Life in prison for adultery??? As the law stands now...

[FourScore]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16487863.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_nation

"DETROIT - In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison.

"We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in November for a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion."

"Technically," he added, "any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I," the most serious sexual assault charge in Michigan's criminal code.

No one expects prosecutors to declare open season on cheating spouses. The ruling is especially awkward for Attorney General Mike Cox, whose office triggered it by successfully appealing a lower court's decision to drop CSC charges against a Charlevoix defendant. In November 2005, Cox confessed to an adulterous relationship..."

[jody]

1. Beats being put to death, (Leviticus 20:10). n/t

[Greyhound]

3. Oh that wacky Leviticus. Seems he's always trying to burn or stone somebody to death

but he's especially hard on the family.:rofl:

[jody]

5. Cheers

:toast:

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Do you get more time in jail if you're gay on top of the adultery?

Hmmmm, maybe I should rephrase that a little . . .

[hwmnbn]

4. Calling Newt Gingrich........

He's the first guy who should be prosecuted under this law!

[Swamp Rat]

6. So, poor folks with a crappy attorney go to prison forever for consensual, adulterous fucking

Nice to know we live in a tolerant country. :eyes:

[acmejack]

8. Great news for the For Profit Prison Industry!

I'm sure their stock will soar. The land of the free will have the chance to put even more of it's citizens in jail and deny them the right to vote. But what the hell, we never know if they actually count them or not anyway. We do know the "Decider" doesn't give a rat's ass what we vote for in any event.

[Swamp Rat]

11. It's hard enough to abstain from drugs to ease a life of poverty, but now...

NO UNAPPROVED SEX!!!

[crikkett]

13. see that's what's so offensive: they regulate our very state of mind.

"The beatings will continue until morale improves."

[Swamp Rat]

15. Bring on the Talibornagain!

[crikkett]

10. and if not forever, then when they get out they're 'sex offenders'

and get listed on a website so their neighbors can spit on them.

[Swamp Rat]

12. Or shoot them accidentally

"Oops! Your honor, I accidentally shot an unGodly, unAmerican sex offender."

[Justitia]

7. Read the back story, it's schadenfreude. The AG pushing this (repub, of course) could be prosecuted

himself under the statute - he has confessed to an adulterous affair.

hee, hee, hee - chickens home to roost and all....

They do need to get rid of such ridiculous morality laws, but I think it's only fair that the AG should be the first to face the music under his own pet prosecutions.

I mean repubs are the "family values" & "personal responsibility" & "law and order" party aren't they???????

[FourScore]

9. That's the irony!

[northzax]

14. so is the felony for the person who cheats

or the person banging them?

[WI_DEM]

16. How stupid--but it must have a lot of GOP lawmakers on edge

as well as wacky fundie ministers in Michigan.

[Bronyraurus]

17. It will never be applied

[Downtown Hound]

18. Gotta love that Christian-inspired theocratic government

[happyslug]

20. No it is STUPID LEGISLATIVE WRITING

See my post below, Adultery was NOT part of the underlying case, it was given as an example of a Crime that could be used to give someone life imprisonment under this poorly drafted statute (Through just repealing Adultery as a Felony would also eliminated this problem).

[happyslug]

19. Here is the opinion of the Court

Here is the Opinion of the Court:
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/DOCUMENTS/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/20061107_C270229_28_270229.OPN.PDF

The Legislature of Michigan has defined various sex crimes and called them "Criminal Sexual Conduct" or CSC. CSC-1 occurs whenever a person "Penetrates" another person while committing another Felony. In this case the Felony was selling Oxycontin for sex. The "Penetration" was the consensual Sex act in exchange of the Oxycontin. Under Michigan law anyone convicted of a CSC-1 can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

There was NO Adultery occurred in this particular case. The Adultery angle occurred in that Adultery is still a felony in Michigan (Through no one has been convicted since 1971). Given that Adultery is still a felony, under the Wording of CSC 1, penetration while committing adultery meets the requirements of CSC-1 enhanced penalties (i.e. Life Imprisonment).

The Michigan papers found out about this decision and ran with it for the Attorney General of Michigan in 2005 admitted to having had an Adultery Relationship. As this statute is Written the Attorney General could have been convicted of CSC-1 and sentenced to Life imprisonment. Given that the Attorney General was the one who filed this appeal and won on appeal, that fact was just to good to be left alone.

[FourScore]

22. Excellent clarification

Thank you, happyslug.:-)

(Sorry for the dupe. I did check to see if it had been posted, but I guess I didn't look far enough back.)

[happyslug]

21. Duplicate, this was on yesterday's DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2690121

[spacelady]

23. Attorney General Mike Cox. Maybe his assistant is named Mike Hunt.

I mean, Come On!

[FourScore]

25. Okay. That took me a second

but then I got it!

:rofl:

[RB TexLa]

24. Where are all the anti-immigrant people screaming that "the law must be enforced"

and "what you don't want our laws enforced!"

:puke: