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Court hands defeat on polygamy to family from 'Sister Wives'
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In this Jan. 17, 2013, file photo, Jonathan Turley, attorney for Kody Brown and his four wives, the stars of the reality show "Sister Wives," leaves the Frank E. Moss United States Courthouse, in Salt Lake City. On April 11, a federal appeals court dismissed a decision that decriminalized polygamy in Utah, marking a defeat for the family from the TV show. The ruling handed down Monday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver found the family can't sue because prosecutors never filed charges against them and authorities later said they wouldn't prosecute consenting adult polygamists. (Associated Press/Rick Bowmer)
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U.S. appeals court on Monday dismissed a landmark decision that decriminalized polygamy in Utah, marking a legal defeat for the family from the reality TV show "Sister Wives."
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Kody Brown and his four wives cannot sue the state over its ban on plural marriages because the family never faced charges and prosecutors later said they would not prosecute consenting adults with multiple wives.
There are about 30,000 polygamists in Utah, according to court documents. They believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, a legacy of the early Mormon church. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned the practice in 1890 and strictly prohibits it today.
Monday's decision reverses a 2013 ruling that removed the threat of arrest for polygamous families. A U.S. District judge had found that the threat of prosecution drove the Browns out of the state and that key parts of Utah's bigamy law violated their right to privacy and religious freedom.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes appealed Waddoups' ruling. The state has a longstanding policy against prosecuting consenting adult polygamists, but prosecutors argued that the ban should stay on the books to help authorities go after polygamists who commit other crimes, such as sexual assault, statutory rape and exploitation of government benefits.
The Browns said other laws exist to target crimes linked to plural marriages and that banning the practice can sow distrust of authority. They say their show is evidence that polygamous unions can be as healthy as monogamous marriages.
The Browns will discuss whether to ask the 10th Circuit to reconsider or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, said their lawyer, Jonathan Turley.
"The underlying rights of religious freedom and free speech are certainly too great to abandon after prevailing below in this case," Turley said in a statement. (ags)
