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Marris v. Sockey, 170 F.2d 599

Facts

Ned Sockey, a restricted Mississippi Choctaw Indian, sought to cancel a warranty deed executed by him and his wife, which purported to convey land to J. D. Hibdon. The land was originally allotted to Forgy Marris, a full-blood Mississippi Choctaw Indian, who died in 1933. George Marris claimed to be the surviving husband and heir of Forgy, asserting that their marriage was never legally dissolved. However, the trial court found that George and Forgy had separated in 1903 and that their marriage was effectively dissolved according to tribal customs.

The United States brought this action in behalf of Ned Sockey, a restricted Mississippi Choctaw Indian of 13/16ths Indian blood, enrolled opposite Roll No. 1308, to cancel a warranty deed executed by Ned Sockey and his wife, on June 12, 1933, purporting to convey 110 acres of land to J. D. Hibdon, and to cancel certain instruments of record made by Hibdon and persons claiming through Hibdon.

Issue

The main legal issue was whether the marriage between George Marris and Forgy Marris had been legally dissolved, thereby determining the rightful heir to Forgy's estate.

The trial court concluded that the evidence did not overcome the presumption, flowing from the subsequent marriage of George to Lillie McCarty, that the prior marriage to Forgy had been lawfully dissolved.

Rule

The court applied the principle that tribal customs regarding marriage and divorce were valid and could supersede statutory requirements, provided they were recognized before the enactment of laws that abolished such customs.

We think, by analogy, the Chickasaw law quoted above should be construed as directory merely and as not prohibiting divorce in accordance with tribal custom.

Analysis

The court analyzed the evidence presented regarding the customs of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, which allowed for divorce by mutual agreement and permanent separation. It found that George and Forgy had separated in 1903 and that there was a strong presumption that their marriage had been dissolved by the time George remarried. The court concluded that the evidence did not overcome this presumption, thus affirming that Ned Sockey was the sole heir.

The trial court found that Forgy and George were living within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation at the time they separated in 1903, and that at the time they separated in 1903, and that at that time there existed in the Chickasaw Nation a tribal custom whereby married persons could effect a divorce by an agreement and permanent separation.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the lower court's decree, holding that Ned Sockey was the sole surviving heir of Forgy Marris and that the title to the land was quieted in his favor.

Decree affirmed.

Who won?

Ned Sockey prevailed in the case because the court found that he was the sole surviving heir of Forgy Marris, as the evidence supported the conclusion that George Marris's marriage to Forgy had been dissolved.

Ned Sockey filed a petition in intervention in which he alleged that the marriage between George and Gorgy was dissolved by divorce in 1903; that Forgy was single and unmarried at the time of her death; that she left no lineal descendants, and that he was her next of kin and sole surviving heir.

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