5.1.6 Evidentiary Considerations

The presentation of evidence regarding child custody should establish the history of abuse, the child’s exposure to a domestic violence perpetrator’s conduct, and effects on the child. It should also establish key aspects of any care-giving history that establishes your client as the primary caregiver.1  In general, lawyers should plan to present a case that is robust enough to protect a client’s long-term custody interests, but that still remains focused on the abuse and avoids the perception that the protective order request is a veiled attempt to obtain custody.

• 1For further discussion of how to present a custody case in the context of domestic violence, see Section 8.