Adultery: Trust and Children

Brinig reviews Deborah L. Rhode’s book, “Adultery: Infidelity and the Law,” which argues that adultery should not be criminalized, should not result in tort liability, and should not affect an adulterer’s employment, assuming job performance was unaffected. Brinig expresses reluctance to disengage adultery and law, citing “the destruction of trust that adultery both signals and produces does considerable damage,” and “the direct (through their own tendencies to trust or be faithful as adults) and indirect (through the likely divorce to follow and its particular nastiness) damage done to the children of adulterous marriages.” Ultimately, Brinig thinks repercussions for adultery should be left up to the community in question.