New York Reforms Divorce

After months of angry debate, the New York legislature last week tossed out the toughest divorce law in the land. An antique drafted by Alexander Hamilton in 1787, it was the only U.S. divorce law that parted spouses solely for adultery, a rule that spawned fraud and collusion on a colossal scale. What finally killed the law, said one legislator, was "a man named John--Pope John." With the reforming spirit of Vatican II blowing strong, New York's Roman Catholic bishops toned down their opposition to change, and the legislators scrambled into action.

As voters watched over TV for the first time, the blue-shirted lawmakers enacted a new divorce code that broadened even the old adultery provision: it classifies sodomy and a homosexual act by either spouse as adultery. In addition, New Yorkers may now divorce on four new grounds: cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment for two years, imprisonment of one of the spouses for three consecutive years, and living apart for two years after a formal separation agreement or decree.

The main clash came over the separation provision, which Catholic critics branded "divorce by consent." Actually, easier divorce may now be possible under the new law's vague cruelty provision, depending on how much proof of "cruelty" the state's judges demand. In many other states, cruelty is now the easiest way out of a broken marriage.

The new law takes wobbly aim at a problem created by the old law: the fact that thousands of New Yorkers seek quickie divorces in Nevada, if they can wait six weeks, or in Mexico, where a day suffices. All this evades the usual U.S. rule that divorces may be granted only by the state where one of the partners actually lives. To enforce that rule, the new law says that a New Yorker retains his domicile unless he gives up his New York residence for 18 months.

Critics claim that this provision's use against the typical Nevada or Idaho divorce is barred by the U.S. Constitution, which commands all states to give "full faith and credit" to one another's court judgments. As for Mexican divorces, the New York Court of Appeals has declared that their validity does not depend on domicile requirements. In short, New Yorkers who divorce elsewhere may be as safe as ever.

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