Court Opinion

ID: 9666842
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:28:47.740795+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:32.911818
License: Public Domain

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice,
concurring in the result.
Despite my reluctance to reverse a trial court in these matters, see Barstad v. Barstad, 499 N.W.2d 584, 589 (N.D.1993) [VandeWalle, C.J., dissenting], I concur in the result reached by the majority.
In reaching its decision in this case, the trial court relied on the statements in the majority opinion in Hanson v. Hanson, 404 N.W.2d 460 (N.D.1987), where the majority reversed the trial court’s decision limiting religious topics during visitation with the father despite a finding by the trial court, based on evidence in the record, that the father’s statements to the children about his beliefs concerning the mother’s religion were emotionally damaging to the children. I dissented to that portion of the majority’s decision reversing the trial court. Hanson, supra at 467 [VandeWalle, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part]. I join the majority’s result today because it is apparent that the trial court was misled by the majority opinion in Hanson as to the evidence of physical or emotional harm to the child nec*293essary for religious beliefs to be a determining factor in its decision.