Wilson v. Wilson, Misc. Civ. No. 55-7-M.
Decision Date | 28 January 1955 |
Docket Number | Misc. Civ. No. 55-7-M. |
Citation | 128 F. Supp. 88 |
Parties | Glover W. WILSON v. Priscilla M. WILSON. |
Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
Glover W. Wilson, Boston, Mass., for plaintiff.
Priscilla M. Wilson pro se.
This is a petition for habeas corpus instituted by Glover W. Wilson. The petitioner alleges that in June of 1954 he was granted a final decree of divorce from the defendant in Texas; that temporary custody of three children of the marriage was granted to the defendant pending further order of the court; that in December of 1954 the court vacated the original custody order and entered another, placing the children in the custody of the petitioner and ordering that a hearing be held on the question of permanent custody in Jim Hogg County Court, Texas, on January 27, 1955; that defendant was served with notice and has knowledge that she is not presently entitled to custody of the children, but is detaining them illegally in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
He prays for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus and a determination of the legality of the detention of the children by his former wife.
The question immediately arises as to whether this court has jurisdiction, since "District Courts of the United States are not courts of general jurisdiction but of limited jurisdiction." Schroeder v. Freeland, 8 Cir., 188 F.2d 517, 519.
The general rule is clear. In Ex parte Burrus, 136 U.S. 586, 10 S.Ct. 850, 853, 34 L.Ed. 500, 503 it was said that
It is true that the Burrus case did not decide the question whether diverse citizenship of the parties contesting the right to custody of a child could give jurisdiction to this court. It was not necessary to do so.
With respect to the petition in the case at bar, there are no jurisdictional allegations contained therein. More important, however, even if the requisite diversity of citizenship were set forth,...
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...of a marital relationship. Id. 14 See generally, Stevens v. Sley, 407 F.Supp. 140 (E.D.Pa., filed Feb. 13, 1976); Wilson v. Wilson, 128 F.Supp. 88 (D.Mass.1955); Clifford v. Williams, 131 F. 100 Indeed, the only case my research has disclosed wherein federal jurisdiction in a child custody ......