Williams v. North Carolina

317 U.S. 287 (1942)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

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, Nevada, 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. Thomas Hendrix was served by publication in a Las Vegas newspaper and by mailing a copy of the summons and complaint to his last post-office address. Carrie Williams was served by a North Carolina sheriff who delivered to her in North Carolina a copy of the summons and complaint. A decree of divorce was granted petitioner Williams (D) by the Nevada court on August 26, 1940, on the ground of extreme cruelty, the court finding that 'the plaintiff 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 wilful neglect and extreme cruelty, and made the same finding as to this petitioner's bona fide residence in Nevada. Ds were married to each other in Nevada on October 4, 1940. Thereafter they returned to North Carolina where they lived together until the indictment for bigamy was returned. Ds pleaded not guilty and offered in evidence exemplified copies of the Nevada proceedings, contending that the divorce decrees and the Nevada marriage were valid in North Carolina as well as in Nevada. Ds were convicted, and on appeal the Supreme Court of North Carolina held that North Carolina 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 and that the Nevada decrees were collusive and based on fraud.