By Nathan Carlisle, Salt Lake Tribune distributed by Religion News Service
A federal judge on August 28 finalized the order striking part of Utah’s bigamy law and gave one more victory to the family from the TLC television show “Sister Wives.”
The long legal battle over polygamy in Utah now appears headed to the appeals courts. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes has said he would appeal the federal court ruling that found the law against polygamy was unconstitutional.
“Sister Wives” chronicles the lives of Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown and their children. Utah County authorities began their investigation of the polygamous family after their show debuted.
Jonathan Turley, the attorney for the Brown family, encouraged Reyes to reconsider his plan to appeal.
Federal Judge Clark Waddoups in December struck the section of Utah’s bigamy statute that can be applied when someone “cohabits with another person” to whom they are not legally married. Utah law made such a union a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Waddoups said the ban violated the first and 14th amendments to the Constitution.
Waddoups let stand the portion of the statute that prevents someone from having more than one active marriage license.
In his ruling, Waddoups found the Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman violated the Browns’ constitutional rights when he oversaw a 2010 investigation into whether the Brown family was committing bigamy. At the time the Browns lived in Utah. They have since moved to Nevada.
Buhman eventually decided not to file criminal charges, but Waddoups said the investigation stifled the Browns’ rights to free speech, religion and equal protection.
Waddoups ordered Utah to pay the Browns’ attorney fees as a result of that finding.
From the September 2014 Report From the Capital. Click here to read the next article.
