Federal judge rules for TV's 'Sister Wives' polygamous family in challenge to Utah bigamy law

FILE - In this undated file photo provided by TLC, Kody Brown, center, poses with his wives, from left, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn in a promotional photo for TLC's reality TV show, "Sister Wives." Advocacy groups for polygamy and individual liberties on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, hailed a federal judge's ruling that key parts of Utah's polygamy laws are unconstitutional, saying it will remove the threat of arrest for those families. The ruling was a victory for Brown and his four wives and other fundamentalist Mormons who believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. (AP Photo/TLC, Bryant Livingston, File)

December 13, 2013 - 8:59 PM

SALT LAKE CITY - A federal judge has ruled in favour of a polygamist family that stars in the TV reality show "Sister Wives," saying that key parts of Utah's polygamy laws are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups says in the Friday night ruling that the phrase in Utah law that references cohabitating with another person is a violation of the First Amendment.

Kody Brown and his four wives filed their lawsuit in July 2011. Washington D.C.-based attorney Jonathan Turley argued the case before Waddoups in January.

The Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/1kHUIRd ) reports Waddoups also took a narrow interpretation of the words "marry" and "purports to marry" in his ruling. That means that bigamy remains illegal in Utah only in the literal sense, such as when someone fraudulently acquires multiple marriage licenses.

News from © The Associated Press, 2013

The Associated Press

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