Never married, the father, a former doctor, and the mother, a lawyer, are battling for custody of their two children, ages 10 and seven. According to Andrew Schepard, who heads Hofstra Law School's child and family advocacy fellowship program, "The adversary system doesn't fit well with the needs of children. Judges will ask each parent what role they see for the other parent in the kids' lives and often decide for the parent who is able to recognize that they can't shut the other person out."
However, Sullivan wanted the visitation rights Plotnick had to be scaled back. Singer denied this. Sullivan then wanted a right of first refusal if the father sought childcare for when he was away. Singer denied this too.
"Even assuming the father does regularly lie to the children and others, the mother does not assert that this is a new situation and something she was unaware of," wrote the judge. "While the Court does not pretend to be an expert in this particular 'pathology,' it is hard to believe that the pathology suddenly arose and did not exist prior to either of the two previous orders being entered into on consent."
As it was, the parents had already appeared before three other judges in three years.
"The parents have lost sight of the true purpose of these proceedings long ago," wrote the judge, "and appear to be solely interested in ripping the other to shreds." He warned the couple that "the Court will not be used as a forum for the parties to attack one another. An attempt by either party to do so will be dealt with harshly."
