9 Va. App. 217 - Mason v. Moon’s Empirical Analysis
1989
Citation profile
14
cited by 14 later decisions
1
states following
October 2009
most recently cited
14 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on 2 Va. App. 178 - Venable v. Venable · Bailes v. Sours · Wilkerson v. Wilkerson · Walker v. Brooks · Shortridge v. Deel
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In all child custody cases, including those between a parent and nonparent, the best interests of the child are paramount and form the lodestar for the guidance of the court in determining the dispute .... In custody disputes between a natural parent and a nonparent, the law presumes the best interest of the child will be served when in the custody of the natural parent .... Based on this presumption, the rights of the [natural] parents may not be lightly severed but are to be respected if at all consonant with the best interest of the child.... To overcome the strong presumption favoring a parent, the nonparent must adduce by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) the parents are unfit; (2) a court previously has granted an order of divestiture; (3) the parents voluntarily relinquished custody; (4) the parents abandoned the child; or (5) special facts and circumstances constitute extraordinary reasons to take the child from the parents.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.