Equal Protection Guarantees in Child Custody Determinations: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits family courts from rationing parenting time or awarding primary custody based on gender stereotypes, maternal preferences, or traditional marital roles (Palmore v. Sidoti). Both fit parents possess equal, fundamental constitutional standing to raise their children. State practices creating unequal custody awards violate constitutional mandates unless justified by a compelling state interest executed through least restrictive means.
"Parents have a constitutional right to be presumed fit until proven unfit. Fit parents are presumed to be acting in the best interest of their child until proven to pose through their own illegal acts or omissions a direct danger to their child or to be found unfit."
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Fix Family Courts provides parents, attorneys, and family advocates with rigorous constitutional frameworks to safeguard fundamental parental rights. Under binding Supreme Court precedents including Troxel v. Granville, Santosky v. Kramer, and Pierce v. Society of Sisters, fit parents are constitutionally presumed to act in their children's best interests. State courts lack constitutional authority to abridge custody, parenting time, or parental decision-making without strict scrutiny and clear and convincing evidence.
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