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http://10newsblogs.com/iteam/?p=657&cpage=1#comment-766
Custody Evaluator’s Credentials Questioned In Lawsuit
by JW August ~ July 9th, 2009. Filed under: Uncategorized.
Dr. Stephen Doyne, PhD, is widely used in the San Diego Family Court as a custody evaluator. His job is to advise the court on where children of divorce should live, which parent is more fit. The evaluations can be costly, both in emotion and dollars. Clients told the 10 News I-Team they paid Doyne between $5,000 and $30,000.
“A child custody evaluator has tremendous power and influence,” said Marc Angelucci. He’s an attorney representing Dr. Emad Tadros in a civil lawsuit against Dr. Doyne alleging fraud and negligence.
Dr. Tadros is Vice Chief of Scripps Behavioral Health Services. He was a client of Dr. Doyne and felt Doyne’s work was unprofessional. When Tadros researched Doyne’s credentials, he believed they were falsified and dubious.
“I think it’s a big deal to have misleading credentials, particularly when you are a child custody evaluator that the courts refer people to,” pointed out Angelucci.
While Dr. Doyne is a licensed psychologist, questions remain, for instance, the “Diplomate” title Dr. Doyne uses.
In a letter filed in court documents, Dr. Doyne signs his name and calls himself a “Diplomate of the American College of Forensic Examiners.”
The college, Angelucci says, is a “sham organizations” that “sells fake diplomas.”
“They’ve given credentials to a cat,” he said.
The cat was named Zoe. D. Katze. The American Bar Association Journal reported how the housecat was credentialed.
The I-Team called the American College of Forensic Examiners for a comment. They were told they could not have any information without the signed consent of the member they were calling about.
Dr. Doyne’s resume, also filed in court documents, lists Doyne as an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego Law School.
I Team Reporter Lauren Reynolds questioned Angelucci “true or false?”
His response, “From what we’ve seen, completely false.”
In court documents, U.S.D. claims no record of Dr. Doyne as a professor, searching “back to the mid-1970.”
Maureen Miller, a client of Dr. Doyne, said Doyne made another claim to her.
“He had told me that he had been a professor at U.C.S.D.”
A letter from U.C.S.D., also filed in the court file, says after “extensive research” Stephen Doyne has not been directly employed by the University of California San Diego.
In Doyne’s declaration to the court he says he worked at both universities “25 to 30 years ago” and that “nobody keeps records that long.”
We requested an interview with Dr. Doyne. His attorney, Christopher Zopatti, said his client “can’t personally respond” to our questions because of the pending lawsuit. However, he wrote, “Dr. Doyne stands by his record of education and experience.” Zopatti called the allegations against Dr. Doyne “unsubstantiated.”
John Van Dorn, a Doyne client, said “You have a certain expectation that the courts have vetted out the person they are appointing.”
Dr. Doyne is one of a dozen custody evaluators repeatedly used by San Diego Family Court. The court had no response to the allegations against Dr. Doyne. The court also clarified that it does not verify the professional licenses or the resumes of the custody evaluators.
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33 Responses to Custody Evaluator’s Credentials Questioned In Lawsuit
- Doyned
July 9th, 2009 at 7:26 pmGreat job 10News, good for you for being courageous enough to expose Dr. Doyne and the Court that puts him on a pedestal!
Where is your substantiated evidence Dr. Doyne? Where is it Zopatti? If you had it this story might not have even aired, and even if it did your 20-30 years ago claims to have been an instructor at those schools is too long ago. Aren’t most tips for resumes recommending info no longer than 10 years? Where is the substantiated evidence Dr. Doyne? The Public would love to see the year, duration, and subject on University letterhead from the school records department. We’re waiting Dr. Doyne.
Whewww, thanks 10News for changing the posting software, that js-kit software would not allow me to post, it just didn’t work. It is amazing Bill Cochran got one in. I was very irritated by your good ‘ol boy backpatting Mr. Cochran. The Public is not so stupid to see right through you and your statements… phrases like “highly experienced” and “is the best in San Diego” only mean “I’m one of his looting associates” or “I’m one of the gang” or “I back him up because he brings me clients.”
We’ll see who gets “theirs” as you so ominously allude to at the end of your ridiculously blatant effort at back-patting Dr. Doyne.
Dr. Doyne is a fraud, a con-artist, and he misleads. Look up the definittion of con-artist… yes that’s what he does. Where is the response from the ACFE Dr. Doyne? The college is not a real college, the Diplomate is not a real diplomate, it’s not even a bonified board. More aptly, it is the American College of Robert O’Block - 2750 East Sunshine Road, Springfield MO, you know, the address that Zoe the Cat got his/her Diplomate from too! Yep, from the same man, Robert O’Block. The only thing that is for certain Dr. Doyne is that you have Cat credentials!
There you go Bill Cochran, there’s your back-patting effort right there, keep petting the kitty Bill… purrr, purrr, purrr.
What joke you are Doyne!
- I Say Bravo
July 9th, 2009 at 9:00 pm10 News you deserve an Emmy for the Courage to run this story, I pray you stay with it. Clearly the Courts were ignoring the Rules of the Court and that is something the Presiding Judge and the Court Administrator should address in a public forum. The citizens of our County deserve to find out who will be held accountable for this denial of our Civil Rights. Stick a CAMERA in their FACE. I want to see the guy who is responsible for adminstration of the RULES and does not follow them.
As for Dr. Katz (MR. DOYNE) what Jury would believe that someone who uses diploma mills credentials would not also lie about being a teacher at famous Colleges when he figured no one would be looking? Well I can not be on that JURY.. I have already made my decision.
I pray you follow up and find out who posts their Resumes as is required by Court Rules. Let’s see the MEMO that the Presiding Judge has written to the Family Court Judges and Commissioners to make sure starting RIGHT NOW no one is taking an appointment as an evaluator unless they have met the RULES OF THE COURT.
What system do they now have in place to find out who has how many cases and what kind of fees they are collecting per case?
Please do a follow up on the lady who spent 30 Thousand Dollars on a Custody Evaluation. Did she have any Felonies, what is in her records that would allow anyone to keep the case alive for so long. In fact how many of those people in the story had broken any law that would indicate that they could not be parents. I bet you, not one of them has a criminal conviction.
Put the Presiding Judge in a room with all those people and let them have a go at him. Let him explain to them why the Court Rules were ignored. Is the Judge not a public servant or is he some god like MR. Doyne figured he was. How it must hurt to have one of your wings ripped of on the telly…
Here is a good question how come these normal citizens knew about the RULES of the COURT and not one single JUDGE hearing the cases knew what the requirements were? Either they acted knowingly as facists or they were inept. They either ignored the law to the citizens detriment or they acted on their own agenda in violation of the Judicial Canons.
How can Dr. Tadros feel he is ever going to get a fair trial knowing he not only challenged a Diploma Mill Certificate holding shrink but he challenged the very Court that is going to make the decision on what is fair. Tadros and all those people on your stage are heros.
What strikes me as very odd is that even after you pointed out that the rules were not being followed they did not tell the reporter thank you for bringing it to their attention. This was no mistake this is a friggen cover up.
What does the Bar Association have to say about this. Should we be suing attorneys for not finding out Doyne and no one else for that matter was following the Court Rules. Are attorneys not supposed to know about the court rules…. Be very careful of this powerful lobby.. they will steal you blind and take your kids, its big business. Clearly this is the blame game.
- Zealousadvocate
July 9th, 2009 at 9:45 pmThis wasn’t an investigation, this was scapegoating for the drug users, domestic violence abuser, sexual abuser and self centered parents who need constant refereeing and monitoring of their inability to parent with each other.
Dr. Doyne is a skill expert dealing with child custody and visitation. Lets not kid ourselves, if a 730 pyschological custody evaluation is going on, these parents, one or both, have something wrong and can’t cooperatively parent with one another. Did the reporter even investigate the those parents making statements for the news…..I doubt it. The critcism wasn’t related to the quality of his job, frankly the complaints were irrelevant…..just whying parents who can’t parent.
If they didn’t have this parenting problem they wouldn’t need Dr. Doyne’s services. This was nothing more than a soapbox opportunity with a sham of an investigator that wreaks of collusion.
Collusion, you ask? yes.
If you want a real investigation maybe find one that’s closer to home.
- Doyned
July 9th, 2009 at 10:15 pmZealousadvocate you are so ignorant and false yourself. First of all you do not know any of the the individuals who were in the story. None of them are drug addicts, alcohol abusers, or domestic violence abusers or sexual abusers. None of them have criminal records either.
You are nothing but a sensationalist.
10News has done a thorough job of investigation.
Dr. Doyne is a con-artist, fraud. He has Cat credentials, a Diplomate from the same man that provided Zoe the cat with his/her Diplomate. Robert O’Block provided the Diplomate, not a real college, not a real Board. Dr. Doyne paid some $350 dollars and took a weak ethics test along with maybe or maybe not showing his other credentials to get his Diplomate. Zoe the Cat didn’t have to show anything. What does this say about Dr. Doyne’s level of professionalism… I bet you think a cheap little trinket from a gumball machine or a surprise from a box of Crackerjacks would suffice to be called an expert!
I was Doyned. I do have an excellent relationship with my child. You know nothing… and are nothing but a back-patting associate of Doyne’s… go pet the kitty again zealousadvocate, go ahead pet your expert kitty… meowww, meoww, meowww.
A sham investigator? Are you calling Lauren Reynolds a sham investigator? Follow her around for a day on an investigation you fool, I think you’d find real investigative work going on… and not like Dr. Doyne who operates from within an office only.
Collusion? NO!
10News did their homework. Did you not see Lauren at the Courthouse in the 7pm airing on Tuesday the 7th? She went to the Courthouse.
If Doyne truly had substantiated evidence Dr. Tadros’s case would be over already, and Dr. Doyne would have shared it already with 10News. He doesn’t have substantiated evidence you fool!
- One_Of_The_Doyned
July 9th, 2009 at 10:18 pmZealousadvocate is obviously a plant. I am one of the Doyned. I am also a well respected, well known member of the San Diego business community. I’m involved in various philanthropies around town. I’m none of the pejoratives that Zealousadvocate (exactly how stupid do you think we are?) listed above. My post graduate education compares to anyone’s. I also give lectures at UCSD which are well documented. My custody case is current and I can tell you that Doyne’s report, delivered recently, was so full of misrepresentations, false allegations and outright lies that it was laughable. Something is seriously not right about this man. The good news is that my custody trial is coming up shortly. He will be exposed as 100% incompetent and fraudulent and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. I can only pray that the collective efforts of “the Doyned” will result in a complete shut down of his practice. After all, it won’t be long before the divorce at
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