Fitzpatrick v. Smith

Judgment unan*975imously reversed and petition dismissed. Memorandum: Special Term erred in granting the application of the petitioner, an inmate serving a life sentence, to marry. Section 79-a of the Civil Rights Law prohibits marriages by inmates serving sentences of life imprisonment. Nevertheless, petitioner contends that the right to marry is a fundamental right and that section 79-a should be reexamined in view of the recent decision in Zablocki v Redhail (434 US 374). We find nothing in the rationale of Zablocki v Redhail (supra) which would invalidate the continued ban on marriage as an…