Licata v. Licata

N.J. Court of Appeals and N.J. Supreme Court

This case concerned the misuse of parental alienation syndrome, a pseudo-scientific theory widely used to negate allegations of abuse.  This case was litigated in-house by DV LEAP’s Executive Director and co-counseled with DV LEAP’s Consulting Attorney, an expert domestic violence lawyer in Colorado between 2002 and 2004.

DV LEAP represented a mother in New Jersey who was the victim of 20 years of emotional abuse, physical intimidation, and sexual abuse, culminating in a life-threatening violent rape. The custody judge refused to allow an expert witness on domestic violence and awarded joint custody, rejecting the mother’s allegations of abuse based in large part on a pseudo-scientific unproven theory of “parental alienation.”

After filing several briefs in the Appellate Division, which affirmed the trial court opinion, DV LEAP filed a petition for certification with the New Jersey Supreme Court, arguing that the case raised significant matters of first impression in the state and the country, concerning the admissibility of expert testimony in custody cases and the scientific validity of the parental alienation theory.  The state Supreme Court denied certiorari without explanation.

Please click here to read the mother's appellate brief.

Please click here to read the mother's petition for certification to the Supreme Court of New Jersey.