May v. Anderson

As the marriage between Leona May (defendant) and Owen Anderson (plaintiff) deteriorated, May took their three children from Wisconsin to Ohio. Anderson then obtained a Wisconsin divorce and custody decree, even though the Wisconsin court lacked personal jurisdiction over May, and he later picked up the children while visiting Ohio; when they later visited May again, she refused to return them. Anderson sought a writ of habeas corpus in Ohio to recover the children, and the Ohio court held the Full Faith and Credit Clause bound it to honor the Wisconsin custody order. May appealed, the court of appeals affirmed, and the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed for lack of a constitutional question, leading to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.