Court Opinion

ID: 9444552
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 21:05:10.977468+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:29:55.213144
License: Public Domain

WILBUR K. MILLER, Circuit Judge, with whom CLARK, Circuit Judge, joins
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I do not regard the Towson case as in conflict with the principle that in a custody case the child’s welfare is the controlling consideration. Here, as in that case, the wife left her husband without reasonable cause and took his child with her. Thus she destroyed the home her husband had provided for his family. That home, it appears, is as fitting for the child’s upbringing as the one to which she repaired. I think the wife’s *515unwarranted desertion tips the balance against her on the custody issue, which should be considered on an adversary basis since the child will apparently be well cared for by either parent.
I would reverse and direct the entry of a judgment awarding custody to the husband.