News and Views

‘Sister Wives’ family to challenge Utah bigamy law

Published

July 12, 2011

From Yahoo News

SALT LAKE CITY â€“ A polygamous family made famous by the reality TV show “Sister Wives” plans to challenge the Utah bigamy law that makes their lifestyle illegal, a Washington-based attorney said Tuesday.

In an email to The Associated Press, attorney Jonathan Turley said he will file the lawsuit challenging Utah’s bigamy law in Salt Lake City’s U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

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Turley represents Kody Brown and his four wives, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Brown is only legally married to Meri Brown.

Originally from Lehi, the Browns, who have 16 children, has been featured on the TLC reality show since last fall. They moved out of Utah to Nevada in January after police and Utah County prosecutors launched a bigamy investigation. No charges were ever filed.

The Browns practice polygamy as part of their religious beliefs.

Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah. A person can be found guilty of bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts.

In a statement posted on his blog, Turley said the lawsuit will challenge Utah’s right to prosecute people for their private relationships.

“We are not demanding the recognition of polygamous marriage. We are only challenging the right of the state to prosecute people for their private relations and demanding equal treatment with other citizens in living their lives according to their own beliefs,” the statement reads.

According to the statement, the lawsuit seeks to protect a person’s right to be left alone.

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Related Topics:bigamy law Marriage polygamy

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Hena Zuberi

Hena Zuberi is the Editor in Chief of Muslimmatters.org. She leads the DC office of the human rights organization, Justice For All, focusing on stopping the genocide of the Rohingya under Burma Task Force, advocacy for the Uighur people with the Save Uighur Campaign and Free Kashmir Action. She was a Staff Reporter at the Muslim Link newspaper which serves the DC Metro. Hena has worked as a television news reporter and producer for CNBC Asia and World Television News. Active in her SoCal community, Hena served as the Youth Director for the Unity Center. Using her experience with Youth, she conducts Growing Up With God workshops. [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @henazuberi.

1 Comment

lauren mcCain

July 19, 2011 at 1:42 AM

Polygamy and bigamy are against the law in the state of Utah, but the household in the television show â€œSister Wivesâ€ is taking the state to the courtroom to challenge the validity of those laws. The suit holds that bigamy rules violate the family’s right to spiritual freedom, and they want an injunction issued against any possible criminal prosecution for breaking anti-bigamy and polygamy laws. The proof is here: Polygamist family from Sister Wives show taking Utah to court. You can that out for a detailed information.

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