In re Custody of Temos

Glenn and Cathy Temos were the parents of seven-year-old Jessica and six-year-old Andrew. After Glenn and Cathy divorced, they entered into a separation agreement providing that Cathy would have custody of the children for 10 months per year and Glenn would have custody for two months each summer. Cathy owned a townhome in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and worked at a local hospital, while Glenn’s job transferred him to Utah. In the spring of 1981, Andrew went to live with Glenn in Utah, and Jessica joined them that summer. At the end of the summer, Jessica returned to Cathy’s home, but Glenn refused to return Andrew. Litigation ensued. As part of the litigation, a home study of Cathy’s home was conducted, and it was quite positive: it noted her well-kept and child-friendly neighborhood, clean home, effective parenting skills, and job stability, and mentioned that Jessica and Andrew appeared happy and well adjusted. The lower court nevertheless awarded custody of the children to Glenn. In its decision, the court did not refer to the home-study report—rather, it noted that Cathy, who was White, was in a romantic relationship with Wilburt Banks, who was Black and married to another woman. The court speculated that Cathy was involved in a financial transaction with the intention of helping Banks skirt the bankruptcy court. It also stated that Cathy had become increasingly career-oriented since her divorce from Glenn and had relied on babysitters. Cathy had regular work hours, her job was 10 minutes from her home, and she brought her children to school and ate dinner with them each night. Glenn worked similar hours. The trial court noted by contrast that Glenn was in a new “stable, loving marriage” with Darlene Temos, who did not work, and could provide a “normal, stable, and secure environment.” Cathy appealed.