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Abstract: 

Regular contributor and legal scholar Anne Perry provides a summary of a decision coming out of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Jordan v. Jordan , Nos. 09-FM-1152, 09-FM-1337, and 10-FM-375 (D.C. Ct. App. 2011). The fact pattern and the legal lines of reasoning applied by both the trial court and the appeals court in this case, as noted by Ms. Perry, are likely to be distressingly familiar to those who assist victims with child custody litigation. The decisions are indeed disappointing, especially given the vast body of knowledge now in place to help courts, including appeals courts, available to help legal actors make better decisions in these difficult cases. Other decisions include a New Hampshire decision to award a “therapeutic reunification” to a father accused of abusing his daughter; and a Florida decision that excessive spanking did not amount to domestic violence.

Keywords: parental alienation; parenting coordinators

Affiliations:  1: Contributing Editor, Domestic Violence Report.