Brown v. Buhman

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Brown v. Buhman
US-CourtOfAppeals-10thCircuit-Seal.png
Court United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Full case name Kody Brown; Meri Brown; Janelle Brown; Christine Brown; Robyn Sullivan, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Jeffrey R. Burhman, Defendant-Appellant, in his official capacity as County Attorney for Utah County
DecidedApril 11, 2016
Case history
Prior actionrev'g 947 F.Supp.2d 1170 (D. Utah 2013)
Court membership
Judges sitting Scott M. Matheson, Jr. (joined by Bobby Baldock and Nancy Moritz)
Keywords
standing, polygamy

Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117 (10th Cir. 2016), is a legal case in the United States federal courts challenging the State of Utah's criminal polygamy law. The action was filed in 2011 by polygamist Kody Brown along with his wives Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Sullivan. The Brown family belongs to the Apostolic United Brethren faith. They are best known for the reality television series featuring them, Sister Wives .

Contents

The Browns prevailed in the district court in a 2013 ruling, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the case to be dismissed on standing grounds in 2016. The Tenth Circuit concluded that because local Utah prosecutors had a policy of not pursuing polygamy per se in the absence of additional associated crimes (e.g., welfare fraud or marriage of underage persons), the Browns had no credible fear of future prosecution and thus lacked standing.

Background

When the Browns first became involved in the TV series, attorneys and legal experts claimed that, because polygamy is illegal in the United States, the Browns' involvement in the series might expose them to criminal prosecution. Video footage of a marriage ceremony between Kody Brown and Robyn Sullivan was potential evidence against them. [1] Kody Brown has claimed the family is breaking no laws because only the first marriage is a legal marriage, while the others are simply commitments. [2] However, experts claim that the family history as a unit for 16 years, including children from all four wives, could permit prosecutors to characterize the non-marriage unions as common-law marriages. [1] Sullivan has said that the family was concerned about the legal repercussions of the series, but had discussed the matter thoroughly and decided that the positive effect their show could have on the public perception of polygamy was worth the risks. [3] In anticipation of legal scrutiny, the producers of the show contacted the Utah Attorney General's office months before the series was broadcast. The office has not ruled out pursuing a case against the Brown family, but also stated they do not have the resources to go after polygamists unless they are suspected of serious crimes such as child abuse or child trafficking. [4] Before the Sister Wives premiere, it had been nine years since anyone in Utah had been prosecuted for practicing polygamy. [5]

On September 27, 2010, the day after Sister Wives debuted, police in Lehi, Utah, announced they were investigating Kody Brown and his wives for possible charges of bigamy, a third-degree felony, [4] [6] which carries a possible penalty of 20 years in prison for Kody and up to five years in prison for each wife. [7] Once the investigation concluded, the police turned their evidence over to the Utah County Attorney's office for review. [8] Despite Brown being only legally married to one woman, Lehi police noted that the state code identifies bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts. [4] In response to the investigation, the Browns released a statement: "We are disappointed in the announcement of an investigation, but when we decided to do this show, we knew there would be risks. But for the sake of our family, and most importantly, our kids, we felt it was a risk worth taking." [9] [10] The Brown family hired the George Washington University constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley, a vocal critic of anti-polygamy laws, to prepare a legal defense in the event that charges are filed. [8] As a result of the series and legal scrutiny that came with it, Meri lost her job in the mental health industry shortly after Sister Wives debuted, even though her employer knew about the polygamist marriage before the show aired. [11] Additionally, Kody said the show negatively affected some of his advertising sales, with some clients opting to take their business elsewhere due to publicity from the show. [12]

District court

On July 13, 2011, the Browns filed a complaint in United States District Court for the District of Utah, challenging Utah's criminal polygamy law [13] and released the following statement:

There are tens of thousands of plural families in Utah and other states. We are one of those families. We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs. While we understand that this may be a long struggle in court, it has already been a long struggle for my family and other plural families to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy. We are indebted to Professor Turley and his team for their work and dedication. Together we hope to secure equal treatment with other families in the United States. [14]

On June 1, 2012, the criminal case against the Browns was dropped. [15]

However, the civil suit filed by the Browns remained active after U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups refused to dismiss it, saying that this "strategic attempt to use the mootness doctrine to evade review in this case draws into question the sincerity of [the Utah County Attorney's] contention that prosecution of plaintiffs for violating this statute is unlikely to recur." [16] The hearing on the case occurred in January 2013.

On December 13, 2013, Judge Waddoups ruled [17] that the portions of Utah's anti-polygamy laws which prohibit multiple cohabitation were unconstitutional but also allowed Utah to maintain its ban on multiple marriage licenses. [18] [19] [20] Unlawful cohabitation, where prosecutors did not need to prove that a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), had been a major tool used to prosecute polygamy in Utah since the 1882 Edmunds Act. [21]

Tenth Circuit

The State of Utah appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Oral argument was held on January 21, 2016. The State of Utah was represented by Parker Douglas. The plaintiffs were represented by George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley, acting pro bono. [22]

On April 11, 2016, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit unanimously ordered the district court to dismiss the case on standing grounds. [23] [24] Judge Scott Matheson Jr. wrote for the court, and was joined by Judge Bobby Baldock and Judge Nancy Moritz. [24] The court relied upon the Utah County Attorney's Office policy limiting polygamy prosecutions to those involving alleged child bigamy, fraud, abuse or violence, concluding "That policy eliminated any credible threat that the Browns will be prosecuted." [23] [24]

Related Research Articles

Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one husband at the same time, it is called polyandry. In sociobiology and zoology, researchers use polygamy in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism and polygamy</span>

Polygamy was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</span> Latter-Day Saints denomination

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a Mormon fundamentalist group whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect or a new religious movement. The FLDS Church has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages, child abandonment, sexual assault and human trafficking including child sexual abuse. The sect is not connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest Latter-day Saint denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon fundamentalism</span> Advocates of some early Mormon doctrines

Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.

Many laws in the history of the United States have addressed marriage and the rights of married people. Common themes addressed by these laws include polygamy, interracial marriage, divorce, and same-sex marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Jeffs</span> American sex offender and cult leader (born 1955)

Warren Steed Jeffs is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be apostate. The LDS Church disavows any relation between it and the FLDS Church, although there are significant historical ties.

The Latter Day Church of Christ (LDCC) or Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS) is a Mormon fundamentalist denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement. The DCCS was established in 1935 by Elden Kingston, son of Charles W. Kingston, and in 1977 members of the DCCS organized the Latter Day Church of Christ. Media outlets often refer to the organization as the Kingston Group, and internally it is known as "the Order" or "the Co-op".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolic United Brethren</span> Polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church

The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a Mormon fundamentalist group that practices polygamy. The AUB has had a temple in Mexico since at least the 1990s, an endowment house in Utah since the early 1980s, and several other locations of worship to accommodate their members in the US states of Wyoming, Arizona, and Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Green (polygamist)</span> American Mormon fundamentalist (1948–2021)

Thomas Arthur Green was an American Mormon fundamentalist in Utah who was a practitioner of plural marriage. After a high-profile trial, Green was convicted by the state of Utah on May 18, 2001, of four counts of bigamy and one count of failure to pay child support. This decision was upheld by the Utah State Supreme Court in 2004. He was also convicted of child rape, on the basis that he had impregnated his wife Linda when she was 13. The wife in question was his stepdaughter before they were married; she was the daughter of his first polygamous wife. In total, he served six years in prison and was released in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poland Act</span> Act of the US Congress enforcing anti-polygamy laws in Utah Territory

The Poland Act of 1874 was an act of the US Congress that sought to facilitate prosecutions under the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act by eliminating the control members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exerted over the justice system of Utah Territory. Sponsored by US Representative Luke P. Poland of Vermont, the Act redefined the jurisdiction of Utah courts by giving U.S. district courts exclusive jurisdiction in Utah Territory over all civil and criminal cases. The Act also eliminated the territorial marshal and attorney and gave their duties to a U.S. Marshal and a U.S. Attorney. The Act also altered petit and grand jury empaneling rules to keep polygamists off juries. By removing Latter-day Saints from positions of authority in the Utah justice system, the Act was intended to allow for successful prosecutions of Mormon polygamists.

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century</span>

Possibly as early as the 1830s, followers of the Latter Day Saint movement, were practicing the doctrine of polygamy or "plural marriage". After the death of church founder Joseph Smith, the doctrine was officially announced in Utah Territory in 1852 by Mormon leader Brigham Young. The practice was attributed posthumously to Smith and it began among Mormons at large, principally in Utah where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had relocated after the Illinois Mormon War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement</span>

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, privately taught and practiced polygamy. After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms.

Clark Waddoups is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

Polygamy is not legally recognised in Australia. Legally recognised polygamous marriages may not be performed in Australia, and a person who marries another person, knowing that the previous marriage is still subsisting, commits an offence of bigamy under section 94 of the Marriage Act 1961, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment. However, the offence of bigamy only applies to attempts to contract a legally recognised marriage; it does not apply to polygamous marriages where there is no attempt to gain recognition for the marriage under Australian law. Whether or not either or both partners were aware of the previous subsisting marriage, the second marriage is void. Foreign polygamous marriages are not recognized in Australia. However, a foreign marriage that is not polygamous but could potentially become polygamous at a later date under the law of the country where the marriage took place is recognized in Australia while any subsequent polygamous marriage is not. While under Australian law a person can be in at most one legally valid marriage at a time, Australian law does recognise that a person can be in multiple de facto relationships concurrently, and as such entitled to the legal rights extended to members of de facto relationships.

Cohabitation in the United States is loosely defined as two or more people, in an intimate relationship, who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union.

<i>Sister Wives</i> American reality television series (2010–present)

Sister Wives is an American reality television series broadcast on TLC that premiered on September 26, 2010. The show documents the life of a polygamist family, which includes Kody Brown, his wife Robyn, ex-wives Meri, Janelle, and Christine, and their 18 children. The family began the series living in Lehi, Utah, moved to Las Vegas in 2011, and to Flagstaff, Arizona, in mid-2018.

The Darger family is an independent fundamentalist Mormon polygamous family living in Utah, United States. They went public after years of being secretive about their polygamous lifestyle to promote the decriminalization of polygamy in the United States as well as to help reshape the perception of polygamy following the prosecution of Warren Jeffs. In 2013, the Darger family met with Utah legislators in an effort to persuade them to change the laws against polygamy in the state.

Polygamy was outlawed in federal territories by the 1882 Edmunds Act, and there are laws against the practice in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Because state laws exist, polygamy is not actively prosecuted at the federal level.

References

  1. 1 2 Houk, Kimberly (September 27, 2010). "'Sister Wives' program could lead to legal trouble". KTVX. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  2. ↑ Allin, Olivia (August 15, 2010). "'Sister Wives' Brings A Real-Life 'Big Love' Family to TLC". ABC News . Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ Freydkin, Donna (September 26, 2010). "Unfamiliar world of polygamy is opening up in TV shows, films". USA Today . Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Alberty, Erin (September 27, 2010). "Lehi police investigate 'Sister Wives' stars for bigamy". The Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  5. ↑ Dodd, Johnny (October 13, 2010). "Sister Wives Star Hopes He Won't Be Jailed for 'Loving Four Women'". People . Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  6. ↑ Romboy, Dennis (September 27, 2010). "'Sister Wives' family under investigation following TV debut". KSL-TV . Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  7. ↑ Reiher, Andrea (October 14, 2010), "Oprah on 'Sister Wives': 'Most fascinated with the relationship the women have with each other'", Zap2it , archived from the original on October 17, 2010, retrieved October 18, 2010
  8. 1 2 Belloni, Matthew (October 7, 2010). "Bigamy investigation threatens TLC's 'Sister Wives'". Reuters . Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ Dobner, Jennifer (September 27, 2010). "Utah police investigate plural family for bigamy". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Ram, Archana (September 28, 2010). "Police investigate polygamist family on TLC reality show". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  11. ↑ Pierce, Scott D. (October 15, 2010). "'Sister Wives' star loses her job". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  12. ↑ Harris, Dan (October 15, 2010). "Sister Wives: Polygamists Speak Out". ABC News . New York City. ABC.
  13. ↑ Whitehurst, Lindsey (July 13, 2011). "'Sister Wives' polygamy lawsuit tackles privacy in Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ Turley, Jonathan (July 13, 2011). "Brown Family Challenges Utah's Polygamy Law". jonathanturley.org.
  15. ↑ Sister Wives criminal charged dropped in Utah, WJLA-TV, June 1, 2012, archived from the original on December 3, 2013, retrieved December 18, 2013
  16. ↑ Whitehurst, Lindsay (August 17, 2012), "Judge refuses to dismiss 'Sister Wives' lawsuit over polygamy: Prosecutor's pledge not to charge Kody Brown family called a ploy", The Salt Lake Tribune
  17. ↑ Waddoups, Clark (December 13, 2013), Memorandum Decision And Order Granting In Part Plaintiffs' Motion For Summary Judgement, Case No. 2:11-cv-0652-CW, archived from the original on May 30, 2014, retrieved January 8, 2015
  18. ↑ Schwartz, John (September 14, 2013), "A Law Prohibiting Polygamy is Weakened", The New York Times
  19. ↑ Mears, Bill (December 14, 2013). "'Sister Wives' case: Judge strikes down part of Utah polygamy law". CNN.com. CNN . Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  20. ↑ Peggy Fletcher Stack (December 14, 2013), "Laws on Mormon polygamists lead to win for plural marriage", The Salt Lake Tribune, retrieved December 19, 2013
  21. ↑ Embry, Jessie L. (1994), "Polygamy", in Powell, Allan Kent (ed.), Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN   0874804256, OCLC   30473917, archived from the original on April 17, 2017, retrieved January 8, 2015
  22. ↑ Bryson, Donna (January 21, 2016). "10th Circuit judges press Utah about polygamy ban in 'Sister Wives' case". The Salt Lake Tribune . Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Gershman, Jacob (April 11, 2016). "Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to Utah's Polygamy Ban". The Wall Street Journal.
  24. 1 2 3 Brown v. Buhman (10th Cir. Apr. 11, 2016) (slip op.).

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