{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-255.20","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Penal Law § 255.20","heading":"Unlawfully procuring a marriage license, bigamy, adultery: defense","body":"§ 255.20 Unlawfully procuring a marriage license, bigamy, adultery:\n           defense.\n  In any prosecution for unlawfully procuring a marriage license,\nbigamy, or adultery, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant\nacted under a reasonable belief that both he and the other person to the\nmarriage or prospective marriage or to the sexual intercourse, as the\ncase may be, were unmarried.","path":["Penal Law","Part 3. Specific Offenses","Title O. Offenses Against Marriage, the Family, and the Welfare of Children and Incompetents","Article 255. Offenses Affecting the Marital Relationship"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/PEN/255.20","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:45Z","sha256":"00ddbe4e4f07201f19946cbb4d004b63ac20d9941751579667fe3f7005cbb46e","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-255.15","next":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-255.25"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}