State v. Smith
New Jersey Supreme Court
85 N.J. 193, 426 A.2d 38 (1981)
- Written by Elliot Stern, JD
Facts
Albert Smith (defendant) was arrested and charged with assault and battery, rape, and other charges in connection with his alleged attack on his estranged wife, Alfreda Smith. At the time of the alleged incident in 1975, Albert and Alfreda had been married for seven years, but had lived separately for a year, though they had not entered into a formal separation agreement or filed for divorce. According to the allegations, Albert broke into Alfreda’s apartment, inflicted severe physical injuries on Alfreda, and compelled her to engage in sexual intercourse. Albert moved to dismiss the rape charge on the ground that he was legally married to Alfreda at the time of the incident. The trial court held that the relevant state criminal rape statute implicitly incorporated the common-law marital rape exemption and granted Albert’s motion to dismiss the rape charge. The statute was subsequently amended to exclude marriage as a defense against a rape charge. The appeals court upheld the ruling, and the state supreme court granted the petition to review the judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pashman, J.)
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