NJSBA Family Law Section

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  • 1.  Sealing interview with child

    Posted 02-14-2019 05:37 PM
    I am 100% sure that I saw a case (probably unpublished) in the last couple of years wherein a litigant asked a trial judge to permit access to a recording of a child interview (or to permit a transcript). The trial court denied the request and the App Div affirmed.

    I've got the issue - heavily alienated child. Client is 100% confident child will be honest if convinced the statements to the judge won't leave the room, and that child will not be honest if he thinks the alienating parent or her family will be made aware of what was said.

    Anyone remember the case?


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  • 2.  RE: Sealing interview with child

    Posted 02-15-2019 10:39 AM
    Was it Koch v. Koch, 424 N.J. Super. 542 (Ch. Div. 2011)? 

    Koch v. Koch, Ch. Div., Family Pt. - Sussex Co. (Gilson, J.S.C.) (11 pp.) This matter involves a child custody dispute and whether child custody evaluations must or may be recorded at one of the party's request. Both parties hired experts to conduct child custody evaluations. The defendant filed a motion to require that all interviews of all parties, including the children, conducted by the custody experts, be audio-recorded. In support of his motion, defense counsel relied on B.D. v. Carley, 307 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 1998). B.D., however, is distinguishable because it involved the audio-recording of a psychological evaluation of a party and the case did not involve or address a child custody dispute. The court held that a party did not have the right to require that all interviews be recorded and that parties would need the permission of the court to record the interviews of a child. [Decided April 21, 2011.]  



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