Let’s be honest, we both know at least one married person who has cheated and at least one married person who has been cheated on by their spouse.
16 states still have a law on the books making infidelity in marriage a crime. The majority of states with an adultery law define the act of cheating as sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their spouse, according to Woman’s Day.
The last conviction of adultery in the country was in Massachusetts in 1983, according to Wikipedia’s cited source. It seems that cheating spouses are usually just taken to the cleaners at most if the marriage ends in divorce due to infidelity.
Anyway, even though we don’t hear of jail time anymore for such criminal acts, straying from your spouse can still legally land you in jail IF a judge decides to do so.
According to The Week, while European countries once had anti-adultery laws on the books as well, almost all were repealed in the 1970s and ’80s but not in the United States obviously.
Mia Harvey
The Week adds that in 11 of the states cheating on your spouse is only considered a misdemeanor while it’s a felony in Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
While misdemeanor states mean up to three months in jail plus a fine, cheating in those states where it’s still a felony could land you in prison for up to three years.
Sleeping around in the city that never sleeps, and everywhere else in the Empire State for that matter may change from illegal to legal as this is the first state in years actually considering getting the law off the books.
Here’s the full list of states where it’s still illegal to cheat on your spouse according to Woman’s Day.
Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Idaho, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, New York, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Maryland is actually a 17th state on this list however there’s no jail time and the fine is only ten bucks.
By the way, what happens if you’re married in a state where this law isn’t on the books making it legal to cheat, yet you cheat in one of the states where it’s still against the law?
Hmmmmmmmm I guess it depends on how good your lawyer is.
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