Criminal Conversation Law and Legal Definition
Criminal conversation is another term for adultery. It refers to having unlawful intercourse with a married person. Adultery is defined as consensual sexual relations when one of the participants is legally married to another. Some states have laws making it a crime and and in many states it is grounds for divorce for the spouse of the married adulterer. Adultery statutes are based upon the married status of the parties, and a breakdown in the marital relationship is not a defense. Adultery is rarely prosecuted, and in no-fault divorce (or dissolution) states, adultery is legally not relevant. In some states, adultery statutes require heterosexual intercourse to have taken place.
In states where adultery is a crime, it is a defense if the person accused reasonably believes that he and the other person are unmarried persons. The burden of raising this issue is on the defendant, but this does not change the burden of proof.
Legal Definition list
Related Legal Terms
- Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences [ACJS]
- Administration of Criminal Justice
- American Board of Criminalistics
- Armed Career Criminal
- Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)
- Burglary and Criminal Trespass
- Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
- Central Criminal Court Act
- Central Repository [Criminal Law]
- Collateral Consequences of Criminal Charges
