NYS adultery law repealed

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)---Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed a bill repealing the state’s adultery law. 

Assemblymember Charles Lavine sponsored the legislation and said the law, which was over a century old, wasn’t used very often considering there likely has been millions of instances of adultery in the state.  

"If we look at what has happened in New York in the last 117 years, there have only been thirteen instances— that we can best determine, where people were arrested for adultery and of those thirteen, five people were actually convicted," said Assemblyman Lavine.

According to Lavine, in 2010 a woman was arrested and charged with adultery in upstate New York. The case was dismissed.

The Assemblyman said the law didn’t serve as a deterrent. 

"It was a Class B misdemeanor, up to 90 days in jail, and a $500 fine," explained Michael Belsky, a partner at Tully Rinckey.

Belsky doesn’t believe decriminalizing adultery will have much of an impact on legal proceedings moving forward. 

"It’s one of those laws that had to be repealed because it was so arcane," said Belsky. "As far as mattering criminally goes, and the matrimonial Family Court practice, it’s not anything that’s life-changing for any of us, except for possibly some depositions or testimony."