In Re Culp

Fantasia F. Culp, against whom the writ runs, and William H. Culp, were husband and wife, and the fruit of their marriage was one girl, now five years and seven months old, named Willa Norine Culp. The petitioner is the grandfather of the child, and seeks to get the custody of her through this writ. The said spouses were residents of Shawnee county in the state of Kansas. The said Fantasia F. Culp was plaintiff in a divorce proceeding against her husband in the Shawnee county district court of the third judicial district of the state of Kansas, which court granted her a divorce on the ground of habitual drunkenness of said William H. Culp, and also gave her the custody, education, nurture, control and care of said minor child. This decree was made April 4, 1904, and became final, so. far as the divorce was concerned, under the laws of Kansas, on the fourth day of October, 1904. Under and in pursuance of this decree the said Fantasia F. Culp received the possession of said child in the state of Kansas on April 9, 1904, and ever since that date has had said child with her. Said decree eontaihed no restrictions as to the residence of the child, or of its mother, and about October 9,…

I concur in the order dismissing the writ, and in the conclusions voiced in the main opinion touching jurisdiction and the right of this court to inquire into such jurisdiction. But I am unwilling, by silence, to lend implied consent to the proposition that the judgment relied upon as conclusive of petitioner’s right to the custody of this child could, under any state of facts, be enforced in this state through the medium of a writ of habeas corpus. This is exactly what petitioner seeks to accomplish by this proceeding. He insists that this court has no alternative, but must execute said judgment by granting his petition, because the federal constitution and laws require that full effect must be given to judgments rendered in a sister state. Granting his premise, the conclusion does not follow.

Judgments rendered in Kansas have no extraterritorial effect as judgments. (Cole v. Cunningham, 133 U. S. 107 , [10 Sup. Ct. 269]; Black on Judgments, see. 682.) Judgments rendered there will not be enforced here, unless a judgment thereon is recovered in this state. (13 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law, p. 986; Cooley’s Constitutional Limitations, p. 43, note; Freeman on Judgments, secs. 559, 564,…