Stottlemyer v. Stottlemyer

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Pomeroy,

The Pennsylvania Divorce Law requires that at least one of the parties to a marriage shall have been a “bona fide resident” of the Commonwealth for a period of one year before either party may bring an action for divorce.1 This appeal raises the question whether such a residency requirement is valid under the Constitution of the United States.2

Marian Stottlemyer, the appellant, and her husband, Eugene Stottlemyer, the appellee, were domiciled in Pennsylvania until they moved to Illinois in September, 1970. In August, 1971, after the onset of marital difficulties,…