Edwards v. Palleschi

VAN DYKE, P. J.

This is an appeal by the mother of a minor son born to her May 3, 1954, from an order of court changing the custody of the child from appellant to the child’s father. The parents had been divorced and by the divorce decree the custody had been awarded to appellant.

On December 6, 1956, respondent initiated a proceeding for a change of custody. An order to show cause was issued. It appears that for some time after the original custody order, appellant, with her child, had resided at the home of her parents in Modesto, in which city the father also resided. She then moved to Los Angeles, taking the child with her. After service on her of the order to show cause she returned to Modesto and resumed residence with her parents. At the hearing on the order appellant testified that in Los Angeles she had been living in a basement apartment. The status of one John Edwards respecting his relations with her was the subject of inquiry at the hearing. She testified that he was frequently in her apartment, occasionally stayed overnight there, but she denied that she and John Edwards were engaging in meretricious relations. She testified she had no

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intention of marrying John Edwards, and intended to continue to reside with her parents. After having partially heard the matter, the court referred the case to the probation officer of the county for investigation. The court took further testimony in May of 1957. It appeared that respondent had recently remarried. The court, apparently dissatisfied with the domestic situation of both the father and mother, made an order giving legal custody of the child to the probation officer, with physical custody in the appellant’s parents. No appeal was taken from that order. Shortly thereafter respondent discovered that appellant was pregnant and, shortly after the order had been made, had married John Edwards. He obtained a new order to show cause. A hearing on this order was held September 18, 1957. Appellant testified that she had married John Edwards July 3, 1957, and was presently living with him in Los Angeles, where he was employed; that she intended to continue to reside there with him; that she was expecting a child; that it was John Edwards’s child; that the child was expected in November. (This would fix the date of conception in the preceding February, so that she had been about four months pregnant when she had testified at the last hearing on the preceding show cause order, denying in that testimony that she had ever engaged in meretricious relations with John Edwards.) She testified further that when she gave her testimony at the prior hearing she had not known she was pregnant. She made no attempt, however, to justify her testimony that she had not been engaging in meretricious relations with John Edwards.