In Re the Marriage of Graziano

*599HARRIS, Justice.

Our choice in this appeal from a child custody determination is unusually difficult. This difficulty is not the common one — choosing which of two competing parties should be awarded custody, inevitably an onerous task. The problem here is whether we can reach the merits and resolve the most crucial phase of a sad dispute. The challenged trial court determination was unquestionably an interlocutory ruling and therefore not appealable as a matter of right. As happens, not routinely but with disappointing frequency, the disappointed party filed a notice of appeal without first…