He Said....She Said

Posted on Wednesday, May 04, 2011

There are twelve different actions or “grounds” a spouse may consider when filing for divorce: adultery, habitual drunkenness, habitual drug use, impotency, just to name a few. (Check out Fault for an entire list). Recently, the Mississippi Supreme Court in Ladner v. Ladner examined a divorce granted on the grounds of “habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment.” Although a common ground for divorce, the Supreme Court found the chancellor had erred in granting the divorce on this basis.

Under the law, a spouse can file for habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment if they prove “conduct that endangers life, limb, or health, or creates a reasonable apprehension of such danger” that would make it impossible for the other spouse to continue the marriage. In Ladner, it seems the wife did just that. She provided the chancellor with several pieces of evidence supporting her claim, including her own testimony that her husband was verbally and physically abusive, sexually assaulted her, and threatened her with a gun. She also provided the court with two protective orders, two police reports, and their son’s statement that he was afraid of his father. The husband denied these allegations, yet admitted to breaking his daughter’s door once in anger.

However, the Supreme Court found the wife’s evidence had no “corroborative value” because it was entirely supplied by her – what “she said” – and “[t]he party alleging cruel and inhuman treatment typically must corroborate the testimony.” In a dissenting opinion, Justice Carlson disagreed with the majority because he believed the police reports and protective orders were sufficient to corroborate the wife’s cruel and inhuman treatment allegations.

After reading the opinion, I found myself internally conflicted with the Court’s majority decision and as a result, began leaning on Justice Carlson’s reasoning. I found myself asking “What is the point of a police report or a protective order?” Should it not back up what “she” or even you say. What do you think? Have you ever been in a “he said, she said” situation?

Meredith Price