His dissent will no doubt persuade some on the right that parental rights truly are no business of the courts. What it ought to do, though, is alter their view of the Constitution and the courts. Brad Troxel and Tommie Granville produced two daughters out of wedlock, and after the couple separated, his parents spent considerable time with the girls. But following Brad Troxel's 1993 suicide, Tommie Granville decided that the demands on her daughters' time from relatives was getting excessive and limited the Troxels' visits to one afternoon a month. Tommie Granville thinks her children would be better off spending less time with their grandparents.
Nostalgic judge disagrees.
At least, that is, until the case gets to the Supreme Court, which despite being loaded with grandparents who are also judges, found the ruling outrageous. The visitation order in this case was an unconstitutional infringement on Granville's fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of her two daughters. Deference to parents over outsiders, even if the outsiders happen to be relatives, is a bedrock conservative principle. So it was not surprising to hear applause from groups like Gary Bauer's Family Research Council. But he said that his personal opinion is no grounds for striking down a statute enacted by state elected officials, who are better suited than federal judges to make family law.