Stanley v. Illinois – Child Custody
Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972).
NATURE OF THE CASE: This lawsuit involved a dispute over the custody rights of unwed fathers.
FACTS: Joan and Peter Stanley lived together for 18 years and had three children. Joan died and under Illinois state law, the children of unwed fathers became wards of the State. The state of Illinois took the children from Stanley in a dependency proceeding, declared them wards of the state, and placed them in the care of court appointed guardians.
Stanley appealed claiming that he had never been shown to be an unfit parent, and that depriving unwed mothers and fathers of their children without such a showing was a violation of equal protection. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision and the United States Supreme Court granted cert.
ISSUES: 1) Can unwed fathers be presumed unfit to raise their children? 2) Does a putative father with an established relationship with his children have a liberty interest in the companionship, care, custody, and management of his children, and does that interest warrant protection absent a powerful countervailing interest? 3) Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may a statutory scheme to determine unfitness foreclose the determinative issues of competence and care?
RULE OF LAW: 1) No. Unwed fathers cannot be presumed unfit to raise their children. 2) Yes. A putative father with an established relationship with his children has a liberty interest in the companionship, care, custody, and management of his children and that interest warrants protection absent a powerful countervailing interest. 3) No. Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a statutory scheme to determine unfitness may not foreclose the determinative issues of competence and care.
HOLDING AND DECISION (White): The Supreme Court held that the statute at issue in this case empowers to the State to circumvent neglect proceedings on the theory that an unwed father is not a parent whose existing relationship with the children must be considered. A parent is defined under that statute as a father and mother of a legitimate child. Under the statute, an unwed father’s claim of parental qualification is irrelevant. The Supreme Court held that under prior case law and determinations, Stanley’s interest in retaining custody of his children was cognizable and substantial.
The Supreme Court held that there is no interest in separating a fit parent from his children and this is precisely what this statute does. We must hold that unmarried parents are entitled to a hearing before their parental rights may be terminated. Stanley was denied such a hearing and as such, the judgment of the Illinois Supreme Court must be overruled.
DISPOSITION: Reversed and remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
Concurring and Dissenting (Burger): I am unable to construe equal protection as requiring a State to tailor its statutory definition of parents to include such unusual unwed fathers while excluding those unwed and generally unidentified biological fathers who do not share Stanley’s professed desires.