The Ethics of Judicial Decision-Making Regarding Custody of Minor Children: Looking at the Best Interests of the Child and the Primary Caretaker Standards as Utility Rules

This article will examine how a judge\u27s ethical framework can influence the outcome of a custody award, even where the same child-centered standard is ostensibly being used. This article uses three cases from the Supreme Court of Nebraska to demonstrate that the best interests of the child standard can be used: 1) to award a parent custody because parents have near absolute rights (an example of rule deontology); 2) to deny a parent custody because the par ent is unfit (an example of rule utilitarianism); or 3) to deny a parent custody because the child\u27s life needs stability (an example of act utilitarianism)