A father has successfully appealed against a court decision granting a residence order in favour of the mother of his four children.

The mother had a history of addiction to amphetamines. During the family proceedings to determine the residency of the children the judge was presented with reports from a psychologist, the mother’s psychiatrist and a social worker saying it would not be appropriate to allow the children to live with the mother.

There was also medical evidence showing that she was still taking drugs although she did not test positive at the time of the hearing. She gave evidence that she no longer used drugs.

The court ruled that the father should be granted parental responsibility and that there should be shared residency for the children. The mother was granted residency of the children during the school week.

The father appealed saying too much weight had been attached to the mother’s evidence while not enough had been given to the evidence of the expert witnesses.

The Court of Appeal agreed saying that when judges decided not to follow the advice of expert witnesses then they were obliged to explain why. The judge did not do so in this case even though her decision was contrary to the opinions of the experts. She had also given too much weight to the mother’s evidence.

The Appeal Court ruled that the judge’s decision could not stand and the case should be heard again in front of a different judge.