Since his appointment as Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman has written several decisions dispelling the Matrimonial bar’s perception that Second Department decisions in that discipline often fail to offer guidance or precedential value. Justice Scheinkman is the author of the Practice Commentaries of the Domestic Relations Law, among other treatises in Matrimonial and Family Law. Two of his recent decisions showcase how his mastery of the practice area is shaping case law in the Second Department.
Championing Children’s Rights
In Newton v. McFarlane, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 04386 (June 5, 2019), the mother sought, for the third time, to modify an existing Family Court custody order so as to award her sole legal and physical custody of the now 17-year-old child. The Family Court held a hearing, over the objection of the Attorney for the Child (AFC), without first determining whether the mother had alleged a change of circumstances since the last custody order sufficient to warrant a custody transfer. After the hearing, the court held two in camera interviews with the child, who clearly stated her wish to remain with the father. The court thereafter granted the mother’s petition, finding, without explanation, that it was in the child’s best interest to transfer custody.
