Johnson v. Johnson

Rudy Johnson (plaintiff) filed for divorce from Linda Johnson (defendant); both had practiced as Jehovah's Witnesses, but the marriage deteriorated after Rudy became disenchanted with and was excommunicated from the church, while Linda remained a member despite Rudy's pleas. At trial, Rudy argued that if denied custody he would have virtually no involvement in the children's lives because church rules barred Linda and the children from associating with him, and a psychologist and family counselor testified on his behalf that the children's development would be better served living with him and being exposed to broader real-world experiences; Linda offered no rebuttal evidence, yet the trial court awarded Linda physical custody based on the tender-years presumption while giving both parents joint legal custody, and Rudy appealed.