Lauren N. Stone v. Theodore Worner, et al.

Does Pennsylvania’s Child Custody Act, 23 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5325, permitting a judge to grant to a grandparent, over a fit parent’s objection, partial physical custody of a child where the other parent is deceased, violate the fit parent’s right under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? • Is a fit parent’s constitutional right, most recently addressed in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 64, 120 S. Ct. 2054, 147 L. Ed. 2d 49 (2000), a fundamental right? • Must state laws restricting a fit parent’s right, such as the grandparent visitation statute like Pennsylvania’s, pass strict scrutiny review, or does lesser scrutiny apply? • Must a court order compelling custody or visitation over a fit parent’s objection be premised on a finding of harm or potential harm to the child? • Does the state court decision in Petitioner’s case violate Troxel’s holding that a fit parent’s constitutional right cannot be overridden simply because a judge believes another decision is better for the child?