Court Opinion

ID: 9691195
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 20:16:14.355686+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:12.768250
License: Public Domain

HARRIS, Justice
(dissenting).
The sole question for our de novo review is whether it is in the best interests of this four-year-old child to be placed in the custody of his father or with his mother. I dissent because I think his interests demand that he be placed with his father.
Although she was only twenty-nine at the time of trial the mother was already a veteran of three unsuccessful marriages and at least three extramarital affairs.
I no way imply that her conduct calls for punishment; punishment is not the issue. What is at issue is the mother’s stability, and her penchant for meretricious relationships with men of various ages is no sign of stability. It is an unmistakable and ominous sign of her inadequacy to nurture the development of this son during the formative years ahead.
There are other signs as well. I am persuaded by the testimony that she lacked even the most rudimentary ability to manage simple family finances. She has never held a full-time job for as long as six months and is a careless spender. I am more than a little disquieted by the testimony that she may have engaged in shoplifting. She seems tragically immature.
I do not pretend the father is without blemish. But by way of comparison of general conduct, work record, and overall stability, he towers over the mother. The majority seems to turn the issue on the fact that the mother at present has custody of one of her children by prior marriages. Although I concede this is a factor favoring the mother, it is the only one, and pales when measured against her lack of maturity. I agree with the court of appeals’ majority and would reverse the trial court.
McGIVERIN and SCHULTZ, JJ., join this dissent.