Case Title: Schweigert v. Schweigert

Citation: 

Docket Number: 92517

State: illinois

Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Date: 2002-06-06T00:00:00Z

Document:
Docket No. 92517-Agenda 28-November 2001.
CLIFFORD SCHWEIGERT et al., Appellants, v. VALENA K. 								SCHWEIGERT, Appellee.
Opinion filed June 6, 2002.
	JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the opinion of the court:
	Clifford and Roberta Schweigert filed a petition in the circuit
court of Tazewell County seeking visitation with their
granddaughter, Laisa, pursuant to section 607(b) of the Illinois
Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/607(b)
(West 2000)). Laisa is the daughter of the Schweigerts' late son,
Brad, and his wife, Valena. Valena filed an answer in which she
acknowledged that she had terminated Laisa's visits with her
grandparents and stated her reasons for doing so. Because the
question that we address, below, is purely a question of law, it is
not necessary to recount the factual allegations made by the
parties.
	The circuit court, on its own motion, ordered the parties to file
memoranda addressing whether, in light of Troxel v. Granville,
530 U.S. 57, 147 L. Ed. 2d 49, 120 S. Ct. 2054 (2000), and the
subsequent decision of this court in Lulay v. Lulay, 193 Ill. 2d 455
(2000), section 607(b) was unconstitutional as applied when the
respondent is the child's sole surviving parent. After a hearing on
this issue, the circuit court found the statute "unconstitutional as
applied to the facts and circumstances of this case." In effect, the
court ruled that one parent's "well-established fundamental right"
to raise her child without interference from the state is not
diminished by the death of the other parent.
	Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 302(a)(1) (134 Ill. 2d R.
302(a)(1)), appeal lies directly to this court because the circuit
court declared an Illinois statute invalid.
	Section 607(b) of the Act provides, in pertinent part:
			"(1) The court may grant reasonable visitation
privileges to a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling
of any minor child upon petition to the court by the
grandparents or great-grandparents or on behalf of the
sibling *** if the court determines that it is in the best
interests and welfare of the child ***. *** [A] petition for
visitation privileges may be filed under this paragraph ***
if one or more of the following circumstances exist:
				(A) the parents are not currently cohabiting on a
permanent basis or an indefinite basis;
				(B) one of the parents has been absent from the
marital abode for more than one month without the
spouse knowing his or her whereabouts;
				(C) one of the parents is deceased;
				(D) one of the parents joins in the petition with the
grandparents, great-grandparents, or sibling; or
				(E) a sibling is in State custody.
* * *
			(3) When one parent is deceased, the surviving parent
shall not interfere with the visitation rights of the
grandparents."
	The specific issue presented by this case is whether sections
607(b)(1)(C) and 607(b)(3), as applied to a surviving parent, are
unconstitutional because they violate the parent's fundamental
constitutional right, under the due process clauses of the fourteenth
amendment to the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amend.
XIV) and article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const.
1970, art. I, §2), to make decisions regarding the care, custody, and
control of her child without undue interference from the State. 
	However, this court recently held in Wickham v. Byrne, 199 Ill. 2d 309 (2002), that section 607(b), in its entirety, is facially
unconstitutional. We, therefore, affirm the decision of the circuit
court, albeit on different grounds.

CONCLUSION
	Because the statute authorizing the Schweigerts to bring their
petition for visitation is unconstitutional on its face, the order of
the circuit court, dismissing their petition, is affirmed.
Affirmed.