Sherrard Conversation | "The Heart Balm Torts, an American Anachronism"

All members of the Inn are welcome to attend - please book a ticket

The Honourable J. Matthew Martin in conversation with Joshua Xerri.

In this session the Honourable J.Matthew Martin will discuss the heart balm torts: alienation of affections and criminal conversation, civil actions that the United Kingdom abandoned fifty years ago, but which still exist in Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. They allow cuckolded spouses to sue for "injuries" to their marriages. While these may seem quaint or even the fodder for jokes, in North Carolina they are no joke, as unsuspecting defendants have found out.

The Honorable J. Matthew Martin is the first American Bar Association(ABA) Tribal Court Fellow. In 2013 Judge Martin retired from the Cherokee Court, the Tribal Court for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after eleven years of service. He has written extensively on issues of traffic safety among the United States’ indigenous population and the jurisdiction of Tribal Courts. His book, “The Cherokee Supreme Court: 1823-1835" is being published this fall by Carolina Academic Press. Judge Martin has spoken nationally and internationally on issues ranging from federal Indian law to criminal law and the judicial process. For over 25 years, Judge Martin has been Board Certified as a Specialist in Federal and State Criminal Law by the North Carolina State Bar.  In the 1991 Term, at age 31, he argued Wade v. United States before the Supreme Court of the United States.  He received a BA with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a JD from the UNC School of Law.  He also holds a Ph.D. in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada-Reno.  In 2014 the ABA’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges awarded him the Franklin Flaschner Award, as the United States’ outstanding specialized court judge.
 

[Bookings will open at 18:00 on Friday 18 December]

This event is for members only.

Click here to see details of the QS Requirements and how to be credited with the QS for this session

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the Heart Balm Torts and their history in the American Legal System.
• Understand and identify the differences between “alienations of affection” and “criminal conversation”
• Recognise the implications of the Heart Balm Torts in modern day America.

Links to the Professional Statement, wider workings of the Bar, administration of justice or a public interest matter

It is important for students to be aware of more “discreet” laws in legal systems and the very real implications that they can have for individuals and their families. Although abolished by the U.K. the Heart Balm Torts are still in effect in 8 US states and are very complex legal claims that require an experienced practitioner to understand

If you have questions about accessibility at the Inn or if you would like to request support, please email Laura Hacon.

The Inn is committed to improving access to all its services and encourages members to get in touch with suggestions and feedback on how we can improve. If you feel your experience using the website or attending one of our events could be improved, please email Laura. Your suggestions will be treated in the strictest confidence.