Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Fifth Amendment in Adultery case?

Since it is a criminal statute then the single man can take the fifth. The penalty is a $10 fine. Maryland statute states a "person" may be charged with the offense of adultery. It is unlikely that a charge will issue.

Re: Fifth Amendment in Adultery case?

The single man who committed adultery with a married woman could claim a fifth amendment right not to testify, because adultery is a crime in Maryland, although the penalty if he were convicted would be a $10 fine (and I have not heard of any case in living memory of anyone charged with the crime). Traditionally in England, where our common law comes from, adultery was a crime involving sexual relations between a man and a married woman who is not his wife. The crime was an offense against her husband. The crime did not include sexual relations between a single woman and a married man. The word adultery generally, now, refers to any sexual relation between a married person of either sex and anyone, other than the spouse, of either sex.