continued NATIONAL CENTER FOR PROSECUTION OF CHILD ABUSE

Volume 16, Number 7, 2003

Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need to Know Part 2 of 2

By Hope Fields1 & Erika Rivera Ragland2

Quick Tips for Challenging PAS Evidence

There are many things that prosecutors can do to challenge PAS evidence in child abuse cases:

• Challenge under Daubert/Frye. Argue that PAS evidence does not meet the evidentiary standard in your jurisdiction.
• Know statistics and studies. Statistics about false reporting are available through the National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA) or from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information at http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/.
• Know psychological dynamics of child abuse. Arm yourself with information about child abuse disclosures. Learn the psychological process of disclosure, the significance in the timing of disclosures, recantation, and proper procedures for conducting forensic interviews.22
• Share information. Share your motions, briefs, and transcripts with other prosecutors. Create central files in the office so other prosecutors do not have to reinvent the wheel.
• Write the APA. Send a letter to the American Psychiatric Association23 to discourage inclusion of PAS in the DSM-V.
• Prepare your experts. Meet with your experts before trial to prepare them for the defense expert and what you anticipate his or her testimony will be.
• Contact the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA). Call or E-mail the NCPCA with questions about child abuse or expert testimony.

Conclusion

PAS is an unproven theory that can threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system and the safety of abused children. Prosecutors should educate themselves about PAS and be prepared to argue against its admission in court. In cases where PAS testimony is admitted, it is a prosecutor’s responsibility to educate the judge and jury about the shortfalls of this theory. As more criminal courts refuse to admit PAS evidence, more protection will be afforded to victims of sexual abuse in our court system.

http://www.ndaa.org/ncpca_update_v16_no7.html