Williams v. North Carolina

317 U.S. 287 (1942)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Williams (D) was married to Carrie Wyke in 1916 in North Carolina and lived with her there until May 1940. Hendrix (D) was married to Thomas Hendrix in 1920 in North Carolina and lived with him there until May 1940. Ds went to Las Vegas, and on June 26, 1940, each filed a divorce action in the Nevada court. The defendants in those divorce actions entered no appearance nor were they served with process in Nevada. In the case of Hendrix (D), service by publication was had by the publication of the summons in a Las Vegas newspaper and by mailing a copy of the summons and complaint to his last post-office address. In the case of Williams (D), a North Carolina sheriff delivered to her in North Carolina a copy of the summons and complaint. A decree of divorce was granted Williams (D) by the Nevada court on August 26, 1940, on the ground of extreme cruelty. The court found that 'the Williams (D) has been and now is a bona fide and continuous resident of the County of Clark, State of Nevada, and had been such resident for more than six weeks immediately preceding the commencement of this action in the manner prescribed by law.' The Nevada court granted Hendrix (D) a divorce on October 4, 1940, on the grounds of willful neglect and extreme cruelty, and made the same finding as to this petitioner's bona fide residence in Nevada as it made in the case of Williams (D). Ds were married to each other in Nevada on October 4, 1940. They returned to North Carolina where they lived together until the indictment for bigamy was returned. Ds contend that the divorce decrees and the Nevada marriage were valid in North Carolina as well as in Nevada. The State (P) contends that since neither of the defendants in the Nevada actions was served in Nevada nor entered an appearance there, the Nevada decrees would not be recognized as valid in North Carolina. P contends that the entire event was a sham just to obtain a divorce through fraud upon that court. Ds were convicted and appealed. The Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed that P was not required to recognize the Nevada decrees under the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution (Art. IV, § 1) by reason of Haddock v. Haddock, 201 U.S. 562. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.