Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 15: Summary of Alaska Laws

Author's Note:

Finally figured out Alaska's website, yay!

- Jason

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 15: Summary of Alaska Laws

Adultery:

Alaska has no criminal adultery laws, which effective eliminates liability for dyadic non-monogamies (swingers & polyamorous).

Bigamy:

Alaska’s bigamy law, called unlawful marrying, includes a purportation clause, and affects both the purported marryer and marryee (Alaska State Legislature, 2011f). Alaska classifies unlawful marrying as a class A misdemeanor (Alaska State Legislature, 2011f), punishable by imprisonment of up to one year (Alaska State Legislature, 2011h), and by a fine of up to $10,000 (Alaska State Legislature, 2011g). There is no escalating punishment for repeat bigamy offences.

For inchoate offences, only attempt and solicitation are applicable (Alaska State Legislature, 2011c; Alaska State Legislature, 2011d), as conspiracy only applies to felonies (Alaska State Legislature, 2011e). The punishment for bigamy attempt and/or solicitation is as a class B misdemeanor (Alaska State Legislature, 2011c; Alaska State Legislature, 2011d), punishable by imprisonment of up to 90 days (Alaska State Legislature, 2011h), and a fine of up to $2,000 (Alaska State Legislature, 2011g).

Additionally, Alaska law provides liability for legal accountability (Alaska State Legislature, 2011a), defined as “solicits the other to commit the offense” (Alaska State Legislature, 2011b) or “aids or abets the other in planning or committing the offense” (Alaska State Legislature, 2011b) as well as “acting with the culpable mental state that is sufficient for the commission of the offense, the person causes an innocent person or a person who lacks criminal responsibility to engage in the proscribed conduct.” (Alaska State Legislature, 2011b) This provision can extend liability to cover the missing segments of liability missed by the absence of criminal conspiracy. Accountability is punishable at the same level as bigamy (Alaska State Legislature, 2011a).

Round-Up of Laws:

With the absence of adultery, but a purportation clause in bigamy, liability for dyadic non-monogamies is effectively eliminated. For non-dyadic non-monogamies there is a concern over public presentation of the family. Because of the extensive coverage of legal accountability, combined with attempt and solicitation, potential liability is extended to the whole family and any who assist or are facilitatory in the public presentation of the non-monogamous relationship.

Non-Monogamous Strategies:

Because all liability in Alaska is contingent on bigamous purportation, non-dyadic non-monogamies need to be extremely cautious about their public presentation. Provided that the family isn’t purporting their non-monogamy, liability is minimal.

References

Alaska State Legislature. (2011a). Legal accountability based upon conduct. (Alaska Statute 11.16.100). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011b). Legal accountability based upon conduct of another. (Alaska Statute 11.16.110). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011c). Attempt. (Alaska Statute 11.31.100). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011d). Solicitation. (Alaska Statute 11.31.110). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011e). Conspiracy. (Alaska Statute 11.31.120). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011f). Unlawful marrying. (Alaska Statute 11.51.140). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011g). Fines. (Alaska Statute 12.55.035). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Alaska State Legislature. (2011h). Sentences of imprisonment for misdemeanors. (Alaska Statute 12.55.135). Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 14: Summary of Kentucky Laws

Author's Note:

A little out of order here, I'll be back on track in a week or two.

- Jason

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 14: Summary of Kentucky Laws

Adultery:

Kentucky doesn't have any law against adultery (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011a), which effectively eliminates liability for dyadic non-monogamists, and lowers liability for non-dyadic non-monogamists.

Bigamy:

Unfortunately Kentucky's bigamy law possesses both a purportation and a cohabitation clause (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011f), which extends liability for non-dyadic non-monogamous families. Cohabitation only applies if the marriage was in another state; however purportation covers most situations that would be eased from an in-state bigamous marriage (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011f). Additionally, liability is extended to both the purported bigamist and the purported bigamist's partner (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011f).

Bigamy is considered a class D felony (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011f), and is punishable by 1 to 5 years of imprisonment (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011g) and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011j). There is escalating punishment for repeat offences, which increases the imprisonment penalty to 5 to 10 years (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011h). Incohate laws also apply, in the range of attempt, solicitation, conspiracy, in addition to facilitation (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011b; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011c; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011d; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011e). This creates the expected wide-range of liability for any incohate assistance to the purportation or co-habitation; however the liability is at a class A misdemeanor level (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011b; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011c; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011d; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011e), which is punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment and a fine up to $500 (Kentucky State Legislature, 2011i; Kentucky State Legislature, 2011k).

Round-up of Laws:

Due to the absence of adultery laws, dyadic non-monogamies come off clean for liability. Unfortunately because of the purportation & cohabitation clause in bigamy, the same cannot be said of non-dyadic non-monogamists. Liability for polyamorists and polyfidelitists is dependent on either the public image of the relationship, or the cohabitation of the relationship. Considering there is a full range of applicable incohate laws, the liability is spread, though to a lesser degree, to parties not directly affected by the bigamy law.

Non-Monogamous strategies:

Because the liability for non-monogamists is limited to non-dyadic families, and due to the purportation and cohabitation clause, liability can be avoided by careful management of public perception and by limiting cohabitation to each married couple cohabiting separately.

References

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011a). Fornication – adultery (repealed). (Kentucky Revised Statute 436.070). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011b). Criminal attempt. (Kentucky Revised Statute 506.010). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011c). Criminal solicitation. (Kentucky Revised Statute 506.030). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011d). Criminal conspiracy. (Kentucky Revised Statute 506.040). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011e). Criminal facilitation. (Kentucky Revised Statute 506.080). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011f). Bigamy - defense. (Kentucky Revised Statute 530.010). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011g). Designation of offences. (Kentucky Revised Statute 532.020). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011h). Persistent felony offender sentencing. (Kentucky Revised Statute 532.080). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011i). Sentence of imprisonment for misdemeanors. (Kentucky Revised Statute 532.090). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011j). Fines for felonies. (Kentucky Revised Statute 534.020). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Kentucky State Legislature. (2011k). Fines for misdemeanors and violations. (Kentucky Revised Statute 534.040). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 13: Summary of Kansas Laws

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 13: Summary of Kansas Laws

Adultery:

Kansas adultery law extends to both participants of the adultery, not just the married individual (Kansas State Legislature, 2011d). Punishment includes up to one month of imprisonment (Kansas State Legislature, 2011g) or a fine up to $500 (Kansas State Legislature, 2011h), with no escalating penalties existing for adultery. Though attempt and conspiracy are applicable on adultery (Kansas State Legislature, 2011a; Kansas State Legislature, 2011b), solicitation is not as it only applies to felonies (Kansas State Legislature, 2011c). This doesn't decrease liability much however, as the liability under attempt and conspiracy cover almost all situations that would be covered by solicitation. Punishment for attempt and/or conspiracy in relation to adultery is the same as it is for adultery proper (Kansas State Legislature, 2011a; Kansas State Legislature, 2011b).

Bigamy:

Kansas bigamy laws do include a cohabitation clause, however the wording is ambiguous about how applicable it would be in polyamorous or polyfidelitous families (Kansas State Legislature, 2011e). The assumption will be that there is a full applicability under Kansas law for cohabitation issues.

Punishment for bigamy/cohabitation is 5-7 months of imprisonment (Kansas State Legislature, 2011e), escalating up to a maximum of 7-9 months for repeat offenses (Kansas State Legislature, 2011e), and up to $100,000 fine (Kansas State Legislature, 2011h). Incohate laws apply in full, so extended liability is a possibility.

Round-up of Laws:

The combination of adultery and bigamy laws creates the expected liability for all non-monogamists, with the cohabitation creating the expected additional liability for polyamorists and polyfidelitists. Because of the inchoate laws, liability extended beyond the family is possible, however since purportation is not a factor with bigamy, there is less liability for individuals outside of the family to be liable due to participation/support of a ceremonial marriage, or the like.

Non-Monogamous Strategies:

Because of the cohabitation clause, it is strongly recommended that polyamorists and polyfidelitists show caution when creating multi-partner cohabitation arrangements, as this will increase their total liability under Kansas bigamy laws. Unfortunately there is no similar mechanism to avoid liability under adultery, so all non-monogamists in Kansas will summer from some degree of legal liability.

References

Kansas State Legislature. (2011a). Attempt. (Kansas Statute 21-3301). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011b). Conspiracy. (Kansas Statute 21-3302). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011c). Criminal solicitation. (Kansas Statute 21-3303). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011d). Adultery. (Kansas Statute 21-3507). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011e). Bigamy. (Kansas Statute 21-3601). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011f). Conviction of a second felony. (Kansas Statute 21-4054). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011g). Classification of misdemeanor. (Kansas Statute 21-4502). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011h). Fines, crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993. (Kansas Statute 21-4503a). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Kansas State Legislature. (2011i). Authorized dispositions, crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993. (Kansas Statute 21-4603d). Topeka, KS: Kansas State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 12: Summary of Idaho Laws

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 12: Summary of Idaho Laws

Adultery:

Idaho's adultery law affects not only those within a legal marriage, but also those having a sexual relationship with a married individual are liable (Idaho State Legislature, 2011g). Additionally, Idaho has a law against 'fornication,' which applies broadly to unmarried individuals who have sex (Idaho State Legislature, 2011h). This creates a strong network of liability that doesn't exempt any form of non-monogamy from liability, including those existing outside of a legal marriage.

Adultery is punishable with a fine of $100-$1,000 or imprisonment of 3 months to 3 years (Idaho State Legislature, 2011g). Fornication is punishable with a fine up to $300 or imprisonment of up to 6 months (Idaho State Legislature, 2011h). Escalating punishments appear to not apply to adultery; however solicitation and conspiracy apply (Idaho State Legislature, 2011d; Idaho State Legislature, 2011e), with the same liability as adultery (Idaho State Legislature, 2011d; Idaho State Legislature, 2011f). Idaho appears to not have attempt, though this doesn't limit liability much for non-monogamous families and their associations.

Bigamy:

Idaho's bigamy law is targeted specifically at actual bigamous marriages, and not at purported marriages or cohabitation (Idaho State Legislature, 2011a), though liability isn’t limited to just the bigamist, but also those who marry a bigamist (Idaho State Legislature, 2011c). This drastically limits liability for non-dyadic non-monogamies as control over cohabitation and public image are not factors of bigamy.

Punishment between bigamy and marrying a bigamist are slightly different with bigamy being a fine up to $2,000 and up to 3 years imprisonment (Idaho State Legislature, 2011b), whereas marrying a bigamist is a fine of no less than $2,000 and up to 3 years imprisonment (Idaho State Legislature, 2011c). There is no escalating punishment, but inchoate solicitation and conspiracy laws apply.

Round-Up of Laws:

The combination of adultery and bigamy create the expected web of liability, but thankfully the worst of liabilities for non-dyadic non-monogamies is avoided due to a lack of purportation and/or cohabitation clauses.

It is impossible for non-monogamists to avoid all liability, including their partners, because of the large reach of the adultery laws, as well as the extra potential liability from the solicitation and conspiracy laws. Even avoiding a legal marriage doesn’t allow for exemption under Idaho law due to the fornication law.

Non-Monogamous Strategies:

Unfortunately there's little that can be done to avoid the liability under adultery, as it's based on sexual contact, and not things like public perception or cohabitation. The fornication laws extend liability beyond legal marriage, which creates an extra level of challenge for non-monogamists. The lack of cohabitation and/or purportation creates an even liability distribution among non-monogamous styles however.

References

Idaho State Legislature. (2011a). Bigamy defined. (Idaho Statute 18-1101). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011b). Punishment for bigamy. (Idaho Statute 18-1103). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011c). Marrying the spouse of another. (Idaho Statute 18-1104). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011d). Criminal conspiracy defined. (Idaho Statute 18-1701). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011e). Definition of solicitation. (Idaho Statute 18-2001). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011f). Punishment for criminal solicitation. (Idaho Statute 18-2004). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011g). Adultery. (Idaho Statute 18-6601). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Idaho State Legislature. (2011h). Fornication. (Idaho Statute 18-6603). Boise, ID: Idaho State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 11: Summary of Hawaii Laws

Author's Note:

It's been hit-the-ground-running this past week. I got back from vacation on Wednesday and I haven't had any time to work on getting the info I got together transcribed to the blog. It's the weekend now and I have time, so yay! (-: These'll be trickling in through the day, along with my next two posts.

- Jason

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 11: Summary of Hawaii Laws

Adultery:

Hawaii possesses no adultery laws, which frees up liability for dyadic non-monogamies (swingers/open relationships).

Bigamy:

Hawaii does posses a bigamy law (referred to as illegally marrying) with a purportation clause (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k), creating rather extensive liability for non-dyadic non-monogamies (polyamory/fidelity), as the appearance of a bigamous marriage alone is enough to be liable under Hawai'i bigamy. Liability isn't limited to the bigamous individual, but also extends to the additional marryee (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k).

Punishment for bigamy is surprisingly light, however. Bigamy in Hawaii is only considered a petty misdemeanor (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k), punishable by up to 30 days imprisonment (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011j) and a fine of up to $1,000 (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011i). This is comparable to adultery liabilities in other states. The usual assortment of incohate laws exist (solicitation, attempt, conspiracy) (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011a; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011b; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011d; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011f), In the case of attempt and conspiracy, the liability is the same as with bigamy (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011c; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011g). Solicitation is supposedly at one grade lower of a punishment, which retains the same potential fine level, but may remove the imprisonment possibility (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011e). There are also no escalating punishments for repeat offenses, as bigamy is not a felony is Hawaii (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011h).

Round-Up of Laws:

Because of the absence of adultery laws, dyadic non-monogamies suffer little liability under Hawaii law. Unfortunately the same is not true of the non-dyadic non-monogamies. Because of the purportation clause in their bigamy law, Hawaii polyamorists and polyfidelitists must show great care in how they present themselves publicly. Liability under Hawaii bigamy is, comparatively, very light. The usual slew of incohate laws make potential liability for anyone who contributes to the appearance of a bigamous marriage.

Non-Monogamous strategies:

Again, dyadics don't need to worry about liability. For non-dyadics, liability can be avoided through careful public presentation of the family unit. Public perception of a bigamous marriage creates much liability, even though it's a much more limited form of liability than is the norm for bigamy.

References

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011a). Criminal attempt. (Hawaii Bill 705-500). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011b). Criminal attempt; attempting to aid another. (Hawaii Bill 705-501). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011c). Grading of criminal attempt. (Hawaii Bill 705-502). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011d). Criminal solicitation. (Hawaii Bill 705-510). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011e). Grading of criminal solicitation. (Hawaii Bill 705-512). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011f). Criminal conspiracy. (Hawaii Bill 705-520). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011g). Grading of criminal conspiracy. (Hawaii Bill 705-526). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011h). Sentencing of repeat offenders. (Hawaii Bill 706-606.5). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011i). Authorized fines. (Hawaii Bill 706-640). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011j). Sentence of imprisonment for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor. (Hawaii Bill 706-663). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011k). Illegally marrying. (Hawaii Bill 709-900). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 10: Summary of Georgia Laws

Author's Note:

Georgia, as promised (-:

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 10: Summary of Georgia Laws

Adultery:

Georgia's adultery law is specific to only the married individual committing adultery, and not to any unmarried individual involved (Georgia State Legislature, 2011f). Additionally, though Georgia has incohate laws, only attempt and conspiracy are applicable, and not solicitation (Georgia State Legislature, 2011b; Georgia State Legislature, 2011d; Georgia State Legislature, 2011e). Though the liability under just attempt and conspiracy is not much less with the removal of solicitation, some specific situations, such as encouraging a married partner to be sexual with another partner, would be exempt from incohate offense.

Adultery is considered a misdemeanor in Georgia (Georgia State Legislature, 2011f), and is punishable by up to $1,000 or up to 12 months of imprisonment (Georgia State Legislature, 2011i). Incohate adultery is punishable by the same as adultery (Georgia State Legislature, 2011c; Georgia State Legislature, 2011e). There are no escalating punishments in Georgia for adultery.

Bigamy:

Georgia law is inconsistent in its treatment of bigamy, in that for a married spouse bigamy liability extends to cohabitation (Georgia State Legislature, 2011g), however for the individual that the bigamous spouse is cohabiting with there is no liability for cohabitation (Georgia State Legislature, 2011h). Georgia law only extends liability to the other individual if they actually enter a bigamous marriage. Though this spares the unmarried party, there still exists liability within a non-monogamous family, notably for polyamorous and polyfidelitous families.

The punishment for both bigamy and marrying a bigamist is imprisonment for one to ten years (Georgia State Legislature, 2011g). Though Georgia law doesn’t classify Bigamy as a felony, thus voiding it from escalating punishments for repeat offences, there is a roundabout incohate liability through Georgia's “party to a crime” law. Being considered party to bigamy would extend liability to anyone who “aides, abets...advises, encourages, hires, counsels, or procures another” in an actual bigamous marriage, or, more importantly, a cohabitation arrangement that would fall within Georgia's bigamy law (Georgia State Legislature, 2011a). Liability under being a party to bigamy is identical to liability under bigamy, one to ten years imprisonment (Georgia State Legislature, 2011a).

Round-Up of Laws:

Due to the presence of adultery laws, and the co-habitation clause in Georgia's bigamy laws, Georgia is very unfriendly to non-monogamous families. The expected pattern of liability emerges, with swingers & open relationships possessing liability under adultery laws alone, and polyamorists & polyfidelitists having adultery liability because of the restrictions of the bigamy laws. Unfortunately the co-habitation clause in bigamy extends liability to polyfidelitists, polyamorists and to a select group of open relationships, as if anyone who is involved with a partner within a legal marriage is cohabiting with the family, then there is immediate liability under Georgia's bigamy laws.

Fortunately Georgia's laws come just short of extending maximum levels of liability, in not extending adultery liability to unmarried participants, and not extending the cohabitation clause for bigamy to the non-married cohabiter. This provides some, limited, breathing room among the mess of liability that non-monogamists encounter among Georgia's laws.

Non-Monogamous Strategies:

Unfortunately, there is no round-about way to avoid adultery liability, beyond not being married. Because being married is a key component to adultery liability, the removal of this aspect removes the liability. The lack of this liability is advantageous specifically to swingers and open relationships who are specifically seeing partner(s) who have no legal commitments. For polyamorists and polyfidelitists there is no way to avoid liability under adultery, and the harshness of the co-habitation clause within Georgia's bigamy law makes family co-habitation dangerous, at best. Fortunately this liability only extends to the identified bigamist, so the liability within a V, due to only one person having a multi-partner sexual relationship, will be more limited than in a triad, where everyone has a multi-partner sexual relationship and is liable under bigamy.

References

Georgia State Legislature. (2011a). When a person is party to a crime. (Georgia Code 16.2.20). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011b). Criminal attempt. (Georgia Code 16.4.1). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011c). Penalties for criminal attempt. (Georgia Code 16.4.6). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011d). Criminal solicitation. (Georgia Code 16.4.7). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011e). Conspiracy to commit a crime. (Georgia Code 16.4.8). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011f). Adultery. (Georgia Code 16.6.19). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011g). Bigamy. (Georgia Code 16.6.20). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011h). Marrying a bigamist. (Georgia Code 16.6.21). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Georgia State Legislature. (2011i). Punishment for misdemeanors generally. (Georgia Code 17.10.3). Atlanta, GA: Georgia State Legislature.

Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 9: Summary of Florida Laws

Author's Note:

I apologize for not having this posted over the weekend, the DC conference took a lot out of me. I did do the actual work, I just didn't post it on the blog. Georgia's will be following momentarily.

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 9: Summary of Florida Laws

Adultery:

Florida's Adultery laws are rather broad-base, and provide liability for families that possess no legal marriage. This is done through Florida's law against "lewd and lascivious" behavior amongst co-habiting individuals (Florida State Legislature, 2011f). Due to the ambiguous way in which it is written, the lewd and lascivious behavior law could extend to couples who are living together but not married, regardless of non-monogamous behavior. For the purposes of this paper, the assumption is that the lewd and lascivious law will make all individuals liable who co-habit and have sexual relations.

For non-monogamous families that do have a legal marriage, but only possess a dyadic structure (swingers & open relationships) without any co-habitation with outside partners, the liability is, again, somewhat ambiguous, as it depends on the interpretation of 'open adultery', as specified in Florida's law (Florida State Legislature, 2011e). In the context of non-monogamists, this could be interpreted as the public acknowledgement of the lifestyle, which may (depending on how open about their lifestyle the non-monogamous family is) or may not extend adultery liability to the family. Again, for the purposes of this paper, the worst-case assumption is made in that 'open' refers to the couple acknowledging non-monogamous behavior, thus extending liability in the same way as traditional adultery laws.

In the case of non-dyadic families (polyamorous & polyfidelitous) the liability is enhanced due to the lewd and lascivious law, which extends adultery-level liability to all non-married and cohabiting members of a family (and any outside-family partners who are cohabiting). If there is a legal marriage within the family, this does not exempt the family from liability, but simply makes sexual interactions between the two married individuals legal. Any sexual activity within a cohabitation outside of the legal marriage is considered adultery and lewd & lascivious behavior (Florida State Legislature, 2011e; Florida State Legislature, 2011f).

It should be noted that the Adultery laws don't factor for cohabitation, however the lewd and lascivious behavior laws do. To be applicable outside of a cohabitation situation there MUST be a legal marriage (Florida State Legislature, 2011e), and to be applicable regardless of a legal marriage, there MUST be cohabitation involved (Florida State Legislature, 2011f).

Both adultery and lewd & lascivious behavior are considered a second degree misdemeanor (Florida State Legislature, 2011e; Florida State Legislature, 2011f), punishable by up to 60 days imprisonment (Florida State Legislature, 2011a) and a fine of up to $500 (Florida State Legislature, 2011b). There are no escalating punishments for repeat offenders of a misdemeanor, and though Florida does contain the usual attempt, solicitation and conspiracy laws (Florida State Legislature, 2011d), Florida laws appear to only extend incohate offences to felony charges.

Bigamy:

Florida Bigamy laws don't have a purportation clause, and thus only look at the legal marriage status of the involved parties (Florida State Legislature, 2011g). This makes liability for polyamorists and polyfidelitists dramatically lower under these laws. The bigamy laws in Florida cover both the bigamist and the person who marries the bigamist (Florida State Legislature, 2011h), so liability isn't limited to just the possessor of a bigamous marriage.

In the event that there is an actual bigamous marriage, it is considered a third degree felony (Florida State Legislature, 2011h) and is punishable with imprisonment for up to five years (Florida State Legislature, 2011a) and a fine up to $5,000 (Florida State Legislature, 2011b). There are escalating punishments for repeat bigamy offences, which extend the imprisonment sentence to be up to ten years (Florida State Legislature, 2011c). Florida does have incohate laws, attempt, solicitation and conspiracy (Florida State Legislature, 2011d), that can expand the liability of bigamy, however since purportation and cohabitation are not a factor of bigamy, this would only apply to those involved in assisting an actual bigamous marriage. Because of the ambiguity of how Florida sentences incohate offences, it is assumed that the liability is comparable to bigamy's liability of up to five years and a fine up to $5,000 (Florida State Legislature, 2011d).

Round-Up of Laws:

Because of the broad-reaching combination of the adultery and the lewd & lascivious behavior laws, the liability for all forms of non-monogamous relationship is high. There is the expected liability due to the combination of adultery and bigamy laws, which makes those in the family liable due to the lack of methods of legitimizing sexual interactions beyond a dyadic marriage. Swingers and open relationships within a legal marriage should be primarily concerned with the adultery laws, as the liability for them is not only with the committing partner within the dyad, but their external partner(s). Swingers and open relationships that are not within a legal marriage and who are co-habiting should also should be concerned, as both partners are liable under the lewd and lascivious behavior law, providing the same level of liability as adultery.

Polyamorists and polyfidelitists are hit very hard by the combination of adultery and lewd & lascivious laws, but are spared the harsher effects of the bigamy laws due to the absence of perpetration and cohabitation in Florida bigamy laws. As expected, it is the presence of bigamy laws that forces these families to suffer from the full-force of adultery and, in Florida’s case, lewd & lascivious behavior laws. even outside of the dyadic-marriage confines, cohabitation issues immediately fall under lewd & lascivious behavior, so avoiding legal marriage does not escape liability. In the event of a legal marriage then a redundant level of liability comes in effect from the adultery law.

Florida's lewd & lascivious behavior law creates a very effective catch that makes liable not only non-monogamous behavior, but also negates avoiding liability by not having a legal marriage within a non-monogamous family. The liability is reduced outside of a legal marriage, only being applicable to those co-habiting, however in polyfidelitous families this is rather useless, being as there are no outside relations.

Non-Monogamous Strategies:

Because of the effectiveness of Florida's combination of laws, there is little that non-monogamists can do to avoid liability completely. Though not possessing a legal marriage does reduce the liability for partners outside the family, it does nothing to remove the liability under lewd and lascivious behavior for those within the family.

In the event that a legal marriage is unavoidable, then one method to limit liability is to have split households, with only legally parried partners living in a household. Though this puts a great deal of strain on polyamorous and polyfidelitous families, it will reduce the liability under lewd and lascivious behavior, though not under adultery.

As a one shining ray within Florida’s laws, because bigamy only looks at legal marriage, avoiding liability under this law is relatively easy: don't get married to more than one person at a time.

References

Florida State Legislature. (2011a). Penalties; applicability of sentencing structures; mandatory minimum sentences for certain reoffenders previously released from prison. (Florida Statutes XLVI-775.082). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011b). Fines. (Florida Statutes XLVI-775.083). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011c). Violent career criminals; habitual felony offenders and habitual violent felony offenders; three-time violent felony offenders; definitions; procedure; enhanced penalties or mandatory minimum prison terms. (Florida Statutes XLVI-775.084). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011b). Fines. (Florida Statutes XLVI-775.083). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011d). Attempts, solicitation, and conspiracy. (Florida Statutes XLVI-777.04). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011e). Living in open adultery. (Florida Statutes XLVI-798.01). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011f). Lewd and lascivious behavior. (Florida Statutes XLVI-798.02). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011g). Bigamy; punishment. (Florida Statutes XLVI-826.01). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.

Florida State Legislature. (2011h). Knowingly marrying husband or wife of another. (Florida Statutes XLVI-826.03). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Legislature.