In
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, recrimination is a
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
in an action for
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
in which the accused party makes a similar accusation against the
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
. To put it simply, it is the defense of "you, too."
Recrimination was generally considered by
family law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriage, ...
experts to be one of the most dysfunctional and illogical aspects of the old fault-based divorce system in
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
countries. For example, in the context of a
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
where the marital relationship has collapsed to the point that both spouses are openly committing
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, the assertion by either spouse of this defense would prevent a divorce even though the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
unit is clearly no longer capable of functioning.
As a result, the defense was formally abolished by statute in many
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
s when they converted to a
no-fault divorce
In a no-fault divorce the dissolution of a marriage does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party of the marriage ...
regime.
New York law
The law of New York consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law, and also includes local laws, ordinances, and regulations. The '' Consolidated Laws'' form the general statutory law.
The Constitu ...
is one of very few jurisdictions that retain this defense.
[N.Y. Dom. Rel. L. § 171, found a]
New York State website
accessed October 27, 2014.
The corollary principle of comparative rectitude ameliorated the effects of the recrimination doctrine by holding that if the offenses were of entirely different orders of seriousness, the spouse guilty of the lesser fault was still entitled to relief.
See also
*
Antanagoge
An antanagoge (Greek ''ἀνταναγωγή'', a leading or bringing up), is a figure in rhetoric, in which, not being able to answer the accusation of an adversary, a person instead makes a counter-allegation or counteracting an opponent’s pr ...
, the same usage in
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
*
Defenses to divorce in United States law
References
{{Law-term-stub
Divorce law