Family Law

Recrimination?a defense to divorce in Mississippi?

By Robert M. Kisselburgh, Esq.

The ?You did it too? defense

The first defense to a divorce is recrimination. Recrimination ?is founded on the basis that the equal guilt of a complainant bars his/her right to divorce, and the principal consideration is that the complainant must come into court with clean hands.?

In an interesting case, the Mississippi Supreme Court explained the defense. The case involved a husband who was allegedly impotent and liked to dress up occasionally in women?s clothes. The wife filed for divorce based upon cruel and inhuman treatment, but the chancellor denied the divorce. The Supreme Court found sufficient grounds based upon the husband?s conduct and its impact on the wife?s health. However, at trial there was testimony that the wife was seen sitting on another man?s lap and kissing him. So the husband raised the defense of recrimination. As the Court explained, the defense did not apply. In order for the defense of recrimination to apply, the other spouse must also commit an offense that is a fault-based ground for divorce. An example would be if the husband could have proven the wife committed adultery, recrimination would have applied. Given her conduct did not rise to that level, the defense had no application to the case.

Full post as published by Mississippi Family Law Blog on May 18, 2008 (boomark / email).