MISSISSIPPI’S GRANDPARENT VISITATION STATUTE IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Mississippi law in Section 93-16-3(1), provides for grandparent visitation:

(1) Whenever a court of this state enters a decree or order awarding custody of a minor child to one (1) of the parents of the child or terminating the parental rights of one (1) of the parents of a minor child, or whenever one (1) of the parents of a minor child dies, either parent of the child’s parents may petition the court in which the decree or order was rendered or, in the case of the death of a parent, petition the chancery court in the county in which the child resides, and seek visitation rights with the child.
Miss. Code. Ann. § 93-16-3(1) (Supp. 2011).

In the 1997 case of Martin v. Coop, 693 So. 2d 912, 916 (Miss. 1997) the Court set forth ten factors for courts to consider in awarding grandparent visitation:

As always, the best interest of the child must be the polestar consideration. The visitation should be less than that which would be awarded to a non-custodial parent, unless the circumstances overwhelming dictate that that amount of visitation is in the best interest of the child, and it would be harmful to the child not to grant it. The following factors should be considered by the chancery court in determining grandparent visitation, and no one should be weighed more heavily than the others.

1. The amount of disruption that extensive visitation will have on the child’s life. This includes disruption of school activities, summer activities, as well as any disruption that might take place between the natural parent and the child as a result of the child being away from home for extensive lengths of time.
2. The suitability of the grandparents’ home with respect to the amount of supervision received by the child.
3. The age of the child.
4. The age, and physical and mental health of the grandparents.
5. The emotional ties between the grandparents and the grandchild.
6. The moral fitness of the grandparents.
7. The distance of the grandparents’ home from the child’s home.
8. Any undermining of the parent’s general discipline of the child.
9. Employment of the grandparents and the responsibilities associated with that employment.
10. The willingness of the grandparents to accept that the rearing of the child is the responsibility of the parent, and that the parent’s manner of child rearing is not to be interfered with by the grandparents.

The Court distinguished Mississippi’s statute and decisions  from the Supreme Court’s decision in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57(2000) which struck down a Washington state statute allowing any person to seek visitation, stating that Mississippi’s statute is more narrow in that it only allows for grandparent visitation and that the Supreme Court in Troxel specifically left open the possibility for legal grandparent visitation statutes.