New York ex rel. Halvey v. Halvey (330 U.S. 610)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 31, 1947 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 330 U.S. 610 · 67 S. Ct. 903
- Decided
- March 31, 1947
- Term
- October Term 1946
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Douglas
- Issue area
- Interstate Relations
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Unspecifiable
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court. The Halveys were married in 1937 and lived together in New York until 1944. In 1938 a son was born. Marital troubles developed. In 1944 Mrs. Halvey, without her husband’s consent, left home with the child, went to Florida, and established her residence there. In 1945 she instituted a suit for divorce in Florida. Service of process on Mr. Halvey was had by publication, he making no appearance in the action. The day before the Florida decree was granted, Mr. Halvey, without the knowledge or approval of his wife, took the child back to New York. The next day the decree was entered by the Florida court, granting Mrs. Halvey a divorce and awarding her the permanent care, custody, and control of the child. Thereupon she brought this habeas corpus proceeding in the New York Supreme Court, challenging the legality of Mr. Iialvey’s detention of the child. After hearing, the New York court ordered (1) that the custody of the child remain with the mother; (2) that the father have rights of visitation including the right to keep the child with him during stated vacation periods in each year, and (3) that the mother file with the court a surety bond in the sum of $5,000, conditioned on the delivery of the child in Florida for removal by the father to New York for the periods when he had the right to keep the child with him. 185 Misc.…
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