The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-01-07
TEE DIVORCE LAWS
NOW IN roRcr IN THIS STATE
And ,he Practice that la. e,eua Up Her,
Under Taem-,No PubiIelty,' an osjee.
,ionablo Fsaturo-Numbsro of Divorces
Granted In Year surprl.ins.

Tho divorce question has lately attracted
wide attention over the country. BY the
general public little is heard OF divorce
cases in Wheeling, but it does not follow
that such cases are few inthe Ohio county
courts. The laws of West Virginia, since
they were amended in 1852, make il q
very easy matter to procure a divorce, al
though good cause must be shown. The
requirements aside from this are simply
that the party applying for the divorce
shall have been resident OF this State for
one year. The Circuit Court, on the
chancery side, has jurisdiction Of such
suits. A mere reading OF the law would
indicate that the statute governing divorce
proceedings was all that could be desired,
but whether 1t is is q question that has
been disputed by lawyers and others
familiar with the practice under the di-
vorce law.
A LARGE EuAtDER oFsulTs.
There are few suits heard OF by the pub
lie in the course ola year in this county,
hut the neutrality-suspicious. for divorces
for several years past has averaged at
least sixty per annnum. Already this
week two such suits have been instituted
in the Circuit Court. NJ
A reporter who had noticed several
petitions on file at the Clerks office, and
had afterward heard nothing OF the suits,
asked a prominent lawyer recently what
became Of these cases.
"Generally," was his reply, "the divorce
is granted. My observation is that
eight out OF every ten applications for u
divorce are successful here"
GLOW many divorces are granted in a
year p the reporter asked.
~ should say about one hundred"
An examination OF the chancery docket
showed this estimate to be little high.
Since January ], 1883, about l25 divorce
cases have been tried in the Circuit Court.
The attorney continued in response to
further Inquiries: "There is no reason
the generalpublic should know anything
about divorce proceeding. The counsel
for the plaintiff comes into the Clerks
office and leaves notice for the issuing of
asummons. The defendant appears by
attorney and files his answer. There is
no necessity OF any publicity so far. Then
On order is issued 10 take dispositions, and
all the evidence is so taken in private.
Some day the attorneys come into court,
and one Of them says, 4 desire to submit
the evidence in the case OF Smith versus
Smith The papers are taken by the
judge, and he goes over them at his ieis-
ure, and at another day during the term
he says to the plaintiffs attorney, THE
decree asked for in the case Of Smith
versus Smith is granted"
NO PUBLICITY.
as there no publicity in any proceed
ings in the case?"
mot necessarily, except in case the de-
fendant ia q nonresident and the sheriff
fails TO get service on him. Then an order
Of publication is issued, and notice is
printed Id a newspaper. But such notices
are generally read, and the case isabout
as private under those circumstances as
under the others"
'"Do you not think it is an advantage to
public morals TO have the evidence taken
in private%,
81 have doubts on that point. be-
lieve as q general thing the divorce bust
ness in the Ohio county courts is legiti-
mate and proper. But see how easy the
law could be used by INSCRIPTIONS per-
sons. A man might come here from a
distant State, live in West Virginia year,
and enter proceedings for a divorce. The
notice would be published ina local paper,
and his own &C parte testimony would be
conclusive in the case"
Il would be difficult, however, to devise
q law which designing and Inscriptions
persons couldnot take advantage of.