Adultery, Immigration, And An Ilocano Lawyer
By Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” -7th Commandment. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” – 10th Commandment.
Why is the Bible overly concerned with adultery? There are two commandments regarding it – the 7th and the 10th. There is only one commandment about killing which has more bloody consequences or stealing which has more serious financial and emotional consequences?
Because the sexually insecure old men who wrote the Bible were concerned that their young wives would be seduced by the young men in their tribe.
What is adultery?
The traditional meaning of adultery is: a man has sexual intercourse with a married woman. Nothing is said about the civil status of the man. Biblically it was assumed that the seducers of the young women who were married to old men were unmarried young men. If the young man was married, it was “double adultery.”
Is adultery limited to actual physical sexual intercourse? Can you visually commit adultery, meaning you did not have sexual intercourse but only imagined it?
Do you remember that there was a Presidential candidate named Jimmy Carter, a Democrat of course, who said “I’velooked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.”
There was a picture showing him looking at the Statue of Liberty. What is sexually stimulating about the Statue of Liberty? Que horror! “Mababa ang kaligayahan.” (Easily pleased) I have seen the Statute of Liberty. I was not sexually stimulated. Furthermore, the Statute of Liberty is not a married woman, stupid. Adultery can only be committed with a married woman.
These Democrats, susmariosep. They do not even know how to commit adultery.
How about when the woman is married but the marriage is declared void ab initio because it lacked one of the elements of a valid marriage such as being single at the time of the marriage?
Does the woman commit adultery if she has a sexual relationship with a man other than her husband (with a prior undissolved marriage) prior to the declaration of nullity of her marriage?
Adultery and immigration
The original Immigration and Nationality Act (Public Law 414, 66 Stat 172-73, June 27, 1952) provided that: “(f) No person shall be regarded as, or found to be, a person of good moral character who, during the period for which good moral character is required to be established, is, or was- Xxx xxx xxx (2) one who during such period has committed adultery; The statute does not require “conviction” but merely “commission.” Compare that with the provision on “murder” which states: “(8) who at any time has been convicted of the crime of murder.”
However, the current immigration law has eliminated “adultery” from the list of persons who shall not be regarded as a person of good moral character.
What is the effect? Is a person who commits adultery now a person of good moral character? The playboys who are fond of chasing beautiful married women are now singing “Alleluia.”
Immigration authorities are still trying to capture alien adulterers by saying that if the adulterous relationship tended to destroy an existing marriage and there are no extenuating circumstances such alien should be denied citizenship.
There is an actual case about this reportedly involving an ineffective attorney (woman) who represented the alien and made the alien sign an affidavit admitting to committing adultery.
Why admit when nobody knew about it except the guy and the married woman?
Immigration authorities could also go after an alien who has been convicted of adultery by claiming that such person has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude and therefore ineligible for voluntary departure or cancellation of removal.
Alien targets of immigration authorities should get an excellent lawyer who knows how to fight them and win.
Three Lawyers, Including An Ilocano
Three lawyers were before the pearly gates of heaven seeking entry to a heavenly abode.
The first lawyer, an American, faced St. Peter who is said to be the guardian of the pearly gates. St. Peter said: Your rap sheet shows you have committed adultery. What sayeth?
The American lawyer replied: I demand my constitutional rights. I want to see the grand jury indictment. I want to confront my accuser. I demand my right to a 12-man jury trial.
St. Peter said: Your American constitutional rights do not apply here.
The second lawyer was a French man. St. Peter said: What can you say about this report that you committed adultery?
The French man explained that he was drinking tea at a cafe when a seductive woman approached him. They talked. The woman invited the lawyer to her pied-a-terre. He went with her.
One thing led to another, and they landed in bed. They were having sexual intercourse when a man arrived. Hey, shouted the man, that is my wife you are on top of.
The lawyer continued doing what he was doing. The husband got a sharp knife and cut the man’s birdie. St. Peter asked: So what is your defense? The French lawyer said: I did not know she was married.
St. Peter said: But when her husband arrived and said that the woman was his wife, why did you not stop? Would you stop when you are about to reach the climax? “Don’t ask me,” riposted St. Peter, “I am not into those things”.
The third lawyer was an Ilocano whose last earthly abode was Honolulu but was born in Ilocos Norte. He was 100 years old but looked like 60, thanks to drinking goat’s milk morning and evening and playing with very young women whose youth he absorbed by the process of osmosis.
What do you say to these charges of adultery, asked St. Peter. The Ilocano lawyer replied: There is no exact definition of adultery. What is adultery to one might not be adultery to another. Adultery is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, the term “adultery” is unconstitutionally void for vagueness.
Furthermore, the Bible has two commandments about adultery. One. Thou shalt not commit adultery. The second: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
They should be read in pari materia (statutes on the same subject matter should be read together). Thus, the commandment against adultery should be construed to mean only adultery with one’s neighbor.
But who is a neighbor? A next-door neighbor? A neighbor within the block? Or what? Penal laws should be strictly construed.
The Bible is like a penal law. Therefore, adultery should be limited to adultery with a next-door neighbor. I did not commit adultery with a next-door neighbor.
Your arguments are great, attorney, said St. Peter, but you have not denied having romantic liaisons with a number of married women. How do you plead?
“No contest, ngarud,” replied the Ilocano lawyer.
Only one lawyer was admitted to heaven. Who do you think was the one?
The first one to call with the correct answer and the reasons on our radio show, The Tipon Report, on February 2, 2023, will be our dinner guest at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Honolulu.
The information provided in this article is not legal advice. Publication of this information is not intended to create, and receipt or reading by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
ATTY. EMMANUEL S. TIPON was a Fulbright and Smith-Mundt scholar to Yale Law School where he obtained a Master of Laws degree specializing in Constitutional law. He also obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, New York, and the Philippines. He practices federal law, with emphasis on immigration law and appellate federal criminal defense. He was the Dean and a Professor of Law of the College of Law, Northwestern University, Philippines. He has written law books and legal articles for the world’s most prestigious legal publisher and writes columns for newspapers. He wrote the annotations and compiled the case notes on the Immigration and Nationality Act for the Immigration Law Service. He wrote the best-seller “Winning by Knowing Your Election Laws.” Listen to The Tipon Report which he co-hosts with his son Attorney Emmanuel “Noel” Tipon. They talk about immigration law, criminal law, court-martial defense, and current events. It is considered the most witty, interesting, and useful radio show in Hawaii. KNDI 1270 AM band every Thursday at 8:00 a.m. Atty. Tipon was born in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Cell Phone (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Website: https://tiponimmigrationguide.com
