D.P. v. G.J.P.

OPINION

CHIEF JUSTICE SAYLOR

This is a direct appeal from a common pleas court order invalidating a statutory provision giving grandparents standing to seek custody of their minor grandchildren. The question presented is whether the parents’ fundamental rights are violated by the conferral of standing based solely on a parental separation lasting at least six months.

The material facts are uncontested. Ap-pellees G.J.P. and A.P. (“Parents”) married in 2006 and had three children, all of whom are still minors. Parents separated in October 2012, albeit they did not initiate divorce proceedings.…