## Facts

- Sharon Lynne Bottoms (mother) gave birth to Tyler in July 1991.
- Tyler spent much of his early life in the care of Pamela Kay Bottoms (maternal grandmother).
- The mother initially lived with the grandmother, then moved with Tyler into the home of her female partner and maintained an openly lesbian relationship.
- The mother acknowledged conduct the trial court considered relevant to fitness, including hitting Tyler twice, cursing in front of him, and relying on welfare for about a year.
- Evidence at trial addressed Tyler’s behavior and adjustment, the stability of each household, and the child’s moral environment.
- Court-appointed experts did not find that Tyler suffered ill effects from living with his mother and her partner.
- The mother alleged she had been sexually molested as a child by the grandmother’s boyfriend, raising concerns about the grandmother’s household history.

## Issues

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence rebutted the presumption that custody with a fit natural parent serves the child’s best interests.
2. Whether the trial court could consider the mother’s same-sex relationship, including conduct then criminalized under Virginia law, when assessing parental fitness and the child’s moral environment.
3. Whether the Court of Appeals improperly reweighed evidence and failed to defer to the trial court’s custody findings.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the circuit court’s custody award to the grandmother.
- The Court held the record contained sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the presumption favoring the mother was rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of unfitness.
- The Court accepted the trial court’s consideration of the mother’s sexual relationship as relevant to fitness and the child’s moral environment because the conduct was criminal under then-existing Virginia law.
- The Court emphasized deference to the trial judge’s credibility determinations and factual findings in custody matters.

## Legal Principles

- A natural parent is presumed to be the preferred custodian because custody with a fit parent is presumed to serve the child’s best interests.
- The presumption favoring a natural parent may be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence of parental unfitness or special facts and circumstances showing that custody with a non-parent better serves the child’s best interests.
- If the presumption is rebutted, custody is determined by the child’s best interests based on the totality of the evidence, including stability and the moral environment of the home.
- Trial courts receive substantial deference on custody findings because they observe witnesses and assess credibility; appellate courts should not substitute their judgment for supported factual determinations.

## Conclusion

The Virginia Supreme Court reinstated custody to the grandmother, concluding that clear and convincing evidence supported the trial court’s determination that the mother was unfit and that, after rebutting the natural-parent presumption, the child’s best interests favored placement with the grandmother, with the mother’s then-illegal same-sex relationship treated as a relevant custody factor.


Bottoms v. Bottoms, 249 Va. 410, 457 S.E.2d 102 (Va. 1995)