Adultery - A crime?

In a marriage or de facto relationship, domestic violence is quite rightly considered a crime by the Law. My question is, should adultery be also considered a crime by the Law?

Should it be considered a crime that inflicts mental abuse on the other party? Should it be considered the breaking of a contract and dealt with using civil legal avenues?

I can only really speak of Australian laws, but currently there is a "no fault" divorce system. This means the law does not recognise the causes of a marriage breakdown during divorce proceedings. This means great inequities can occur when a marriage is broken down by infidelity. However, if there is any suspicion of the occurrence of domestic violence, this evidence/suspicion/allegation is allowed by the court in deciding settlement and custody of children. Not so with adultery, it doesn't matter in the courts eyes.

I am of the opinion that commiting adultery causes as much if not more mental anguish on the partner as hitting or pushing them during an argument would. If a guy smacks his wife during an argument, he goes to prison, but if he commits adultery there is no recourse. Both actions are catastrophic emotionally for the receiver. Societys acceptance of adultery has made the breakdown of marriages almost par for the course. It's too easy to do and get away with, suffering no consequences and causing enormous emotional distress on partners. I personally think there should be some form of punishment for this action, be it civil or criminal I don't know, but we as a society should make it known that adulterous behaviour is unacceptable and carries consequences.

At the moment there are none, other than facing your partner once they discover the truth.

 

I see your point, but how would you go about enforcing adultery as a criminal offense?

 

I don't know, not being a cop. But I'd be guessing there'd be some evidence that could be used just as is the case with other crimes.

 

Not a crime, but a sin.

 

A sin? A sin is what exactly? A sin is something only religious people care much about.

 

Which is what adultery is, or last I checked it was.

 

how would you enforce it and to what end,what would be done? will this appear on the employe records since all convicted crime do if they a backround check,and would there be jail,porle,fines courts somewhat jamed as it is and were going to ad this to it.

 

The UK doesn't have a "no fault" divorce system so anyone comitting adultery can be blamed in the divorce papers. This can help in the divorce settlement (i.e. who gets the dog and car)

 

i don't like the idea of adultery being a crime.....i have this thing about legislation and consential sexual relations between adults

 

Nah, it shouldn't be a crime. It really shouldn't, and if it became one, it can be added to America's silly laws list. Consensual adult sex should not be made illigal for any reason. What happens relationship wise between people is no buisness of the government's.

 

Actually, there is a very simple basis for it being a crime (and it is an many states, such as Virginia).

From a legal standpoint, marriage is a three-way contract. It involves the husband, the wife, and the government. As such, adultery is a violation of that contract.

When you get married, you are legally promising to be faithful to one person. Because it is a government-sanctioned contract, the government has the authority to punish violation of the contract.

Kimball Kinnison

 

Because it is a government-sanctioned contract, the government has the authority to punish violation of the contract

I thought it was with the church?





DD - Love & Laughter

 

I thought it was with the church?

Nope. The government issues the marriage licenses and gives the legal authority to perform marriage ceremonies. As such, it is a government-sanctioned contract.

Many people also add a religious covenant to the process, but that is not required from the legal standpoint.

Kimball Kinnison

 

Hmm, this is the Us, in Denmark it is different(afaik), we have an official religion(protestants) in Denmark.

I just asked my co-workers but they didn't know.






DD - Love & Laughter

 

In the US, you are not necessarily promising to be faithful to one person. It depends on the vows you take - many people write their own. All that matters is that you "lawfully take this person to be your spouse".

Adultery should not be a crime, and a lot of states need to wipe the slate clean with regards to their own "sex" laws....did you know that in Massachusetts it's illegal for a husband and wife to give each other oral sex?

It's also illegal to put tomatoes in clam chowder.

 

yes, as K_K as pointed out Adultery is illegal in most states. Here is the basic statute covering the crime:

[Any person who has sexual intercourse with another not his spouse commits adultery, if the behavior is open and notorious and the person is married and the other person involved is not his spouse.]

Notice-open and notorious must be present for the criminal aspect.

Also- to who ever posted about Massachusetts sex laws, what you are also leaving out is that the behavior must be engaged within the public view:

[...cannot be enforced against those engaged in oral or anal sex, as long as those involved did not intend it to be in public view..]

The intent of these laws is to not regulate private, consentual behavior(when they try, such as Texas, they are usually struck down), but to safeguard the public sensiability.

 

I don't know if any of these laws can be said to have any sort of "intent" behind them, since even where they are still on the books, they are not enforced.

Kimball_Kinnison wrote:

"[marriage] is a government-sanctioned contract" and therefore behavior that constitutes breach of the contract comes under the government's authority to criminalize.

There are a number of flaws to this argument, but I'll just point out a few of the biggies.

1) Marriage may be government-sanctioned (through licensing), but it is not a contract. Marriage is often likened to a contract in many respects, but you will not find much on the books that actually declares marriage to be a contract in the traditional sense of offer and acceptance and consideration (trading of value).

Marriage is as unlike a contract as it is like a contract, and there's no evidence to suggest that the government considers marriage to be a contractual relationship simply by virtue of having licensed it.

2) Even if a law were passed tomorrow designating marriage as a contractual relationship (no such law exists) it still would not bring marriage under the purview of criminal law.

Contracts are not regulated under criminal law. Individuals and businesses are not fined or imprisoned for breach of contract. Contract law is involved only in deciding whether there is a valid contract, what the contract says, and who owes what to whom.

 

Actually, there is a very simple basis for it being a crime (and it is an many states, such as Virginia).

From a legal standpoint, marriage is a three-way contract. It involves the husband, the wife, and the government. As such, adultery is a violation of that contract.

When you get married, you are legally promising to be faithful to one person. Because it is a government-sanctioned contract, the government has the authority to punish violation of the contract.

wow. and we called the Taliban fanatics. what's the sentence, the Scarlet Letter?

i don't believe the idea of marriage as a three-way contract involving the state is applicable in every state. in most states, it's a two-way contract between the spouses, and the government clerk's role is essentially that of a witness. i mean, does the notary public get to sue people for breach of contract in Virginia, too?

that's completely insane, intrusive, and, frankly, barbaric. i can't believe this still goes on in the 21st century. i really need to get out of this crazy country.

EDIT: i should add that regardless of whatever legal basis the state may feel it has for choosing to intervene in the private lives of its citizens, this particular avenue should be rejected in the interests of preserving the rights of the citizenry.

also, what if your vows don't specify monogamy?

 

Yep - the memory of that video footage showing Taliban soldiers executing women convicted of adultery still makes my skin crawl.

But it's true - adultery is very painful. When it leads to divorce it hurts the kids as well as the parents.

Maybe an AK47 aimed at the back of the head is not the answer...but are there other solutions?

One solution might be uniform laws mandating a period of individual and marital therapy prior to divorce. Sometimes adultery boils down to "s/he was attractive, so I went for it." But I would also suspect that adultery is often the result of other problems in the marriage that simmer until the person goes elsewhere for love/affection.

 

Diz,
do you even read the exact quote of the law I posted? It is from the Illinois Criminal Code, but most other states fall within a slight variation of the wording.

The government is not concerned with what happens in people's private lives. When they wrongly narrow the focus of such a law, it is struck down, ala Texas...

The government is only concerned about upholding the public trust.

Polygamious practices are not illegal. If you are part of a swinging group, or have an open relationship, law enforcement has no sanctions over you.

Only if you try and officiate more than one relationship, would you fall under the legal term of bigamy.

America is no more extreme in this regard than any other Western Nation...

EDIT: Jaba, almost all states have some form of divorce requirements. Illinois, for example requires the parties involved to undergo counciling and child mediation, prior to the divorce ruling..

 

"Jaba, almost all states have some form of divorce requirements. Illinois, for example requires the parties involved to undergo counciling and child mediation, prior to the divorce ruling"

And those laws are good things. I think the state is doing the right kind of things when it takes steps to make sure couples jump through hoops designed to make them carefully consider what they are doing before getting divorced. An ounce of prevention...

But criminalizing adultery is a mistake. That's why none of those adultery laws are ever enforced. Sound policy, even if for whatever the politcial reason, the laws have never been officially repealed.

In the interest of full disclosure, I believe hangings and public stonings really would deter many people from committing adultery.

 

Why is criminalizing adultery a mistake?

The rational behind such a law is not so much to regulate the act, but to provide relief to those who suffer from it.

Adultery can never be prosecuted if the two people are not found out. The open and notorious clause can only apply if there is a person involved other than the two engaging in the act.

It is prosecuted, more often than you think.

The husband who is caught in a public parking lot while engaging in a certain act.

The wife who is discovered with the milkman when the husband comes home early.

These are stereotypical examples of adultery, but illustrate how it would be used to prevent a disruption to the public trust.

Adultery is only a class A misdemeanor, which would result in an arrest, and most likely nothing more than a fine. The real result is that it grants the injured party a definitive tool to use in any further procedures.

EDIT: and Jabba, many jurisdictions use a variation of your public stoning example.

The names and pictures of those people who are arrested for such crimes as adultery or public indecency are released in the local newspaper. To most, this is more damaging than the actual arrest.

 

Wheee! If we're not criminalizing sexual acts, then we're criminalizing infidelity. All right, well most people who cheat are very deceptive about it, what makes you think this is going to help stop infidelity? All you're really going to do is drive the people who do cheat further underground if you criminalize it. Congrats...you just....wait...no you didn't stop adultery, you just made it even more deceptive. *crowd applauds* Way. To. Go! And just remember the "you" is rhetorical and meant for no one in particular.


This message has been brought to you by Fire_Ice_Death, any liknesses to persons real or fictional is completely coincidental.

 

FID,
this isn't a new law or anything...

 

Of course it isn't, but the idea of turning it into an actual crime instead of a reason to get a divorce, is. Or at least from my perspective. You can't legislate morality, which is what this is. Now I'm not defending people who cheat, I hate it just as much as anyone else, but I do understand some circumstances warrant cheating, such as an unhappy marriage. The simple solution is a divorce, right? Well not if you risk losing everything, so sometimes I can see how cheating is justified. But if you're considering locking people up for it, then I see this as no better than prohibition. And not only would it not be successful, but people would just have their infidelity in a more subtle manner.