In the matter of: Bianca Arneshe Askew, Dorothy Lewis v. Julie Donoho

In this child custody case involving Bianca Arneshe Askew, now age eight years and nine months, we consider the competing claims between the child’s natural mother, Julie Donoho, and Dorothy Lewis, who presently has physical custody of the child. The lower courts found that a prior court order had granted custody to Ms. Lewis and that Ms. Donoho had failed to satisfy her burden of proving that custody should be restored to her. Because we find that Ms. Donoho’s constitutional right as a parent has been abridged, due to the absence of a showing of unfitness or of substantial harm, we reverse the decisions of the lower courts.