Adultery is still on the books as a crime in Colorado
By JIM NOLAN
Philadelphia Daily News
Convicting Kobe Bryant of felony sexual assault and unlawful imprisonment may not be easy for prosecutors.
But there is one criminal charge that Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert isn't pursuing in the case that could be the legal equivalent of a slam-dunk against the NBA All-Star:
Adultery.
That's right - adultery is still on the books as a crime in Colorado.
It appears in the Colorado Revised Statutes under le 18,(the Colorado Criminal Code), Article 6: "Offenses Involving The Family Relations."
Sec. 18-6-501 states:
"Adultery. Any sexual intercourse by a married person other than with that person's spouse is adultery, which is prohibited."
Notes underneath the law refer to a 1925 case, People v. Bright, and go on to explain the purpose of the law:
"This section is designed to prohibit and punish the disgraceful and scandalous conduct of those who would, by their evil and immoral example, debase and demoralize society."
The law has been around for at least 78 years.
As of Tuesday night, officials at the Colorado Judicial Branch in Denver were still trying to determine the last time it had been enforced.
"I didn't know that was a crime," said a surprised Krista Flannigan, a former prosecutor in Colorado's Fifth Judicial District brought on by Hurlbert to help with inquiries into the Kobe Bryant case.
"It's not typically a practice in the state to charge somebody for the crime of adultery," she added. "It's one of the blue laws, one of the old, archaic laws."
In fact, while felony sexual assault carries a maximum penalty of four years to life in prison, adultery in Colorado appears to be a crime without a punishment, at least in legal terms.
The criminal code assigns no offense level to the crime in the Colorado Revised Statutes, said Karen Salaz of the Office of the State Court Administrator in Denver.
"It could be charged, but there is no assigned weight," she said. "It's not set up as a misdemeanor or felony. It just rides with nothing attached.
"Apparently we have several statutes on the books that are more of a social statement of the time they were introduced that are never used today."
Just last year, Colorado voters approved a legislative proposal to weed out some of the older, obsolete laws dating back to the state's founding in 1876 that had more applicability to the Old West.
The crime of adultery was not eliminated.
In fact, Hurlbert would appear to have a strong case against Bryant under Sec.18-6-501 if he were inclined to pursue charges.
The prosecutor already has an unequivocal admission to the crime from the married Bryant.
Exhibit A: "I made the mistake of adultery."
That's what Bryant stated, with lawyers present, before an internationally broadcast press conference in Orange County, Calif., on July 18.
The admission came just hours after Hurlbert announced he was formally charging Bryant with raping a 19-year-old concierge at the Cordillera Lodge & Spa in Edwards the night of June 30.
Bryant professed his innocence on the rape charge, and said he had to "answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night."
Two weeks later, wife Vanessa was sporting a $4 million, eight-carat, purple diamond ring.
"Philosophically, when you're looking at how you charge somebody, you're looking at the more serious offenses," said Flannigan, offering a possible explanation of why adultery does not appear in the People of Colorado v. Kobe Bryant.
"And that's the more traditional way it's done, when you're charging a case like felony sexual assault," she added.
"Think of the resources you would need."
Adultery is not a crime in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, though Pennsylvania used to have a "Fornication and Bas y" law that prohibited getting a woman pregnant outside of marriage. The law was wiped off the books in 1973.
Prosecutors have "absolute discretion" on whether to file any criminal charge, said Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor, Jr., whose jurisdiction encompasses Kobe Bryant's former hometown of Lower Merion.
"There always has to be some measure of discretion," said Castor. "You're always trying to use common sense and make the right decision under the cir stances."
Then there's the practical matter of having a law like adultery on the books - and deciding to enforce it.
Said Castor: "I would need to triple my staff.scoop