Children are highly susceptible to suggestion by an adult who is involved in caring for their needs on a daily basis. “False memories” can become part of the child’s memory of events. In other words, a child isn’t lying per se, but has formed “memories” that have been suggested by an adult, usually a parent in their life. In these cases, it is essential to probe the child at the preliminary hearing about every aspect of the child’s “memories” and how they came to “remember” them. an expert on repressed memories comes in handy in such cases.
Subpoenaing medical records and mental health records are key–both the child’s records and the parent’s records. These records can be difficult to obtain in a criminal case, but are much easier to obtain in the divorce case. Therefore, it is crucial that the criminal defense attorney and divorce attorney work in conjunction to obtain critical records in order to adequately represent their client’s interests.
