Do you believe that you are not being treated fairly by the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) appointed to your custody case? How could this be happening when the GAL was appointed to do what is in the best interest of the child and to conduct themselves in a fair and impartial manner? Unfortunately, these feelings are not unusual and certainly not unique to your case

Oftentimes a GAL will have a tendency to process and gather information by looking for, or interpreting information that is consistent with his or her beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is generally unintentional and often results in ignoring information inconsistent with that persons beliefs. Clearly this is a problem. Cases like this could be the result of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias happens when a person (GAL) gives more weight to evidence that confirms their beliefs and undervalues evidence that can disprove their theory of the case. Essentially the GAL has rushed to judgment

One explanation for why humans are susceptible to confirmation bias is that it is an efficient way to process information. Humans, including GALs with heavy case loads, are inundated with information and data in the social world and cannot possibly take the time to carefully process each piece of information to form an unbiased conclusion. Human decision making is oftentimes limited to interpreting information from their own view point. People tend to process information quickly to protect themselves and others. It is adaptive to rely on instincts to keep other individuals out of harms way. This analysis and way of thinking clearly does not make it right

Unfortunately, this bias often results in a distorted and unfavorable picture of parents in high conflict custody cases. If you believe that you are being treated unfairly by a custody GAL, dont hesitate to contact the Mulligan Law Firm. We have over 30 years of family law experience and can assist with identifying the issues surrounding confirmatory bias. Call us at 570-703-0269