Rich

The United States Supreme Court has said: “ ‘[T]he custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.’ ” (Troxel v. Granville (2000) 530 U.S. 57, 65-66 [ 147 L.Ed.2d 49, 56-57 , 120 S.Ct. 2054 ] (plur. opn.).) As we shall explain, “first” means first. A fit parent has a federal due process constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of his or her child. (530 U.S. at pp. 57, 58, 62.) This includes the right to limit visitation of the child by a third party, even a grandparent. But the right is not absolute. A family law court may order grandparent visitation upon a proper showing. No such showing was made here.

Carol Rich (grandmother) appeals from an order denying her request for visitation with her four-year-old grandchild (grandchild). The request was made pursuant to Family Code section 3102. 1 Grandmother contends that (1) the trial court erroneously required grandmother to show by clear and convincing evidence that the denial of grandparent visitation would be detrimental to grandchild and (2) the court…