ADF-allied attorneys appeal important parental rights case to U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorneys filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court Monday in a significant Pennsylvania parental rights case. The appeal asks the court to determine whether a state that permits any legal stranger to seek custody of a child over the objections of the child’s fit parents violates the parents’ constitutional right to raise their own children.

David Dye and Leonard Brown, both with the Pennsylvania firm of Clymer, Musser, Brown & Conrad, P.C., and two of nearly 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance, represent Eric Harner, 44, of Sunbury, Pa. The husband of Harner’s deceased ex-wife sued for custody of Harner’s daughter even though Harner has never been found to be an unfit parent. The appeal argues that a state court should not deny a fit parent his fundamental right to parent his own child without first establishing a compelling state interest, which the Pennsylvania courts failed to do.

“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, over the objection of a fit natural parent, to someone who never had custody is a very dangerous precedent and harms both the father and the child.”

“The failure of the Pennsylvania courts to rectify this problem has allowed a serious violation of Mr. Harner’s rights protected by the U.S. Constitution to stand,” added Brown.

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 exercised and guarded his custodial rights by remaining active and involved in his daughter’s life. 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, who never had legal custody, subsequently filed for custody over the objection of Harner. A judge awarded the step-father standing and partial physical and legal custody of the child, thereby taking the daughter away from her own father in favor of a legal stranger. After an appeal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied review in the case, now titled E.S.H. v. K.D.

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.

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