Riley v. Riley

In this case where there was ample evidence of opportunity to commit adultery but a dearth of evidence of an adulterous disposition, the primary question on appeal is whether the chancellor erred in awarding custody of the minor children of the parties to the mother rather than to the father who was granted a divorce on the ground of desertion.

Ronald Riley and Constance Riley were married in March of 1958. Two children, a girl now aged five and a boy now aged three, were born to them, but the marriage for the most part had been a stormy one. In December of 1962, the wife left the home of his…