection during …