I just finished reading this book by Evan Hunter, I really
enjoyed it - both Noir and Hard Boiled (depending on the
character). Prior to that I read William Gibson's collection
of short stories, Burning Chrome - definitely noir. And
before that I read Ed McBain's The Gutter and the Grave -
enjoyed that too...
And speaking of Criminal Conversation:
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles Thursday January 10, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
When Sandra Valentine divorced her husband, Johnny, and
married the man who had fathered her child during an affair,
it had every appearance of another unremarkable tale of
marital breakdown. But when Johnny hit back and sued his
rival Jerry Fitch for a six-figure sum, the Mississippi love
triangle took on an altogether different dimension. And when
he won in a verdict upheld by the state supreme court, he was
suddenly richer to the tune of £750,000.
Valentine took advantage of a quirk in the law in Mississippi
which, like six other US states, allows claims of "spousal
theft": if a man - or perhaps even a woman - takes another's
property, ie their spouse, they can be sued. So Johnny
Valentine sued Fitch under the state's "alienation of
affection" law, which allows a cuckolded spouse to seek
damages for "loss of society, companionship, love and
affection", as well as "the loss of sexual relations".
A Mississippi jury agreed with Valentine. Fitch appealed and
took the case to the Mississippi supreme court, which upheld
the verdict. So Fitch went all the way to the US supreme
court. But this week, the court declined to hear the
case.
"This alienation-of-affection law is only in seven states in
the United States now," Fitch told ABC News. "It needs to be
off the books. This is not right."
Sandra Fitch, too, was not impressed that she had been
treated as a piece of property by the courts. "I don't
consider myself property," she said. "Not Johnny's, not
anyone's. Just my own."
And she denied her ex's contention that the marriage had been
fine until she went to work for Jerry.
"No, that's not true," she said. "Johnny had gambling
problems. It took a period of about six years to destroy our
marriage. He had already alienated my affection with
gambling, so the marriage was already over before I met
Jerry."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2238724,00.html
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