You can try, however, the vast majority of parents in California family courts are forced to use court appointed expert witnesses who are members of the Association of Family and Conciliation Court, the AFCCnet effect. These so called “expert” witnesses receive their training and continuing education credits from this organization. Judges, court commissioners, psychologists, social workers, custody evaluators, therapists, attorneys, forensic financial investigators, etc. are all colluding members of this organization. If you refuse to use the AFCCnet court appointed witness against you, your judge will often, very often, refuse to allow you visitation with your child. Alternatively the judge will most likely order you into supervised visitation with this AFCCnet court appointed witness, until you agree to use him/her as your expert witness and pay for him/her, #NoAFCC. This is unwarranted, not to mention a violation of Due Process, governmental interference, “UGI”.
Psychiatrists and psychologists who aren’t AFCC members almost always refuse to be called into family and juvenile dependency courts as an expert witness. Why? I think it is because it isn’t worth the money and it isn’t worth their licenses. Their obligation is to maintain their patient’s confidentiality. They are obligated to report suspected child abuse and emergency situations in which the patient is a danger to themselves (or to others) and will also release information if the patient, or legal guardian, agrees to it. If they are somehow mandated to appear in a family or dependency court order and provide scheduling evidence, such as the dates they saw you, for how long, etc. then the AFCCnet attorneys will try to blur the line and ask them questions as if they were appearing in your case as an expert witness. Psychiatrists’ and non-colluding psychologists’ malpractice insurers advise them to get legal advice if they are summoned into court to give testimony in a family law or juvenile dependency case, #PreventUGI, #NoAFCC, #PromoteSettlement.
The real reason your judge will insist that you use an AFCCnet witness and order you to pay for him/her, is because AFCCnet psychologists (not psychiatrists, they don’t join the AFCC) thrive on being called as court appointed witnesses. Most of these “AFCCnet professionals” make their entire living off of the family and juvenile dependency court systems. They show no concern about what they have done to American children and generations of American families to come. Most AFCCnet witnesses won’t appear in court to even be questioned by you even though they are “your” witness. They are shielded from your questions by your attorney, the other side’s attorney, and the judge will protect him/her. It doesn’t matter that the written report they submitted to the court is hearsay. It might even be double or triple hearsay if the the AFCCnet witness talked to others (who talked to others, etc.) and reported what they said as a part of their writings. Under the low standard of evidence “Best interest of the child” the court can accept even triple hearsay into evidence. Your children most likely will never know who this person was, because most AFCCnet professionals don’t want to see their true victims or meet them, #NoAFCC, #PreventUGI.