PONDER v. GRAHAM 4 Fla. 23 (1851)

1. PONDER v. GRAHAM4 Fla. 23 (1851) Case Brief Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

2. PONDER v. GRAHAM • PURPOSE: This case illustrates the nature of the difference between adjudication and legislation. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

3. PONDER v. GRAHAM • CAUSE OF ACTION: Petition to take dower in lieu of will. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

4. PONDER v. GRAHAM • FACTS: Mary Buccles (respondent, Mary Graham) married Solomon Canady about 1828 in South Carolina, later moving to Georgia. They separated and she began to cohabit with Archibald Graham in Tallahassee, Florida. In 1832, a bill was passed by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, entitled “A act for the relief of Mary Canady,” which divorced Mary from Canady. (No notice was provided to Canady.) When Archibald Graham died, Mary elected to take dower, as his widow, in lieu of provisions in the will. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

5. PONDER v. GRAHAM • ISSUE: Whether legislative divorce was invalid, thereby making Mary’s subsequent marriage to Graham invalid. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

6. PONDER v. GRAHAM • HOLDING: Yes. Divorce invalid, marriage invalid. Mary could not take dower. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

7. PONDER v. GRAHAM • REASONING: While the legislature may make the rules of marriage and divorce, the granting of divorces is a judicial function. The court questions precedents from other states based on Parliament’s alleged authority to grant divorces. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.