You are here: / / Okay for Expert to Rely On Information from Social Workers Who Are Not...
,

Okay for Expert to Rely On Information from Social Workers Who Are Not Subjected to Cross-Examination

The Third Department, in a decision by Justice Peters, determined that an expert in a custody matter could rely on information provided by caseworkers who where not subject to cross-examination:

Initially, both the mother and the attorney for the children contend that the opinion testimony of Elizabeth Schockmel, the court-appointed forensic psychologist, should have been stricken because her opinion was based in part upon information she obtained from Department of Social Services caseworkers who were not subject to cross-examination.  We disagree. “[T]he professional reliability exception to the hearsay rule . . . enables an expert witness to provide opinion evidence based on otherwise inadmissible hearsay, provided it is demonstrated to be the type of material commonly relied on in the profession” … . Here,   Schockmel testified – without contradiction – that information obtained from  collateral sources is commonly  relied upon  within her profession when  conducting a forensic psychological evaluation in the context of a custody proceeding …. Moreover, her opinion was  principally based upon  information she obtained from  her extensive interviews with the mother, father and  children, with the collateral source information serving as but “a link in the chain of data” that assisted her in forming her opinion … . Accordingly,  Schockmel’s expert opinion testimony was  properly admitted.  Matter of Greene v Robarge, 512987, 3rd Dept 3-28-13

 

You might also like
Religious Brochure Urging Confession (Given to Defendant by a Deputy Sheriff) Required Trial Court to Make Sure Defendant Understood His Right to Refrain from Testifying at Trial—Trial Court’s Colloquy with Defendant Deemed Sufficient
PLAINTIFF, A LANDSCAPING CONTRACTOR, DID YARD WORK FOR DEFENDANT HOMEOWNER, INCLUDING SPREADING MULCH AND USING HIS OWN LADDER TO TRIM A TREE; PLAINTIFF POSITIONED THE LADDER ON THE MULCH; THE LADDER FELL OVER WHEN PLAINTIFF WAS STANDING ON IT; DEFENDANT HOMEOWNER DID NOT CREATE OR HAVE NOTICE OF THE DANGEROUS CONDITION (THE MULCH) AND DID NOT SUPERVISE OR DIRECT PLAINTIFF’S TREE-TRIMMING WORK; DEFENDANT’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (THIRD DEPT).
THE NOTE WAS ENDORSED IN BLANK REQUIRING PLAINTIFF TO DEMONSTRATE POSSESSION OF THE NOTE AT THE TIME THE FORECLOSURE ACTION WAS COMMENCED; FAILURE TO DEMONSTRATE POSSESSION CONSTITUTED A FAILURE TO DEMONSTRATE STANDING TO FORECLOSE (THIRD DEPT).
Defendant’s Snow Removal Practices May Have Caused Icy Condition in Parking Lot
CLAIMANT DEMONSTRATED HE HAD NOT REMOVED HIMSELF FROM THE LABOR MARKET WITH DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE; CLAIMANT WAS THEREFORE ENTITLED TO BENEFITS FROM THE TIME HE DEMONSTRATED ATTACHMENT TO THE WORKFORCE (THIRD DEPT).
WITHOUT A PAT-DOWN FRISK, THE OFFICER WHO MADE THE TRAFFIC STOP DID NOT HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE DEFENDANT POSSESSED A WEAPON; THE OFFICER’S SEARCH OF DEFENDANT’S JACKET POCKETS WAS NOT, THEREFORE, JUSTIFIED BY PROBABLE CAUSE; BECAUSE THE OFFICER TESTIFIED HE DID NOT INTEND TO ARREST THE DEFENDANT AT THE TIME OF THE SEARCH, THE SEARCH WAS NOT A VALID SEARCH INCIDENT TO ARREST; SUPPRESSION OF THE SEIZED WEAPONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (THIRD DEPT).
Petitioner Was Entitled to a Reduction in the Assessed Value of a Home Depot Store Based Upon Its Expert’s Appraisal
THE AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE WAS NOT A DEFENSE TO THE COMPLAINT, THE COMPLAINT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, RATHER, THE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN STAYED (THIRD 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

District Attorney’s Prosecution of a Case in Which the Complainant Was a Sitting... Criteria for Grant of Visitation to Grandparent When Both Parents Alive