Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 29 (2000)

Page:   Index   Previous  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  Next

Cite as: 530 U. S. 57 (2000)

Stevens, J., dissenting

preme Court decision that merely requires the state legislature to draft a better statute.

Having decided to address the merits, however, the Court should begin by recognizing that the State Supreme Court rendered a federal constitutional judgment holding a state law invalid on its face. In light of that judgment, I believe that we should confront the federal questions presented directly. For the Washington statute is not made facially invalid either because it may be invoked by too many hypothetical plaintiffs, or because it leaves open the possibility that someone may be permitted to sustain a relationship with a child without having to prove that serious harm to the child would otherwise result.

I

In response to Tommie Granville's federal constitutional challenge, the State Supreme Court broadly held that Wash. Rev. Code § 26.10.160(3) (Supp. 1996) was invalid on its face under the Federal Constitution.1 Despite the nature of this judgment, Justice O'Connor would hold that the Washington visitation statute violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment only as applied. Ante, at 65, 67, 73 (plurality opinion). I agree with Justice Souter, ante, at 75-76, and n. 1 (opinion concurring in judgment), that this approach is untenable.

The task of reviewing a trial court's application of a state statute to the particular facts of a case is one that should be performed in the first instance by the state appellate courts. In this case, because of their views of the Federal Constitution, the Washington state appeals courts have yet to decide whether the trial court's findings were adequate under the

1 The State Supreme Court held that, "as written, the statutes violate the parents' constitutionally protected interests." In re Smith, 137 Wash. 2d 1, 5, 969 P. 2d 21, 23 (1998).

81

Page:   Index   Previous  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  Next

Last modified: October 4, 2007