McCullough v. Hudspeth

This is a dispute between divorced parents over the custody of their minor child, Scott, who was nearly 10 years old when the case was heard in Family Court. The case is here on the father’s appeal.

On March 23,1967 the parties were divorced in Mississippi. Custody of Scott, the only child of the marriage, was awarded to the mother, and the father was given visitation rights. At the time of the Family Court hearing, Scott lived in Providence with his mother, her second husband and their daughter, while the father resided alone in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In 1972-73, disagreements between the…