Grandparents Get Day In Court
Kita Stephenson of Salisbury, Maryland didn't get along with her own mother when she was growing up. So once she had children of her own, she sought to limit her mother's access. Her mother sued, they all went to court and Kita finally won.
"When you have an outsider demanding court-ordered visitation, you're taking away so much and you're fragmenting the family," says Stephenson.
But what is an "outsider"? In fact, what is a family? In one of the most compelling cases it's ever tackled, the Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday that ask those questions; specifically, whether grandparents, other relatives or even non-relatives should be able to get a court order to visit with children, even when the parents object.
The case originated with grandparents Jennifer and Gary Troxel of Washington state, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.
The Troxels have not seen either of their grandchildren in months, but say they had a great relationship with them before they were prevented from seeing them.
The girls' father, Brad Troxel, committed suicide in 1993, and their mother won't allow his parents to visit her daughters.
"If we're a stable family and we can offer these girls a little bit more and a loving relationship," Mrs. Troxel told CBS News Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel, "I think it's better for the girls all around."
Six of the nine Supreme Court Justices are grandparents themselves, and it was clear from their questioning that this will be no easy decision.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist worried aloud, for instance, that some "great aunt" might "come in and say, 'I want to take (the child) to the movies every Friday.'" Justice Stephen Breyer, meanwhile, noted the "special relationship" that exists between some grandparents and their grandchildren.
It's a relationship that all 50 states now legally recognize, reports CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone.
"There's been a tug of war that's heated up over the last 10 years in which the elder lobby, which is one of the most powerful lobbies in the country, has pushed for legislation that expands grandparent visitation rights, says Joan Catherine Bohl of the Southwestern School of Law.
While lawmakers have been eager to protect grandparents, courts have generally ruled the rights of parents come first.
"Parents, good parents have the right to decide what's best for their own children," says Bohl.
But this inter-generational fight is leading to more and more bruising and costly court battles.
"I won the case, but I'm not a winner," says Kita Stephenson. "I didn't win. My husband didn't win. My children didn't win."
And that's something even a Supreme Court decision is unlikely to change. In cases like these, everyone always loses something.