Cheating on one’s spouse may be a betrayal of the heart, but in New York State, it’s long been a criminal offense.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine , who sponsored the bill, said the law is out of step with modern society. He noted earlier this month tothat since the crime is only a B misdemeanor, those charged with it don’t receive a jury trial, leaving it entirely up to a judge to determine their conviction and sentence.
“In South Carolina, you couldn’t get a divorce at all,” Faulkner said. “In New York State, if couples wanted to divorce, they’d sometimes have to create an adultery claim.”Faulkner said as divorce laws were liberalized across the country and included new grounds for a claim, like ill-temperament or “alienation of affection,” New York’s bar for divorce was so high — adultery — that couples would sometime manufacture cheating claims to be able to divorce.
Elizabeth Hirsch put private detectives on the trail before bringing her claims to the police, who arrested her husband and Yeargin.Obergefell v. Hodges,