[That ruling may bode well for Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who has petitioned the court to recognize his exclusive right to speak for Elian in legal matters, and to be left to raise his child in peace.] It would certainly have been very unusual for the court to rule against the father because the law presumes that a person's parent is their guardian, and doesn't appoint outside guardians in the normal course of events, ... For the court to appoint a third-party guardian it would usually need an indication that something was badly wrong in the parent-child relationship, such as abuse. Adam Cohen