Opinion ID: 1493723
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Troxel and Rideout

Text: [¶ 7] Our analysis of this question begins with the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000), and of this Court in Rideout v. Riendeau, 2000 ME 198, 761 A.2d 291. Although in neither case was a single opinion joined by the majority of the court, [4] the plurality opinions in both cases offer significant guidance on the substantive due process implications of a statute providing for court-ordered grandparent visitation. [¶ 8] In Troxel, the Supreme Court considered an order granting visitation to the paternal grandparents of two girls whose father was deceased, over the objections of their mother. 530 U.S. at 60-61, 120 S.Ct. 2054. The Washington statute at issue allowed a court to grant visitation to any person at any time if the court found visitation to be in the best interest of the child. Id. at 61, 120 S.Ct. 2054. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the state supreme court holding the statute to be unconstitutional. Id. at 63, 120 S.Ct. 2054. Justice O'Connor's plurality opinion concluded that the statute, as applied, violated the mother's fundamental substantive due process right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of her children. Id. at 72, 75, 120 S.Ct. 2054. This conclusion rested on the sweeping breadth of the statute and the fact that the trial court had applied a presumption in favor of grandparent visitation rather than deferring to the mother's judgment on whether visitation was in the best interest of the children. Id. at 67-73, 120 S.Ct. 2054. According to the plurality, such a decision by a fit parent must be given special weight, and can only be interfered with by the state on a showing of special factors. Id. at 68-69, 120 S.Ct. 2054. The plurality declined to decide whether such special factors are limited to harm or potential harm to the child, because there were no special factors present that could justify the trial court's order of visitation. [5] Id. at 73, 120 S.Ct. 2054. [¶ 9] In Rideout, this Court examined the constitutionality of court-ordered visitation under the Maine Act in a situation where the grandparents asserted standing pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 1803(1)(B) (1998) based on a sufficient existing relationship with their grandchildren. 2000 ME 198, ¶ 17, 761 A.2d at 299. The District Court found that the grandparents met the statutory criteria and would be entitled to visitation, but held the Act to be unconstitutional and so dismissed the petition. Id. ¶ 6, 761 A.2d at 295. We vacated the judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Id. ¶ 34, 761 A.2d at 303. [¶ 10] Justice Saufley's plurality opinion upheld the Act as applied against the parents' substantive due process challenge. Id. ¶ 33, 761 A.2d at 303. Because an order of visitation against the parents' wishes infringes upon a fundamental right that is well-established in Maine and federal precedent, the statute had to withstand strict scrutiny, which requires that the infringement be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. Id. ¶¶ 18-20, 761 A.2d at 299-300. The plurality concluded that a compelling state interest in interfering with the decision-making of a fit parent may exist not only when there is a threat of harm to the child, narrowly defined, but also when other urgent reasons are present. Id. ¶¶ 23-24, 761 A.2d at 300-01. One such urgent reason is the preservation of an existing relationship between grandparents and grandchildren when the grandparents functioned as parents to the children for a significant period of time, as the Rideouts alleged that they had done. Id. ¶¶ 25-27, 761 A.2d at 301-02. [¶ 11] The plurality next considered whether the Act was narrowly tailored to serve this compelling interest, and concluded that it was. Id. ¶¶ 29, 33, 761 A.2d at 302-03. In sharp contrast to the statute at issue in Troxel, the Maine Act contains multiple layers of protections before grandparent visitation can be ordered: the grandparent must first establish standing; the court must consider the parent's objections; and the court may order visitation only if it would not significantly interfere with the parent-child relationship or the parent's rightful authority. Id. ¶¶ 29-32, 761 A.2d at 302-03. The plurality thus concluded that the Act could be applied without violating the parents' constitutional rights. [6] Id. ¶ 33, 761 A.2d at 303.