Stephanie F. v. George C.
Annotate this CaseStephanie F. and George C. both sought physical and legal custody of their son and daughter. Following lengthy proceedings, the superior court found that it would be in the children's best interests for custody to be awarded to George. But the court also found that George committed two acts of violence against Stephanie in the months leading up to their separation. The acts were described by the court as "situational violence" not reflective of a chronic pattern, but still a history of violence under AS 25.24.150(g). As a result, a statutory presumption against awarding custody to George was triggered. The superior court concluded that George did not rebut the presumption because he did not complete a batterers' intervention program. Assuming (without deciding) that the perceived conflict between the statutory presumption and the children's best interests likely violated the children's and George's right to due process, the superior court avoided the presumed constitutional question by articulating an alternate standard for overcoming the statutory presumption. Stephanie appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that because the completion of a batterers' intervention program is not the only way to rebut the presumption in AS 25.24.150(g), and because the statute does not prevent the superior court from conducting a complete best interests analysis, the statute did not raise due process concerns. The superior court did not abuse its discretion or make clearly erroneous findings of fact when it ruled that it was in the children's best interests to be with George, but it did not consider whether the steps George took to address his history of domestic violence rebutted the presumption in AS 25.24.150(g). Accordingly, the Court remanded the case for consideration of that issue.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.