You are here: / / THE CHILDREN WISHED TO REMAIN WITH MOTHER BUT CUSTODY WAS AWARDED TO FATHER;...
,

THE CHILDREN WISHED TO REMAIN WITH MOTHER BUT CUSTODY WAS AWARDED TO FATHER; THE ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILD AGREED FATHER SHOULD HAVE CUSTODY; MOTHER REQUESTED A LINCOLN HEARING WHICH WAS DENIED; THE DISSENT ARGUED A LINCOLN HEARING SHOULD HAVE BEEN HELD (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined custody of the children was properly granted to father, against the children’s wishes.  The attorney for the child (AFC) informed the court of the children’s wishes but supported custody by the father. The mother unsuccessfully argued a Lincoln hearing should have been held. The dissent agreed that a Lincoln hearing was necessary:

The mother further contends that the court erred in declining to conduct a Lincoln hearing. Inasmuch as the AFC expressed the children’s wishes to the court … , the children were both of young age … , and there are indications in the record that they were being coached on what to say to the court … , we perceive no abuse of discretion in the court’s denial of the mother’s request for a Lincoln hearing … . * * *

From the dissent:

While the decision whether to conduct a Lincoln hearing is discretionary, it is ” often the preferable course’ ” to conduct one … . Indeed, a child’s preference, although not determinative, is an “important” factor that provides the court, while considering the potential for influence and the child’s age and maturity, “some indication of what is in the child’s best interests” … . In addition, the in camera testimony of a child may ” on the whole benefit the child by obtaining for the [court] significant pieces of information [it] needs to make the soundest possible decision’ ” … .

In this case, the children were 10 and 7 years old, respectively, at the time of the proceeding, ages at which a child’s “wishes [are] not necessarily entitled to the great weight’ we accord to the preferences of older adolescents . . . [but are], at minimum, entitled to consideration’ ” … . Most importantly, the Attorney for the Children (AFC) substituted his judgment for that of the children and advocated that custody be transferred from the mother to the father, despite the fact that the children had been in the mother’s custody since birth and the fact that the father admitted to having committed an act of domestic violence against the mother. While the AFC did inform the court of the children’s expressed wishes to live with the mother, in my view, the court should have conducted a Lincoln hearing to consider those wishes and the reasons for them. Matter of Muriel v Muriel, 2020 NY Slip Op 00776,  Fourth Dept 1-31-20

 

You might also like
FRAUD WARRANTED INVALIDATION OF THE DESIGNATING PETITION (FOURTH DEPT). ​
Trial Judge Should Have Allowed Slightly Late Peremptory Challenge—Conviction Reversed
THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTED HARASSMENT AS A FAMILY OFFENSE BUT DID NOT SUPPORT AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT OR DISORDERLY CONDUCT (FOURTH DEPT).
TRIAL COURT DID NOT, AS PROMISED, INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE PURPOSES OF INTRODUCING HEARSAY EVIDENCE OF THE CHILD-VICTIM’S DISCLOSURES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DEFENSE COUNSEL DID NOT OBJECT; THE MAJORITY CONCLUDED THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR APPEAL; TWO DISSENTERS ARGUED THE ERROR WAS REVERSIBLE AND DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR NOT OBJECTING (FOURTH DEPT).
PORTIONS OF CITY SIDEWALK ELEVATED BY TREE ROOTS AND “REPAIRED” WITH COLD PATCH; QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THE ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS AND CITY ARE LIABLE IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (FOURTH DEPT).
STATEMENT WHICH WAS NOT IN THE 710.30 NOTICE, AND WHICH PROVIDED EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S DOMINION AND CONTROL OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE DRUGS WERE FOUND, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE.
DOWNPAYMENT NOT FORFEITED BASED UPON THE BANK’S REVOCATION OF THE MORTGAGE COMMITMENT, NO SHOWING THE REVOCATION WAS DUE TO DEFENDANT PURCHASER’S BAD FAITH (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFF GOLFER ASSUMED THE RISK OF SLIPPING AND FALLING ON A LANDING WET FROM RAIN AT THE TWELFTH HOLE OF DEFENDANT GOLF COURSE (FOURTH DEPT). ​

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THERE SHOULD ONLY BE ONE SORA RISK ASSESSMENT PROCEEDING BASED UPON THE SAME... FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE HELD A CUSTODY HEARING WITHOUT FATHER’S PARTICIPATION...