Daly v. Daly Collection (MS-00502)

Daly v. Daly (1986) was a landmark case that established a legal precedent in the United States regarding transgendered individuals and their access to parental rights. Nancy “Nan” Toews Daly petitioned the Nevada District Court to terminate the parental rights of Suzanne Lindley Daly, who was known as Tim Michael Daly during their marriage. The couple married in 1969 and had one child, Mary Toews Daly, in 1973. The couple divorced in 1980, which, when concluded in 1981, granted Suzanne (then still Tim) parental visitation. After the divorce, Nan and Mary moved away from the marital residence in Oakland, California to Reno, Nevada, which allowed Suzanne to explore her transgendered identity in privacy. She consulted with psychological and medical professionals and decided to pursue hormonal treatment and gender reassignment surgery. Suzanne told her daughter about her transgendered identity in 1982 during one of their visitations. Upon hearing of her ex-husband’s new identity, Nan petitioned the Court to terminate Suzanne’s parental rights. The District Court in Reno determined Suzanne was an unfit parent and a potential danger to her daughter. Suzanne appealed the decision, but the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling in 1986. She tried to appeal that decision, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Writ of Certiorari. Despite the setbacks, Suzanne continued to fight for her parental rights until 1989. In August 2000, the Nevada Supreme Court overturnedDaly v. Daly in In Re: Parental Rights As To Jamil. Suzanne Daly died on March 31, 2002 after struggling with alcoholism and agoraphobia.