California v. Superior Court of California, San Bernardino County (Smolin et al., Real Parties in Interest) (482 U.S. 400)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 9, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 482 U.S. 400 · 107 S. Ct. 2433
- Decided
- June 9, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. At issue in this case are the limits imposed by federal law upon state court habeas corpus proceedings challenging an extradition warrant. I Richard and Judith Smolin were divorced in California in 1978. Sole custody of their two children, Jennifer and Jamie, was awarded to Judith Smolin, subject to reasonable visitation rights for Richard. Until November 1979, all the parties remained in San Bernardino County, California, and Richard apparently paid his child support and exercised his visitation rights without serious incident. In August 1979, however, Judith married James Pope, and in November, Mr. Pope’s work required that the family relocate to Oregon. When the Popes moved without informing Richard, the battle over the custody of the minor children began in earnest. It is unnecessary to recite in detail all that ensued. Richard alleged, and the California courts later found, that the Popes deliberately attempted to defeat Richard’s visitation rights and to preclude him from forming a meaningful relationship with his children in the course of their succeeding re-locations from Oregon to Texas to Louisiana. On February 13, 1981, the Popes obtained a decree from a Texas court granting full faith and credit to the original California order awarding sole custody to Judith. Richard was served but did not appear in the Texas…
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