Copyright (c) 2010 Minnesota Law Review Foundation
Minnesota Law Review
Note: The Due Process Rights of Parents to Cross-Examine Guardians Ad Litem in Custody Disputes: The Reality and the Ideal
June, 2010
94 Minn. L. Rev. 2103
Author
Emily Gleiss*
Excerpt
Frustrated by her interaction with the court system and the outcome of her custody battle, one mother is taking action. 1 Sinthyia Darkness created a petition calling for the abolition of court-appointed guardians ad litem in Illinois and posted it online. 2 In litigation like Ms. Darkness's custody proceeding, a guardian ad litem (GAL) is a court officer who represents the interests of an infant or incompetent person. 3 Ms. Darkness's main contention is that GALs deprive parents of their due process rights to raise their children. 4 Ms. Darkness points to several ways in which GALs failed to respect her rights as a parent. 5 For example, GALs make recommendations to the court based on personal, biased opinions and they undermine a parent's right to a fair trial by participating in ex parte communications with the judge. 6 Parents in many states share Ms. Darkness's concerns about the violation of parental due process rights. 7
Like this mother petitioning for a change in GAL law, parents around the country are challenging state laws and arguing that the role of GALs in custody proceedings deprives parents of their substantive due process right in the care, custody, and control of their children, and their procedural due process right to a fair trial. 8 Specifically, parents object to their inability in certain states to cross-examine GALs who provide custody recommendations to the court in the name of their children's best interests. 9 Whether GALs function as witnesses ...
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