This afternoon (April 14), Judge Gerald W. Hardcastle referred to a Nevada Supreme Court opinion as the basis for deciding to return a child to the custody of her grandmother. The child had been placed by Judge Hardcastle in the custody of foster parents; however, the Nevada Supreme Court returned the case to Judge Hardcastle in March 2006 for review.
The case, the subject of 122 Nev.Adv.Op.No.27, determined a higher standard must be followed in cases involving familial rights and concluded the District Court “failed to give Maria (the grandmother) the benefit of the familial preference for placement.” The Supreme Court also determined Judge Hardcastle had erred in giving “improper weight to the foster parents’ wishes when determining N.S.’s (the child’s) best interest.”
During today’s hearing, Judge Hardcastle ordered the State to recognize the grandmother as the child’s legal guardian. In making his decision, he concluded the State could not show a detrimental outcome would occur - taking precedence over the Supreme Court’s familial standard - if the child was removed from the custody of the foster parents and returned to the custody of the grandmother.
