custody case
- noun
- /ˈkʌstədi keɪs/
- During the hearing, the judge listened carefully to both parents involved in the custody case before making a decision.
- child custody case
- experts in custody case
- testimony in custody case
Examples
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Approximately 10% of custody cases are litigated, with most cases resolved privately or in mediation.
Academic text (2016) -
But it was a child custody case, with some very big ramifications.
Fiction book (1999) -
We were keeping it a secret until after the custody case.
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The social worker said it's a custody case.
Fiction book (2001) -
Surely, criminal and child custody cases are distinct.
Academic text (2016) -
In 1993, I began writing a story about a teenage girl at the center of a custody case.
Academic text (1996) -
But the judge in her child custody case didn't buy it.
Blog text (26) -
Felicia was the DA on his custody case.
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Peter's checking into her custody case to see if it's a lost cause.
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That's right, I happen to know the judge that's trying your custody case.
Synonyms
A problem that a court looks at and decides
To use the courts to settle a dispute
A court case between two people or groups who disagree about legal rights
A court case between parents about who will look after their children
How Contested
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'custody' (court-awarded responsibility for care) with 'case' (a legal matter/proceeding); together they denote a legal proceeding about custody. This noun+noun composition follows a straightforward legal collocation that is cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words should be able to understand it.
Etymology
The noun custody case comes from the idea that custody means to 'keep' or watch a child and case means a legal matter. It gives the image of a court deciding who will keep and care for the child.