Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-21
By John v. Homer

quickly around the room and
swallowed hard.
Her face twitched as she eyed
spectators leaning forward to
hear the testimony. Then the
lawyer began to question her.
In whispers barely audible, she
told the story. She had been
married to q mechanic for seven
years and she bore him q son,
now six. For reasons unknown
to her, the husband became in
attentive about flye years ago.
He. took to heavy drink and
stayed out late at night. When
she complained he had not left
money for groceries and other
necessities. he became abusive.
He slammed her against the wall
and cursed. Sometimes he struck
her without provocation when
guests were present.
Grounds Of DeseftiOn.
Finally. said the woman. the
husband began staying out all
night. Then he left for good,
She wanted a divorce on grounds
Of desertion.
The witness was excused and
her mother took the stand. The
mother knew for a fact that her
Son-in-law had not lived with
her daughter for more than four
years.
"Step down. please" instructed
the lawyer. THAT is our case,
your honor except ] wish to
call the courts attention to the
agreement reached with the de-
PENDANT"
Does defense counsel have
ANYTHING to say?" inquired the
judge.
mo your honor" came the re-
ply.
Was the woman telling the
complete truth? Was what she
said the whole story? Had
there been a little collision with
the husband to end this mar
rage in divorce?
Judge Grants Decree.
The judge had no. way Of
knowing. He had before him
some undisputed evidence. And
so he said:
Decree granted. custody of
the child is awarded plaintiff.
Defendant will pay maintenance
as agreed. -"
Thank your honor" said the
attorneys, grabbing their brief
cases.
"Oh. by the way" added the
plaintiffs lawyer hurriedly.
will the court grant me coun-
sci fees. 2"
In this manner, thousands of
uncontested divorce cases end
In the u. S. District Court for
the District Of Columbia. De-
crees are obtained within four
months after suit is fled at
hearings that last six or eight
Contested Divorces.
Contested divorces are some
thing else. It takes about Is
to get q hearing and a
decree. In these cases, of course.
the courtroom scene is more ex-
plosive The trial. therefore.
consumes more time.
When contest is in prospect,
the complaining spouse usually
makes sure at the start to in
clude in the allegations every
conceivable charge against the
defendant. The blacker his
character is painted, the more
cruel his conduct is represented
the better are chances for a fav-
orable decree.
The defendant naturally re-
plies in kind. He also wants Gus
tody Of the children and hopes
to convince the court he is
blameless. So he endeavors to
prove his wife an incorrigible
liar, or perhaps a sneaky woman
whose outburst is a cover-up for
her own faithlessness. He tries
to prove she is q bad wife, a
poor mother and q generally
undesirable citizen.
Children Hear Charges.
All this mudslinging is re-
peated in court, frequently in the
presence Of the children whose
custody is at stake.
Is this system for settling
serious domestic relations cases
the best to be had? Opinion is
Q1VlQ6Q Sharply.
Those who think the system
is wanting, advocate the creation
of a special family court in
Washington. Those who believe
the present system has been
proved a success by a long tset,
are opposing the new court plan.
Congress will have to decide
the issue. It is considering bills
to establish a family court of
three judges, with exclusive
jurisdiction in domestic relations
litigation. First hearings on the
legislation will open Wednesday
before the Senate District Ju-
dietary Subcommittee.
Proponents of New Plan.
The principal proponents of a
family court are judges of the
U. 8. District Court, the Judicial
Conference of the United States
and the Judicial Conference OF
the District of Columbia. They
are supported by various civic.
church and welfare organizations
in the city.
The principal opposition comes
lative session to do anything
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