Arizona Parents’ Bill of Rights
By: Markus Risinger and Deborah Lee The Arizona Court of Appeals recently [...]
Suspected child abuse during a trip to the emergency room
By: Gregg R. Woodnick I have been practicing law for 20 years. [...]
To Appeal or Not to Appeal
By: Markus Risinger When talking about the court system it is inevitable [...]
Revisiting Dentists and Divorce
By: Leslie Satterlee, Ben Himmelstein & Larry Mathis The chaos of the [...]
Co-owning a Business with Your Ex
By: Leslie A. Satterlee and Ben Himmelstein Going through a divorce is [...]
The Hague in Arizona
By: Leslie A. Satterlee and Markus Risinger Custody battles always involve heartbreak and they are [...]
Do You Handle High Net Worth Divorces?
By: Leslie A. Satterlee & Gregg R. Woodnick You would be surprised [...]
Arizona Department of Child Safety: Visitation With Your Child is Non-Essential?
Arizona Department of Child Safety’s (DCS) director, Mike Faust, has issued a handful statements on the COVID-19 pandemic. As recently as April 10, 2020, DCS was not allowing in-person visitation to occur between a parent and their child in DCS custody.
QUARANTINED CHILD ABUSE
Since COVID-19 forced schools to close, reports of child abuse in Arizona have decreased by about twenty-five percent (25%). At first, this seems like one of the few silver linings of the pandemic (outside of Tiger King and attending business meetings without having to wear pants). However, after 20 years of litigating child abuse and neglect cases, I don’t believe this statistic is cause for celebration.
Confirmation Bias and Reliability in Treating Healthcare Provider Testimony
Imagine you are a juror in a case involving infant abuse. The treating physician testifies that, when the infant arrived in the hospital, she was covered with large bruises. The doctor then states, “The family was awkward, and the father was visibly irritated.” The family also offered no explanation for the infant’s condition. After accurately informing you that accidental bruising is exceedingly rare in infants, the doctor concludes the infant’s bruising is consistent with trauma caused by a severe beating. He adds: “I see this sort of thing every day, and it’s heartbreaking.”