7th Circuit Dismisses Satanist's Challenge To Bigamy, Adultery and Fornication Laws

In Mayle v. State of Illinois, (7th Cir., April 23, 2020), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's dismissal a Satanist's challenge to Illinois' laws prohibiting bigamy, adultery, and fornication. The court said in part:

The court correctly dismissed Mayle’s challenge to Illinois’s bigamy laws on preclusion grounds, having already rejected a nearly identical challenge in his earlier federal suit.... Here the parties and issues in the bigamy challenge were identical. Likewise, the court correctly dismissed Mayle’s challenges to Illinois’s adultery and fornication laws for lack of standing. Those laws no longer are enforced, so Mayle could not show a reasonable fear of prosecution....

Utah Legislature Repeals Ban On Fornication

On Wednesday, the Utah state legislature gave final passage to S.B.43 (full text) and sent it to the governor for his signature. The bill, which enacts several amendments to the state's Criminal Code includes a repeal of Sec. 76-7-104, Utah's prohibition on fornication.  Fox 13 News reports on the legislature's action. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]