ADF-allied attorney available to media after parental rights hearing

WHO:     ADF-allied attorney David Dye
WHAT:        Available for media interviews on Deeter v. Harner
WHEN:        Wed. October 21, immediately after the hearing which begins at 9 a.m. EDT
WHERE:      Pennsylvania Superior Court, Main Capitol Building, Courtroom 437, Harrisburg

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney David Dye will be available for media interviews after oral arguments Wednesday in Deeter v. Harner. Dye and ADF-allied attorney Andrea Shaw, both with the Lancaster firm of Clymer & Musser, P.C., are representing a Perry County man in a parental custody battle over his daughter with the husband of his deceased ex-wife.

 “The fundamental rights of parents to raise children the way they see fit should not be threatened by the wishes and desires of a legal stranger,” said Dye. “Granting parental rights to someone who never had custody over the objection of a fit natural parent is a very dangerous precedent and harms both the father and the child.”

Eric Harner and his wife divorced when his daughter was three years old. The couple had joint legal custody, with the mother having primary physical custody and Harner partial physical custody. Harner always remained active and involved in his daughter’s life, exercising and guarding his custodial rights. Both Harner and his wife remarried and shortly after her remarriage, Harner’s wife passed away. Consequently, Harner took full custody.

Harner’s wife’s second husband subsequently filed for custody over the objection of Harner. A judge awarded the step-father standing and partial physical and legal custody to the child, taking the daughter away from her own father in favor of a legal stranger.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.