Adultery Laws in Massachusetts: Current Legal Status
The legal status of adultery in Massachusetts has undergone significant changes in recent years, fundamentally altering how this conduct is treated within the state’s legal framework. Understanding these changes is crucial for anyone involved in family law proceedings or seeking to understand their rights and obligations under Massachusetts law.
Historical Context of Adultery as a Crime
For many decades, adultery was classified as a statutory crime in Massachusetts under General Laws Chapter 272, Section 14. This criminal classification had far-reaching implications for family law proceedings, particularly in divorce cases where adultery was alleged as grounds for dissolution of marriage. The criminal nature of adultery created unique procedural challenges and evidentiary considerations that significantly impacted how these cases were handled in Massachusetts courts.
The criminalization of adultery reflected historical moral and social standards that viewed extramarital relationships as conduct warranting criminal sanctions. This approach was consistent with many other jurisdictions throughout the United States, where adultery remained on the books as a criminal offense, even though prosecutions were extremely rare in practice.
The 2018 Legal Change
In July 2018, Massachusetts took a significant step by repealing General Laws Chapter 272, Section 14, effectively decriminalizing adultery within the Commonwealth. This legislative action removed adultery from the list of criminal offenses, fundamentally changing how this conduct is treated under Massachusetts law. The repeal represents a modernization of the state’s legal framework, bringing Massachusetts law into alignment with contemporary social attitudes and legal practices.
The decriminalization of adultery eliminated the criminal penalties that were previously associated with this conduct, removing the threat of criminal prosecution for individuals engaged in extramarital relationships. This change reflects the legislature’s recognition that adultery, while potentially relevant to civil proceedings, does not warrant criminal sanctions in modern society.
Impact on Fifth Amendment Protections
The decriminalization of adultery has had profound implications for the application of Fifth Amendment protections in civil proceedings. Previously, when adultery was a criminal offense, witnesses could invoke their privilege against self-incrimination when questioned about adulterous conduct during depositions, trials, or discovery proceedings. This privilege created significant obstacles for parties seeking to present evidence of adultery in divorce and other family law cases.
With the repeal of the criminal adultery statute, witnesses can no longer assert their Fifth Amendment privilege when questioned about adultery, as the privilege against self-incrimination is no longer available as a bar to such testimony. This change has streamlined the evidentiary process in family law cases where adultery is relevant, eliminating a significant procedural hurdle that previously complicated these proceedings.
Implications for Civil Proceedings
The removal of Fifth Amendment protections has created new dynamics in civil proceedings where adultery is relevant. Massachusetts law permits courts to draw reasonable inferences adverse to a party from their refusal to testify on grounds of self-incrimination in civil actions. With adultery no longer constituting a criminal offense, parties cannot refuse to answer questions about adulterous conduct based on Fifth Amendment grounds.
This change has practical implications for discovery proceedings, depositions, and trial testimony in family law cases. Parties and witnesses must now respond to questions about adultery when such evidence is relevant to the proceedings, as they cannot claim protection under the privilege against self-incrimination.
Adultery in Divorce Proceedings
While adultery is no longer a criminal offense in Massachusetts, it remains a recognized ground for fault-based divorce under the state’s family law statutes. However, the practical significance of adultery as a divorce ground has diminished considerably over time, with most divorce proceedings now proceeding on no-fault grounds based on irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
The decriminalization of adultery has not eliminated its potential relevance in divorce proceedings, but it has changed how evidence of adultery can be presented and challenged. Without the ability to invoke Fifth Amendment protections, parties alleging or defending against adultery claims must address these issues directly through testimony and other evidence.
Procedural Considerations in Family Law Cases
The elimination of criminal penalties for adultery has simplified certain procedural aspects of family law cases. Previously, courts had to navigate complex issues surrounding the intersection of criminal law and civil proceedings when adultery was alleged. The decriminalization has removed these complications, allowing courts to focus on the civil implications of adulterous conduct without concern for potential criminal consequences.
However, adultery allegations in divorce proceedings still require compliance with specific pleading requirements and procedural rules. When adultery is alleged as grounds for divorce, parties must meet certain evidentiary standards and follow established procedures, even though the conduct no longer carries criminal penalties.
Evidentiary Standards and Burden of Proof
The decriminalization of adultery has not changed the evidentiary standards required to prove adultery in civil proceedings. Parties alleging adultery must still present clear and convincing evidence to support their claims, meeting the same burden of proof that applied when adultery was a criminal offense. The change has simply removed the procedural complications associated with Fifth Amendment protections.
Courts continue to apply established evidentiary rules when considering adultery allegations, requiring parties to present credible evidence supporting their claims. The elimination of self-incrimination protections has made it easier to obtain testimony and other evidence relevant to adultery allegations, but the fundamental evidentiary requirements remain unchanged.
Impact on Property Division and Alimony
Massachusetts courts have long recognized that adultery, by itself, is unlikely to have a substantial effect on equitable distribution absent an economic impact on the marital estate.
Courts continue to evaluate adultery as one factor among many when considering the conduct of parties during the marriage, but the elimination of criminal penalties has not changed the weight given to such conduct in property division and support determinations. The focus remains on the economic and practical implications of the conduct rather than its moral or criminal aspects.
Professional Practice Considerations
The decriminalization of adultery has important implications for family law practitioners in Massachusetts. Attorneys can no longer advise clients that they may invoke Fifth Amendment protections when questioned about adultery, and they must prepare clients for the possibility that they will be required to testify about such conduct when it is relevant to their case.
This change requires practitioners to develop new strategies for handling cases involving adultery allegations, focusing on civil law defenses and evidentiary challenges rather than constitutional protections. The elimination of self-incrimination privileges has made adultery-related testimony more accessible, requiring careful preparation and strategic consideration of how such evidence will be presented and challenged.
The transformation of adultery from a criminal offense to purely civil conduct represents a significant evolution in Massachusetts law, reflecting changing social attitudes and legal priorities. While adultery remains relevant in certain civil proceedings, its decriminalization has simplified the legal framework and eliminated procedural complications that previously complicated family law cases involving such allegations.
It is important to note that most judges in Massachusetts do not place an emphasis on the parties’ conduct during the marriage. While it is a factor that they consider, conduct is often far more emotionally important to the parties than it is to the judges deciding divorce case.