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Ziherl</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Virginia_supreme_court_seal.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Virginia_supreme_court_seal.png/180px-Virginia_supreme_court_seal.png" decoding="async" width="180" height="182" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Virginia_supreme_court_seal.png 1.5x" data-file-width="239" data-file-height="241" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Court</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Virginia" title="Supreme Court of Virginia">Supreme Court of Virginia</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Full case name</th><td class="infobox-data"><i> Muguet S. Martin v. Kristopher Joseph Ziherl </i></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Decided</th><td class="infobox-data">January 14, 2005</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Citation</th><td class="infobox-data">269 Va. 35; 607 <a href="/wiki/South_Eastern_Reporter" title="South Eastern Reporter">S.E.2d</a> 367; 2005 Va. LEXIS 7</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Case history</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Prior actions</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Demurrer" title="Demurrer">Demurrer</a> sustained, <a href="/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia" title="Richmond, Virginia">Richmond</a> Circuit Court</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Holding</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Plaintiff's lawsuit for the intentional transmission of herpes was not barred by the judicial rule against recovering for injuries suffered while engaging in illegal conduct, because Virginia's criminal prohibition against sexual intercourse between unmarried individuals violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Richmond Circuit Court reversed and remanded.</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Court membership</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Chief judge</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Leroy_Rountree_Hassell,_Sr." class="mw-redirect" title="Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.">Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Associate judges</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Lawrence_L._Koontz,_Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr.">Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr.</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cynthia_D._Kinser" title="Cynthia D. Kinser">Cynthia D. Kinser</a>, <a href="/wiki/Donald_W._Lemons" title="Donald W. Lemons">Donald W. Lemons</a>, <a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_B._Lacy" title="Elizabeth B. Lacy">Elizabeth B. Lacy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Barbara_Milano_Keenan" title="Barbara Milano Keenan">Barbara Milano Keenan</a>, <a href="/wiki/G._Steven_Agee" title="G. Steven Agee">G. Steven Agee</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Case opinions</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Majority</th><td class="infobox-data">Lacy, joined by Koontz, Kinser, Lemons, Keenan, Agee</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Concurrence</th><td class="infobox-data">Hassell</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Laws applied</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution">U.S. Const. amend. XIV</a>; <a href="/wiki/Code_of_Virginia" title="Code of Virginia">Va. Code</a> § 18.2-344</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>Martin v. Ziherl</b></i>, 607 <a href="/wiki/South_Eastern_Reporter" title="South Eastern Reporter">S.E.2d</a> 367 (Va. 2005), was a decision by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Virginia" title="Supreme Court of Virginia">Supreme Court of Virginia</a> holding that the <a href="/wiki/Virginia" title="Virginia">Virginia</a> criminal law against <a href="/wiki/Fornication" title="Fornication">fornication</a> (sexual acts between unmarried people) was unconstitutional. The court's decision followed the 2003 ruling of the <a href="/wiki/U.S._Supreme_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Supreme Court">U.S. Supreme Court</a> in <i><a href="/wiki/Lawrence_v._Texas" title="Lawrence v. Texas">Lawrence v. Texas</a></i>, which established the constitutionally-protected right of adults to engage in private, consensual sex. </p><p>Virginia's law against fornication was repealed on March 4, 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-without_breaking_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-without_breaking-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background_of_the_case">Background of the case</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background of the case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Muguet Martin and Kristopher Ziherl were an unmarried couple who had been in a sexually active relationship for two years when Martin's doctor diagnosed her with <a href="/wiki/Herpes" title="Herpes">herpes</a>. She then filed a <a href="/wiki/Lawsuit" title="Lawsuit">lawsuit</a> against Ziherl in the <a href="/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia" title="Richmond, Virginia">Richmond</a> Circuit Court, alleging that he knew he was infected with herpes when they had unprotected sex, knew it was contagious, and failed to inform her. Her <a href="/wiki/Complaint" title="Complaint">complaint</a> claimed <a href="/wiki/Negligence" title="Negligence">negligence</a>, intentional <a href="/wiki/Battery_(tort)" title="Battery (tort)">battery</a> and <a href="/wiki/Intentional_infliction_of_emotional_distress" title="Intentional infliction of emotional distress">intentional infliction of emotional distress</a>, for which she sought compensatory and <a href="/wiki/Punitive_damage" class="mw-redirect" title="Punitive damage">punitive damages</a>. </p><p>The Supreme Court of Virginia had ruled in <i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Zysk_v._Zysk&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Zysk v. Zysk (page does not exist)">Zysk v. Zysk</a></i>, 404 S.E.2d 721 (Va. 1990), that <a href="/wiki/Plaintiff" title="Plaintiff">plaintiffs</a> could not recover damages for injuries suffered while participating in illegal conduct. As sex between unmarried persons was criminalized under Virginia's anti-fornication statute,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ziherl filed a <a href="/wiki/Demurrer" title="Demurrer">demurrer</a> in response to Martin's suit. Judge Theodore J. Markow rejected Martin's argument that the statute was no longer valid after <i>Lawrence v. Texas</i>, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found unconstitutional a <a href="/wiki/Texas" title="Texas">Texas</a> law criminalizing <a href="/wiki/Homosexual" class="mw-redirect" title="Homosexual">homosexual</a> <a href="/wiki/Sodomy" title="Sodomy">sodomy</a> as an infringement upon the liberty of adults to engage in private and consensual intimate conduct under the <a href="/wiki/Due_process" title="Due process">due process</a> clause of the <a href="/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution">Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution</a>. Judge Markow instead believed the fornication prohibition satisfied the <a href="/wiki/Rational_basis_review" title="Rational basis review">rational basis review</a> that <i>Lawrence</i> ruled the Texas statute failed, because the fornication law was reasonably related to the legitimate government goals of protecting public health and encouraging marriage for procreation. Ziherl's demurrer was sustained, resulting in the dismissal of Martin's suit. She subsequently appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. </p><p>On appeal, Ziherl argued that Martin lacked <a href="/wiki/Standing_(law)" title="Standing (law)">standing</a> to challenge the constitutionality of the statute because she was under no threat of prosecution, as the law had not been enforced against consenting adults since the mid-19th century.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Invalidation would therefore not impact her liberty but would only allow her to pursue her lawsuit. The court refused to consider this argument, because of the longstanding rule that it would not consider a standing argument that was not first made at the trial court level. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_court's_decision"><span id="The_court.27s_decision"></span>The court's decision</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The court's decision"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Virginia Supreme Court unanimously ruled on January 14, 2005, that the Virginia fornication law violated the <a href="/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution">Fourteenth Amendment</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Because the conduct by which Martin was allegedly injured could not be considered illegal, <i>Zysk</i> did not apply and she could proceed with her suit against Ziherl in the Richmond Circuit Court. </p><p><i>Lawrence v. Texas</i> was the sole foundation for the court's ruling, and so the majority of its opinion was an interpretation of that decision. The U.S. Supreme Court in <i>Lawrence</i> had stated that it was adopting the reasoning of <a href="/wiki/Associate_Justice_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States">Justice</a> <a href="/wiki/John_Paul_Stevens" title="John Paul Stevens">John Paul Stevens</a> in his dissent to <i><a href="/wiki/Bowers_v._Hardwick" title="Bowers v. Hardwick">Bowers v. Hardwick</a></i>, which <i>Lawrence</i> overruled. The Stevens rationale, as the Virginia Supreme Court presented it, was that "decisions by married or unmarried persons regarding their intimate physical relationship are elements of their personal relationships that are entitled to due process protection." The Virginia Supreme Court stated that <a href="/wiki/Sexual_intercourse" title="Sexual intercourse">sexual intercourse</a> was clearly part of the personal relationship of an unmarried couple, and that criminalizing intercourse clearly infringed upon their constitutionally protected right to make intimate choices. </p><p>Regarding Ziherl's argument that the statute served valid public interests, the court stated that in <i>Lawrence</i>, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the Texas sodomy statute furthered "no legitimate state interest" that could justify infringing the right to intimate contact. The Virginia Supreme Court interpreted this to mean that <i>all</i> state interests must be insufficient to justify a prohibition on private, consensual sexual conduct, rather than only those advanced by Texas to support its statute in <i>Lawrence</i>. The court was careful to note that this did not pertain to laws involving minors, non-consensual or public sexual activity, or <a href="/wiki/Prostitution" title="Prostitution">prostitution</a>, all of which the <i>Lawrence</i> Court also distinguished. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sex-related_court_cases_in_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Sex-related court cases in the United States">Sex-related court cases in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_review" title="Judicial review">Judicial review</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Due_process#Substantive_due_process" title="Due process">Substantive due process</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-without_breaking-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-without_breaking_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbc12.com/2020/03/05/you-can-now-have-sex-before-marriage-swear-public-be-habitual-drunkard-without-breaking-law-virginia/">"You can now have sex before marriage, swear in public and be a 'habitual drunkard' without breaking the law in Virginia"</a>. <i>NBC 12</i>. March 5, 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 7,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=NBC+12&rft.atitle=You+can+now+have+sex+before+marriage%2C+swear+in+public+and+be+a+%27habitual+drunkard%27+without+breaking+the+law+in+Virginia&rft.date=2020-03-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbc12.com%2F2020%2F03%2F05%2Fyou-can-now-have-sex-before-marriage-swear-public-be-habitual-drunkard-without-breaking-law-virginia%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMartin+v.+Ziherl" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Code" class="mw-redirect" title="Virginia Code">Virginia Code</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/18.2-344/">§ 18.2-344</a>. <b>Fornication.</b> "Any person, not being married, who voluntarily shall have sexual intercourse with any other person, shall be guilty of fornication, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor." According to that classification, a violation of § 18.2-344 was punishable by a fine of up to $250. Va. Code <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/18.2-11/">§ 18.2-11</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See Grossman, 2005.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Chief Justice Hassell did not join the court's opinion. He filed a separate opinion stating, without elaboration, that he concurred in its judgment.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=va&vol=1040804&invol=1">Full text of the court's decision at findlaw.com</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/25/grossman.oldlaws/"><i>Virginia strikes down state fornication law</i></a> by Joanna Grossman, <a href="/wiki/FindLaw" title="FindLaw">FindLaw</a> columnist. <a href="/wiki/CNN" title="CNN">CNN</a>.com, January 25, 2005.</li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&oldid=1243448766">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martin_v._Ziherl&oldid=1243448766</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Virginia_state_case_law" title="Category:Virginia state case law">Virginia state case law</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:United_States_substantive_due_process_case_law" title="Category:United States substantive due process case law">United States substantive due process case law</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:2005_in_United_States_case_law" title="Category:2005 in United States case law">2005 in United States case law</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:2005_in_Virginia" title="Category:2005 in Virginia">2005 in Virginia</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Herpes" title="Category:Herpes">Herpes</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:United_States_privacy_case_law" title="Category:United States privacy case law">United States privacy case law</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:History_of_Richmond,_Virginia" title="Category:History of Richmond, Virginia">History of Richmond, Virginia</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_mdy_dates_from_September_2023" title="Category:Use mdy dates from September 2023">Use mdy dates from September 2023</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_June_2011" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from June 2011">Articles needing additional references from June 2011</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 1 September 2024, at 14:37<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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