Parental Authority on Trial

By James Hirsen

Computer screens, tablets, and smart phones across America have been filled with the unsettling images of a couple in a New Jersey courtroom, the two reduced to tears over a lawsuit that was being lodged against them by their own 18 year-old daughter. The parents found themselves in the position of being defendants at the Morris County Courthouse as a result of a lawsuit that was initiated by their plaintiff daughter after she had moved out of their home.

The parents found themselves in the position of being defendants at the Morris County Courthouse as a result of a lawsuit that was initiated by their plaintiff daughter after she had moved out of their home. Being the stuff of any parent’s nightmares, the story predictably went viral. Rachel Canning, a New Jersey high school student, had essentially taken to the court to ask for the use of the force of government to interfere with commonplace parental discretion.

She asserted that her parents had requested she leave her home shortly after turning 18 because they had objections regarding her choice of boyfriend. Mr. and Mrs. Canning contended that their daughter had made her own decision to move out because she did not wish to abide by the family rules that they had established. The honor student and cheerleader at a Catholic high school has already lost the first round of her case. [more...]