Divorce Dismissals: A Field Study

Abstract

In the writing and research on divorce, the subject of divorce dismissals has been neglected. Casual reference occasionally is made to the surprising dismissal statistics, and there has even been some speculation on why there are so many dismissals. But no effort prior to this has been made to determine the reasons for and implications of these dismissals. Divorce is one of the most common types of modern litigation. For example, in Kansas, divorce suits make up one-half of all civil suits filed in the district courts, the courts of general first instance. A somewhat similar situation exists in the other states. But this heavy volume of filings does not create as great a burden on the courts as it would seem, and the reason for this is that a large percentage of divorce suits filed are dismissed.