Grandparent Visitation Order Based on Diagnostic Evaluation of Parent, Children, and Grandparents Upheld; Ruling Not Disturbed

Moriarty v. Bradt, 827 A.2d 203 (N.J. 2003), at http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/ courts/supreme/a-145-01.opn.html,  cert. denied, 124 S. Ct. 1408 (2004)

Historically, grandparents had no legal right to petition for court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren.  Today, every state has enacted legislation that authorizes such orders under certain circumstances despite the objection of the children's parents. Although the U.S. Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville (2000) struck down what it characterized as the "breathtakingly broad" grandparent visitation statute enacted by the State of Washington, it did not find such statutes to be inherently unconstitutional and its deeply splintered opinion provided little guidance to courts reviewing the enactments of other states...

Found in DMHL Volume 24 Issue 2