Court Opinion

ID: 9569999
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:19:14.139908+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:04:35.773133
License: Public Domain

DIMOND, Justice Pro Tem.
(concurring).
The court holds that where there is a dispute over custody of a child between a parent and non-parent, the parent must be awarded custody unless the superior court determines that the parent is unfit, has abandoned the child or that the welfare of the child requires that the non-parent receive custody. The court also holds that in order to satisfy the “welfare of the child” requirement, the non-parent must show that it clearly would be detrimental to the child to permit the parent to have custody.
The court draws a distinction between the “welfare of the child” requirement and the test of what might serve the child’s “best interests”. If there is a distinction between the two concepts, it is not difficult to conceive of a situation where a parent’s custody would not be detrimental to the child, but where the child’s “best interests”, whatever that term connotes, would be better served by placing custody in the non-parent. This seems to create a dichotomy between “welfare” and “best interests” which is not easy to comprehend.
I believe the basic concept that governs this case is the fundamental natural right of parents to nurture and direct the destiny of their children. This is a truth which one discovers by reason, and has the status of knowledge rather than mere opinion. Nature has instilled in man a love for his children; an intimate bond, by nature, exists between parent and child.1 It would be repugnant to the natural law to deprive a parent of the right to rear his children, except for the most grave reasons.2 The family is one of the oldest institutions known to mankind3 and forms the basic *1056unit of our society. The family should enjoy considerable autonomy and independence from state interference.4
If the rule were otherwise, we would be taking a step toward a totalitarian government. Children could be removed from their parents’ custody at the will of the state, depending upon what some governmental petty tyrant decides is meant by the term “welfare” or “best interests” of the children. Such a state of affairs would be entirely contrary to the form of government envisioned by the founding fathers of our nation.
I agree with the court’s conclusion that in order to satisfy the “welfare of the child” requirement, the non-parent must show that it clearly would be detrimental to the child to permit the parent to have custody. I concur with the court’s determination to place custody of ' the child, Roberta, in her mother.

. Bodenheimer, Jurisprudence, 188 (1967).

. See People v. Shepsky, 305 N.Y. 465, 113 N.E.2d 801, 803-04 (1953); State of Utah, in the Interest of L.J.J., et al., minor children, 11 Utah 2d 393, 360 P.2d 486, 488 (1961); Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 400, 43 S.Ct. 625, 627, 67 L.Ed. 1042, 1045 (1923).

. Bodenheimer, Jurisprudence, 138 (1967).

. Id.