Frowner v. Smith

This is a child-custody dispute between a noncustodial father and the child’s maternal grandparents, the boy’s third-party custodians. The circuit court refused to evaluate whether the child’s best interests would be served by awarding custody to Lamonte Smith, the boy’s father, based on its determination that Smith failed to demonstrate proper cause or change of circumstances. Contrary to the circuit court’s ruling, the constitutionally based presumption in favor of a natural parent supplies the threshold showing required *376for an evidentiary hearing. Because the circuit court’s decision…