Editorial policy & standards

Editorial mission

Romeo And Juliet Law aims to make complex age-of-consent, close-in-age, Romeo and Juliet, and related laws easier to understand, without sacrificing accuracy for simplicity.

Source standards

State guides follow a source hierarchy. In order of priority:

• Official statutes and legislature or government sources
• Court decisions and official jury instructions, where relevant
• Official agency or government materials
• Reputable secondary legal sources, used for context and cross-checking

Where sources conflict, primary sources take priority. See our sources and methodology and citation policy for how sources are selected and cited.

Research and verification

Each state guide is researched jurisdiction by jurisdiction. One state’s rules are never assumed to apply to another, even where laws appear similar. Important legal details — including age thresholds, age-gap rules, affirmative defenses, offender-age thresholds, position-of-authority rules, and registration-related provisions — are checked against authoritative sources where available.

Handling uncertainty

When reliable sources conflict, or a point cannot be conclusively verified, that uncertainty is disclosed rather than presented as settled law.

Writing standards

Content on this site is expected to:

• Use clear, plain language
• Distinguish legal terms accurately
• Avoid sensationalism
• Avoid guarantees about legal outcomes
• Clearly distinguish educational explanation from legal advice

Updates

Laws can change, and pages may be updated when reliable new legal information becomes available. This site does not currently follow a fixed, published review schedule.

Corrections

Identified factual or source issues are reviewed and corrected where appropriate. See our corrections policy for how this works.

Authors and review

See the editorial team page for how authorship and review roles are structured on this site. Attorney review has not occurred for all content, and individual guides may display a pending attorney-review status rather than a completed one. We do not claim attorney review where it has not taken place.

Independence

Editorial explanations on this site are based on evidence and source quality. This policy does not make claims about advertising, sponsorships, affiliate relationships, ownership structure, or funding.

Educational purpose

Content on this site is educational information, not individualized legal advice. See the full legal disclaimer for more detail.