Adultery and the Fifth Amendment

If you file a Complaint for Divorce, which is, after all, a civil action, can the party accused of adultery plead the Fifth Amendment to refuse to respond to inquiries that touch on the affair?

19 minute read March 29, 2012 at 10:38 AM

James W. Korman

Thirty-three states still have fault grounds of divorce. Adultery is one of the grounds in all but two of those states. In many jurisdictions, adultery is also a crime.

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