Case Name: John Arden CORYELL, Jr., Appellant, v. Sandra Lee MORRIS and Thomas Edward Morris, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1999-03-26
Citations: 730 So. 2d 373
Docket Number: No. 98-01156
Parties: John Arden CORYELL, Jr., Appellant, v. Sandra Lee MORRIS and Thomas Edward Morris, Appellees.
Judges: ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and GREEN, J., Concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 730
Pages: 373–373

Head Matter:
John Arden CORYELL, Jr., Appellant, v. Sandra Lee MORRIS and Thomas Edward Morris, Appellees.
No. 98-01156.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
March 26, 1999.
Karol K. Williams and Allison M. Perry of Law Office of Karol K. Williams, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant.
Eileen H. Griffin, Brandon, for Appellees.

Opinion:
WHATLEY, Judge.
John Coryell, the father, appeals an order awarding grandparent visitation rights to Sandra and Thomas Morris, his ex-wife's parents, pursuant to section 752.01(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1997). He argues that section 752.01(1)(a) is unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court's decision in Von Eiff v. Azicri, 720 So.2d 510 (Fla.1998), compels us to reverse. In Von Eijf, the court held that the government may not interfere in a parent's decision regarding grandparental visitation without a showing of a compelling state interest and that no compelling state interest underlies subsection 752.01(1)(a). 720 So.2d at 516-517. Therefore, the supreme court concluded that this subsection is facially unconstitutional. Id.
Reversed.
ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and GREEN, J., Concur.
. Coryell was divorced from the child's biological mother at the time the mother was murdered in 1997.