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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Sosna v. Iowa
Citation:
419 U.S. 393 (1975)Facts
Carol Sosna married Michael Sosna in Michigan in 1964. After living in New York, they separated in August 1971. In August 1972, Sosna moved to Iowa with her three children and filed for divorce in September 1972. The Iowa court dismissed her petition because she had not resided in Iowa for one year as required by Iowa Code § 598.6. Instead of appealing through the Iowa courts, Sosna filed a federal class action challenging the constitutionality of Iowa’s one-year residency requirement. The class was certified to represent all Iowa residents who had resided there less than a year and wished to file for divorce. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, Sosna had both satisfied the one-year residency requirement and obtained a divorce in another state. The Court first addressed whether the case was moot, then examined the constitutionality of Iowa’s residency requirement in light of previous decisions striking down durational residency requirements for welfare benefits, voting, and medical care.
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