In re Smith v. Smith

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

WALLER, Chief Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. William and Sarah Smith are the grandparents of Jason Wells. Jason’s mother, Tara Wells, is Sarah’s daughter.1 The Smiths filed a petition for temporary and permanent custody of Jason. They later filed a separate petition for adoption and to terminate the parental rights of Tara and Robert Johnson, the biological father. The chancellor declined to terminate Tara’s and Robert’s parental rights but awarded the Smiths primary custody of Jason. In awarding the Smiths custody, the chancellor found that Tara had “by her long and…