According to the California Court of Appeals, that time arrived in 1888 when the Supreme Court opined that marriage is not a contract. The logic of this has raised many an eyebrow. The Supreme Court refused to revisit the question in 1992 when James Sutherland, whose wife had won a divorce under California's no-fault divorce law, appealed the state court's ruling. At present, marriage stands as the only contract that one party can nullify without evidence of breach by the other party. What makes this deplorable in the eyes of many is that marriage is sacred, as the state seems to grant when it recognizes the validity of religious marriage.
Divorce is more painful, protracted and costly than ever.
The writer is a matrimonial lawyer. It's that marriage is. Anyone, anywhere, for any reason can get married. In some states all that is needed is a justice of the peace and a few dollars. Some states don't even require blood tests.