Opinion ID: 1986430
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: issues

Text: Joe and Lois urge several grounds for reversal. First they contend the Supreme Court's decision in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000), holding Washington's grandparent visitation statute unconstitutional as applied, is not controlling insofar as Iowa's statute is concerned. Second they challenge the district court's decision to apply strict scrutiny in its review of section 598.35(7), arguing the intrusion on families posed by grandparent visitation is minimal and requires only satisfaction of the rational basis test. Third they contend that, even applying strict scrutiny, the statute passes constitutional muster because the state need not make a threshold showing of harm to establish a compelling interest in maintaining grandparent-grandchild bonds. Alternatively, if proof of substantial harm must be shown to justify the state's intrusion in a parent's decision, they claim the requirement is already embodied in the protections section 598.35(7) affords parents. Mike and Heather counter that, while Troxel may not control the outcome of this appeal, infirmities identified by the Court in the Washington statute apply with equal force to the statute before us, particularly the fact that section 598.35(7) accords no deference to parental decision making. They also contend the district court properly applied strict scrutiny, stressing Troxel's reaffirmation of the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children without state interference. In doing so, Mike and Heather argue, the Court thereby rejected any argument that court-ordered grandparent visitation creates only minimal intrusion warranting lower-level scrutiny.