SooHoo v. Johnson
Minnesota Supreme Court
731 N.W.2d 815 (2007)
Nancy SooHoo (plaintiff) and Marilyn Johnson (defendant) were partners for 22 years and jointly raised two children Marilyn had adopted, with Nancy acting in loco parentis despite never formally adopting them; after the couple separated, Nancy went nearly six months without seeing the children before petitioning for visitation under a Minnesota statute allowing third-party visitation for someone who resided with a child for two or more years but no longer lives in the home. The trial court, placing the burden on Marilyn to disprove interference with her parental relationship, granted Nancy scheduled visitation based on the children's strong emotional ties to her; the court of appeals affirmed, and Marilyn appealed further, challenging the statute's constitutionality.
Whether a statute allowing a third party to petition a court for visitation, where that party has recently resided in a household with a child for two or more years, is unconstitutional.