NY State blesses ?incest? marriage between uncle, niece | New York Post
Judge Robert Smith of the Court of Appeals wrote that such unions were lawful in New York until 1893 and Rhode Island allows them.
The decision stems from a case brought by Vietnamese citizen Huyen Nguyen, 34, a woman who had appealed a ruling by an immigration judge.
The judge had tried to boot her from the United States after declaring that her 2000 marriage in Rochester to her mothers half-brother was invalid.
Nguyen and her husband, Vu Truong, 38, appealed and won.
Im very happy for my clients, said their lawyer, Michael Marszalkowski.
Theyve been married 14 years now, but unfortunately, for half the time, there has been this concern over their heads about whether [the immigration issue] could be resolved. Thankfully, now it has been, Marszalkowski said.
Marszalkowski said he won the case by zeroing in on the language of the states domestic-relations law.
The statute reads that a marriage is incestuous and void whether the relatives are legitimate or illegitimate between either: 1. An ancestor and a descendant; 2. A brother and sister of either the whole or half blood; 3. An uncle and niece or an aunt and nephew.
Incest is a crime punishable by a $50 to $100 fine and up to six months in jail.
Marszalkowski determined that as a matter of consanguinity, or blood relations, half-uncles and nieces share the same level of genetic ties as first cousins or only one-eighth the same DNA.
It really was the equivalent of cousins marrying, which has been allowed in New York state for well over 100 years, Marszalkowski said.
just sounds creepy to me....
Judge Robert Smith of the Court of Appeals wrote that such unions were lawful in New York until 1893 and Rhode Island allows them.
The decision stems from a case brought by Vietnamese citizen Huyen Nguyen, 34, a woman who had appealed a ruling by an immigration judge.
The judge had tried to boot her from the United States after declaring that her 2000 marriage in Rochester to her mothers half-brother was invalid.
Nguyen and her husband, Vu Truong, 38, appealed and won.
Im very happy for my clients, said their lawyer, Michael Marszalkowski.
Theyve been married 14 years now, but unfortunately, for half the time, there has been this concern over their heads about whether [the immigration issue] could be resolved. Thankfully, now it has been, Marszalkowski said.
Marszalkowski said he won the case by zeroing in on the language of the states domestic-relations law.
The statute reads that a marriage is incestuous and void whether the relatives are legitimate or illegitimate between either: 1. An ancestor and a descendant; 2. A brother and sister of either the whole or half blood; 3. An uncle and niece or an aunt and nephew.
Incest is a crime punishable by a $50 to $100 fine and up to six months in jail.
Marszalkowski determined that as a matter of consanguinity, or blood relations, half-uncles and nieces share the same level of genetic ties as first cousins or only one-eighth the same DNA.
It really was the equivalent of cousins marrying, which has been allowed in New York state for well over 100 years, Marszalkowski said.
just sounds creepy to me....