Page "Kenesaw Mountain Landis" Paragraph 29

In 1916, Landis presided over the " Ryan Baby " or " Baby Iraene " case.

The recent widow of a prominent Chicago banker, Anna Dollie Ledgerwood Matters, had brought a baby girl home from a visit to Canada and claimed that the child was her late husband's posthumous heir.

Matters had left an estate of $ 250, 000.

However, a shop girl from Ontario, Margaret Ryan, claimed the baby was hers, and brought a writ of habeas corpus in Landis's court.

Ryan stated that she had given birth to the girl in an Ottawa hospital, but had been told her baby had died.

In the era before blood and DNA testing, Landis relied on witness testimony and awarded the child to Ryan.

The case brought comparisons between Landis and King Solomon, who had judged a similar case.

Landis was reversed by the Supreme Court, which held he had no jurisdiction in the matter.

A Canadian court later awarded the child to Ryan.