Good News For Cheaters In New York

It may soon be legal to cheat on your spouse in New York. Currently, adulterers could get hit with a fine or even jail time. If a New Yorker cheats on their spouse and their spouse wants some good "get back" they could have the cheater prosecuted for adultery. According to N.Y. Penal Law § 255.17, adultery is a class B misdemeanor,

A person is guilty of adultery when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse.

With the current law on the books, not only can you be charged if you're married, but you can also violate the law if you're single and sleep with someone who is married. While it's not widely prosecuted, know that it could be used against you in a divorce case or by a really vengeful estranged spouse. According to the law firm Proto, Sachs & Brown, you could spend 3 months in jail, get hit with a $500 fine, or receive one year on probation for committing adultery.

Back in 2010, a Batavia woman was charged with adultery,

Suzanne M. Corona of Batavia, N.Y., became only the 13th person in the history of New York to be charged with adultery when she was arrested last Friday along with Justin Amend.

The adultery charge against her was eventually dropped after she pleaded to public lewdness. She was, however, arrested again more recently, this time for prostitution, so maybe they should have made the adultery charge stick to teach her a lesson.

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New York Lawmakers Vote To Repeal Cheating Law

Senate Bill S8744 and Assembly version A4714 have both passed and are now awaiting Gover Kathy Hochul's signature. The bills repeal the crime of adultery. If Gov. Hochul signs the bills into law, section 255.17 of the penal law would be repealed immediately. The Senate bill passed on April 3, 2024, with 57 votes in favor and 4 against. The Assembly bill passed with 137 votes in favor and 10 against it. Since then, Gov. Hochul still hasn't signed the bill, but with it passing both chambers of the legislative branch, it could ultimately pass even with a veto from the Governor.

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In New York State, it's also illegal to engage in Bigamy, so don't let a weekend of binge-watching "Sister Wives," convince you to find another spouse if you're already legally hitched. N.Y. Penal Law § 255.15 says,

A person is guilty of bigamy when he contracts or purports to contract a marriage with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse. Bigamy is a class E felony.

If your hubby can't keep it in his pants or your wife is always tripping and falling onto another man, you could use that as cause for divorce in New York. There are 7 reasons you can use to justify splitting up and that is one of them, but there are some exceptions, according to LawNY.org.