New York Repeals 117-Year-Old Law Criminalizing Adultery

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill decriminalizing adultery, making New York the latest state to abandon outdated marital laws.

The now-repealed law, enacted in 1907, classified adultery as a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a fine.
Governor Kathy Hochul emphasized that personal relationships should not be governed by the criminal justice system, calling the law 'silly and outdated.'
Adultery laws were historically intended to deter divorces when proving infidelity was often the only legal path to separation.
Since the 1970s, only about a dozen people in New York have been charged under the law, with just five resulting in convictions.
While New York has repealed its adultery ban, 16 other U.S. states still consider adultery a criminal offense, though enforcement is rare.