LEAMIXG, V. C.
Suit for divorce by Louvin Bakley against Ephraim Bakley. Petition by complainant by habeas corpus for permanent custody of children. Petition denied.
Adam Sloan, for petitioner. Scovel & Boyle, for defendant.
LEAMIXG, V. C. (orally). I have determined in this case to deny the prayer of the petition and to award the custody of the minors to the defendant, their father. I will, however, have the order provide that the petitioner, the mother of the children, may, if she desires it, have the possession of the children from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning, covering the first Sunday of each month. The custody and right of possession of the children will remain in the father, but the courtesy will be extended to the mother to have the children with her at her home during the times named.
I wish the order also to provide that the cause shall be held open for the purpose of seeing what course is adopted by the mother of the children in the future. It is an unusual order to take children of the age of these minors from the custody of their mother, or, as in this case, refuse to restore them to the mother on her application, their ages being, respectively, three and four years only, and the most potent reasons should exist showing the disqualifications of the mother to possess the children. Those reasons have been shown to exist in this case, but no person is beyond the field of reformation and to permanently and irrevocably deny her the future custody or hope of custody of her own children is to practically leave her without hope in the future and to give her no incentive for improvement in her conduct, and this decree is held open in the hope that at some future time it may be possible to extend to her rights which every court wishes to extend to a mother. The order, will, therefore, provide that it shall be without prejudice to the petitioner applyingto this court for more extended privileges touching the children based upon her future good conduct.
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