Workshop 52: Lying and Deception in Family Court Ordered Assessments: Who Knew?
Determining facts and establishing truth is one of the fundamental purposes of the family court process. Being able to distinguish facts from false allegations, vexatious accusations, and misrepresentations is a task necessary to accurately determine best interests. This session examines whether self-report questionnaires and the detection of lying and deception by parents in court ordered assessments are related to risk or best interests in any meaningful way. Discussions about the utility of assessing credibility in family court will be undertaken and psychological and legal perspectives will be provided.