Statter v. Statter

I dissent. The principle of res judicata is misapplied when it results without independent proof in holding that a marriage is dissolved or that a void divorce is valid or an illegal marriage legal. Estoppel by judgment is a rule of public policy but it is not the whole of our public policy and it must give way when it collides with a stronger and more fundamental policy (30 Am. Jur., Judgments, § 162). Much more basic than the need for finality in litigation is the State’s insistence that the marriage status is not to be altered by consent or default directly or indirectly (see de…