# Commonwealth ex rel. Swanson v. Barry

> Superior Court of Pennsylvania · September 13, 1962 · 199 Pa. Super. 244

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6284039

## Case

- **Full name:** Commonwealth ex rel. Swanson v. Barry
- **Court:** Superior Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** September 13, 1962
- **Citations:** 199 Pa. Super. 244; 184 A.2d 370; 1962 Pa. Super. LEXIS 532
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Wright
- **Judges:** Ervin, Flood, Montgomery, Rhodes, Watkins, Woodside, Wright
- **Cited by:** 11 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6284039

## Opinion text

Wright, J.:
It is my view that these two little girls should be with their mother. The father originally obtained custody by subterfuge. The mother promptly filed a habeas corpus petition which was dismissed without ap *250 peal. The court’s decision was based primarily on the mother’s relationship with another man. The mother subsequently obtained a divorce, married the other man, and filed the instant petition. In my opinion, the mother’s establishment of this new family relationship, concededly a proper home, justifies the application of our well-settled rule that children of tender years should be in the custody of their mother. Cf. Commonwealth ex rel. Gervasio v. Gervasio, 188 Pa. Superior Ct. 95 , 145 A. 2d 732 . This record does not show any compelling reasons for a departure from the general rule. On the contrary, it discloses that the children sleep with a paternal aunt who suffers from schizophrenia, and has been under the care of a psychiatrist for fourteen years. The father himself has undergone psychiatric treatment and psychological counseling. He is apparently motivated by a desire to punish the mother, rather than to promote the best interests of the children.
Watkins, J., joins in this dissent.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6284039. Public record. Not legal advice.