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One of my favorite topics seems to be guardians ad litem. Probably because I have several cases in which I serve in that capacity. One of the things that has bothered me about that role is that the guardian ad litem is often called upon to form an opinion regarding a child’s well being that frankly, we’re not qualified to give.
That was addressed recently by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in the case of Jones v. Jones. The Jones court decided that guardians ad litem may not give an opinion on a topic that requires some specialized knowledge without the guardian being qualified as an expert. You see, you can’t give an opinion as evidence if that opinion requires specialized knowledge. For example, the average person could give testimony that “you look older than I” because that is based on one’s common, everyday experience. However, that same person could not give the opinion that “the rubber in that tire was formulated to make it too soft for these road conditions” because that opinion requires specialized knowledge. Our hypothetical person would have to be qualified as an expert on tire formulations before they could give that opinion.
As a guardian ad litem, we are sometimes called upon to give opinions on parenting skills, psychological status, and other things that attorneys don’t usually really know. The Jones case makes it clear that this is no longer allowed unless it has been based on properly qualified expert opinion.
This is good and bad. The good is that it keeps guardians ad litem from guessing at things we’re not qualified to know. The bad thing is, this is going to wind up costing money to hire experts. Who’s going to pay for the expert? In the Hattiesburg area, most guardians ad litem are going to demand prepayment of the expert’s fees from the parties; they aren’t going to pay the fees out of their own pockets (at least I won’t). This is going to slow down the guardian ad litem’s investigation and also make the process more expensive.
Do you think the good outweighs the bad? Leave a comment and start a discussion
