Publicly criticizing custody professionals: Where is the line between activism and defamation?

Abstract

Tragically, a court makes a misguided decision in a particularly contentious custody battle. After the decision is finalized, one of the parents harms, or even kills, their own child. The innocent parent whose child’s life has been adversely affected or cut short, berates the court. Also taken to task through social media, the parent laces into the custody professional who recommended the child placement arrangement that turned out to be unsound. Seeking to alert others to what the parent believes was a wholly inept or corrupt custody professional, public ridicule erupts. Sadly, this public evisceration can take place in less dramatic circumstances as well. (from Introduction)