BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Family Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, June 11, 2020

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will bring family lawyers current on trends in the impact of substance use and abuse on child custody determinations. Even when a parent uses a legal substance (alcohol and now cannabis, in some jurisdictions), courts grapple with the legal implications. The best interest of the child is always paramount, and court decisions in this area vary based on the personal beliefs and attitudes of judges and other involved parties.

Faculty

Jessica Prince
Policy Counsel, FDP
The Bronx Defenders

Before joining The Bronx Defenders, Ms. Prince was a Criminal Defense Attorney with the Office of the Public Defender of the State of New Jersey in Passaic County. During law school, she represented individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses in Queens County Criminal Court as part of the Criminal Defense Clinic. Ms. Prince interned at the Georgia Capital Defender’s Office, the Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Project and Trafficking Victims’ Advocacy Project, and The Bronx Defenders.

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John J. Schrot
Shareholder
Berry Moorman, PC

Mr. Schrot’s legal career has predominantly focused on family law and other complex civil litigation matters. He also has extensive experience in contract negotiations, commercial transactions/litigation, employment law, real estate, insurance, construction, securities, corporate law, arbitration, and other intricate personal and contractual relationships. For the past 40 years, Mr. Schrot has been helping business people and their spouses through complex divorces. He is known for handling high-stakes divorce, and for keeping clients’ cases private. Mr. Schrot helps families achieve amicable divorces while ensuring clients receive their fair share and/or protection of their children.

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Description

As attitudes toward the legality of once-taboo substances (i.e., cannabis) evolve, so does the understanding of substance use, abuse, and addiction. A parent's use or misuse of any mind-altering substance (whether alcohol, psychoactive medications, and legal medical or recreational cannabis) can be a significant factor in a court's custody determination, especially if the substance use was a basis for any child welfare involvement.

The best-interest-of-the-child standard that predominates all custody determinations does not simplify the issues. Courts may determine that a parent who regularly uses or is addicted to a substance (especially if illegal) is unfit as a custodial parent. However, use, abuse, and addiction are not necessarily permanent behaviors. When shaping relief, courts often consider a parent's willingness to avoid such substances and/or progression toward sobriety.

Assuming that a parent's use of legal cannabis has the same effect in domestic proceedings as a parent's use of alcohol disregards generations of preconceived beliefs. One commentator notes, "A valid prescription may mean nothing if a judge is against the use of marijuana and/or believes it will affect childcare."

Listen as this panel, fully acquainted and experienced with how these cases are litigated and decided, guides family attorneys on the legal and practical aspects of the role of substance use, abuse, and addiction in custody battles.

Outline

  1. Background of legality issues
  2. Traditional analysis
    1. Illegality and custody
    2. Interests of the child and legal substances
  3. Legalization and change
    1. Evolving legality: cannabis
    2. Jurisdictional conflicts
  4. Proof issues: expert witnesseses

Benefits

The panel will review these and other constantly evolving questions:

  • What are the traditional judicial approaches to abuse and addiction?
  • How can substance abuse be used as a basis for child protective services investigations and neglect proceedings and how will that affect custody determinations in the future?
  • How does a parent's use of legal substances impact custody determinations?
  • What choice of law implications are there for parents in different jurisdictions with different legality constructs?