'Sister Wives' clan uses
same-sex marriage ruling in polygamy case
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[August 28, 2015]
(Reuters) - The stars of
the reality television show "Sister Wives" used the U.S.
Supreme Court's recent same-sex marriage ruling to
support their case against Utah's polygamy ban, court
records show.
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The filing with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by
Kody Brown and the four women he considers his wives - Meri
Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown and Robyn Sullivan - came
in response the Utah Attorney General's appeal of a lower
court's ruling in their favor.
Wednesday's filing referred to the Supreme Court's June ruling
legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, saying that Utah's
position against plural families relies on outdated law.
"This case is about criminalization of consensual relations and
there are 21st century cases rather than 19th century cases,"
attorney Jonathan Turley said in the 79-page filing. "It is
clear that states can no longer use criminal codes to coerce or
punish those who choose to live in consensual but unpopular
unions."
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Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states. But Utah's law is unique
in that a person can be found guilty not just for having two
legal marriage licenses but also for cohabiting with another
adult in a marriage-like relationship when they are already
legally married to someone else.
U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in 2013 that the
cohabitation section of the law violated both the First
Amendment's clause on religious rights and the Fourteenth
Amendment's due process clause to protect personal liberty. The
Attorney General's office later appealed that ruling.
Waddoups also ruled that Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman
violated the constitutional rights of Brown and his women when
he investigated them for bigamy.
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Representatives for the Attorney General's Office could not be
immediately reached for comment on Thursday.
Utah is the headquarters state of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, which abandoned polygamy in 1890 as
Utah was seeking statehood. Some sects and breakaway groups,
however, follow the early theological doctrine of plural marriage,
thought to bring exaltation in heaven.
The TLC television network first aired "Sister Wives" in 2010 and it
begins a new season next month.
The Brown family and their 17 children, who formerly lived in Lehi,
Utah, but now are in Las Vegas, are members of the Apostolic United
Brethren, a Utah-based church that follows plural marriage doctrine.
In contemporary polygamous marriages, a man is typically legally
married to one woman and the others are considered spiritual wives.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel
Wallis and Bill Trott)
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