DeSantis v. Pegues

Crawford, Supr. J.,

¶45. Specially Assigned, dissenting. I dissent from the majority decision because I disagree with the application of a clear-and-convincing-evidenee standard to family court decisions about parent-child contact in divorce and parentage cases. A higher standard of proof is constitutionally mandated in cases in which the state seeks to deprive an individual of a liberty interest so that the possibility of error is borne more heavily by the state. In disputes over custody and visitation between individuals, however, the higher burden simply shifts the possibility of error from…