In Re the Dissolution of the Marriage of Derby

This is a dissolution of marriage proceeding in which the wife appeals the award of custody of the children, a daughter age 9 and a son age 5, to the father; the division of property and award of attorney fees, and the provision in the decree declaring that all prior orders of support are satisfied.

The trial took three days, dining which the principal issue was custody. Counsel for the husband, the petitioner, launched a frontal attack on the wife attempting to paint her with a scarlet letter and also depict her as a neglectful mother. Wife’s counsel counterattacked that the husband was a…