Appellate Practice Attorney serving New York, NY
No. There was probably a time when statutes only referred to "him" or "he" (as in "a person commits burglary in the first degree when he ... "), but it didn't excuse someone who identified as female from being guilty of violating a statute which may have shortsightedly used those pronouns. I won't pretend to understand gender fluidity, but while I would hope that the law would respect whatever your personal gender situation is, gender fluidity is not an excuse to break a law, even if the statute in question does not use your preferred pronouns. You are, of course, "allowed" to offer whatever excuse you want to the court, but don't expect this one to get you far.
Answered on May 11th, 2021 at 2:06 PM