Today the briefs of the Brown family arrived at the Denver courthouse in the Sister Wives case now before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. (The actual electronic filing was made the night before under the federal ECF system). I continue to serve as lead counsel to the Brown family in their successful challenge of the criminalization of polygamy in Utah. Last year, United States District Court Judge Clarke Waddoups issued the final decision striking down the cohabitation crime used against polygamist in Utah. The State has appealed to the federal court of appeals in Denver and below is our defense of that decision by Judge Waddoups. I want to thank my friend and local counsel (and GW Alum) Adam Alba and all of the students who have worked so hard on this case over the years. This brief benefited from the assistance of Patrick Fenior and Emily Hoyle as well as assistance from GW grad (and my local counsel in the Al-Timimi case) Thomas Huff and my assistant Seth Tate.
We will let the brief speak for itself, but we are eager to present our case in oral argument before the Tenth Circuit. District Court Judge Waddoups made our task all the easier with a brilliant and powerful opinion (discussed and attached here) in defense of the rights of privacy, religious freedom, and due process. (and here) Defending his opinion before the Tenth Circuit is great privilege as is the representation of the Brown family, which has shown tremendous patience and grace throughout this long litigation. While we remain surprised by Utah’s effort to curtail the religious freedom and due process rights protected under the decision, we remain both confident in our position and committed to this case. It is a great honor to defend these constitutional rights and we are prepared to do so as far and as long as it takes to prevail in the litigation.
We waited to post the brief until after we confirmed receipt today. The final version is linked below.
We do not currently have a date for oral argument but I will post the date when it is available. The government has 14 days to file an optional response with the Court.
Jonathan Turley
Lead Counsel
Is it true that kids from illegal polygamous marriages can more easily get public assistance than kids from a legal polygamous family where a father could support them?
[music] Redneck Mothers–
…He’s not responsible for what he’s doing…
His mother made him what he is.
Oh. Its up against the wall redneck mothers!
Mothers who have raised the sons so well.
He’s thirty four and drinking in honkey tonks..
Kicking hippies arses and raising hell.
—
HumpinDog used to hump and pork all sorts of dogs. Now he has one wife. It could be said that he is a happy dog. His wife, Betty Lou Thelma Liz will not let him hump other dogs anymore. They are married. Love is between a husband and a wife. A mormon who marries a collection of wives is doing them all a service. They, in kind, can do him a service. Particularly on Sunday. Mormons go to church early on Sunday. That is so they can come home and have group sex in the afternoon. The article fails to mention that Utah is the home of mormons. The state has outlawed polygamy for some reason. Methinks it (the law) is to regain some respect for the mormon church and the mormon faith.
As a dog who was a human in a prior life who was a male who cleaned the rooms in a cathouse in East Saint Louis, I have some views about men who like to have sex with a herd of women. I think that the cathouse is a “better way” than “sister wives” or polygamy. If the guys in Utah would go next door to Nevada they could legally pork a whole slew of women in one afternoon (or night). They would just have to pay for it with cash on demand instead of providing a roof over the head and all that marriage apCray. My view is that the judges on the court deciding this case probably all are prior attendees of cathouses and will not fall for the mormon rap here.
That’s the beauty of this country. Everybody is entitled to their day in court…getting there may be a battle. But the US court system is designed as adversarial not a benevolent society. The Constitution was not a perfect moral ethical document when finished. Witness the amendments….by use they amend, change, correct. They are only interpreted in an adversarial environment meant to afford redress. But that redress may not be afforded or only partially. Unintended consequences usually follow as well. It’s essentially the dialectic at work
Your right to expound has been, is and will be defended to the death. The choice to speak for others is not afforded to everyone, but others need those so afforded. Would you deny the choice of either party? Do so and you may discover you used an implement with two very sharp edges.
Ok one more if permitted.
BTW isn’t Jesus silent on bestiality?
Oh and man-boy love?
Making love with a human clone specifically made to service?
Already here…..Sales of lifelike, warm functioning dolls (or parts)—women and men pay thousands of dollars.
Ah that measure (JC’s silence) is a two edged sword isn’t it?
‘Yes means yes’ student conduct codes are contrary to privacy and freedom of association rights. Due process rights are violated when the government requires college males to prove they attained affirmative consent, as the conduct codes define it, lest they be held responsible for sexual misconduct. Students, as do all citizens, have the right to have sex as they like and the government cannot intrude into the private sphere to require what they say or do.
But is the dog consenting just because he can function? What’s the age of consent. Isn’t the evidences clear that dogs are wolves bred to be immature wolves, if so, can they make mature decisions? Just saying.
I think SCOTUS and The Episcopal Church have opened a whole new right based on “relationships” that now will lead to all kinds legalizations. The LGBT (and QP?) community has not treated the “B”s with equanimity and are hypocrites. The Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia has openly said that a bisexual in a triad will have to choose one before going forward to ordination….but wait a minute ….mit isn’t about sex…it’s about relationship(s). So a bisexual female with a female bisexual and heterosexual male and ……? And they all love each other and are committed to the group corporate and individual. Who’s the spouse for benefits?
By the way, why have we set age limits at their current limits? We lowered the voting age to 18 because the guys can be drafted. Now we know that adolescence lasts into the early 20s. We drafted 18 yr olds because they will take the Bangalore Torpedo up Omaha Beach. The 20 yr old Warrant is a dangerous Cobra pilot….dangerous to the enemy, a savior to comrades caught in a firefight. Except for federal office, where does the Constitution set age criteria…why can’t a girl, after her first menses, marry a 40 yr old?
Mind you, I think voting, drinking, smoking, rec. drugs, marriage should be moved up to 23. But I’m well passed that age, but didn’t get married until after 26. Keep the draft…we need crazy 18-22 yr olds testosterone loaded males to charge that beach, go in the rat holes, carry 100 lb packs in desert heat and go apes–t in a firefight. Oh yeah, been there done that…got the pictures and beret with flash.
Notably missing from the brief is mention of children, however, ears are often closed when speech is loud, but strain to listen when speech is but a whisper. In this sense, more is heard by what is not said. Regardless of ones views towards plural relationships, the children of, are as deserving of having parents that are married as any child raised by a same-sex couple . . Can even say the tenet of equal protection demands it . .
BarkingDog,
Isn’t a gayDog from Madrid called a cocker spaniel?
Polygamy has a horrible impact on the children. The “Lost Boys” are a well known example. Teen boys are driven out of the cult to try to survive on their own when they are only 15 or 16 years old. The older men want the teenage girls for additional “wives” , so they drive away the teen boys who would present possible competition. And of course the teen girls, having to choose between becoming the 6th or 10th “wife” to an old man she has no interest in, or running away and trying to make it on her own with no money and no support when she is only 14 or 15 years old….A totally abusive and sick arrangement. To say that government has no role in regulating morality, well, I suppose JT thinks we should all go around killing and stealing because the Ten Commandments are in the Bible so the prohibitions must be a a violation of the constitution. It really makes one wonder about how seemingly sane and educated people could use their talents to such destructive ends. Maybe it’s just a game to them, and they don’t care about the societal impact.
The recognition of the marriage between a male dog and female human is an issue which is coming up soon. HumpinDog and Betty Lou Thelma Liz got married recently in Cuba and they are seeking recognition of their marriage in America.
Oh great…
One man, his wife, his other wife, his husband, and his dog.
… Traditional marriage!
A man who marries several women is doing the world a favor. Here is Mark Twain’s comment:
“the Mormon women … these poor, ungainly and pathetically “homely” creatures … the man that marries one of them has done an act of Christian charity which entitles him to the kindly applause of mankind, not their harsh censure – and the man that marries sixty of them has done a deed of open-handed generosity so sublime that the nations should stand uncovered in his presence and worship in silence.” Mark Twain
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/biblical-marriage-iowa-scholars-op-ed_n_3397304.html
“The debate about marriage equality often centers, however discretely, on an appeal to the Bible,” the authors wrote. “Unfortunately, such appeals often reflect a lack of biblical literacy on the part of those who use that complex collection of texts as an authority to enact modern social policy.”
The Bible’s definition of marriage can be confusing and contradictory, noted the scholars. They stated in their column that a primary example of this is the religious book’s stance on polygamy, a practice that was embraced by prominent biblical figures Abraham and David. Furthermore, Avalos, Cargill and Atkinson point out that various Bible passages mention not only traditional monogamy, but also self-induced castration and celibacy, as well as the practice of wedding rape victims to their rapists.”
Bible states one man one woman no matter what LDS views have ever been. Its against God just as much as same sex marriage. Its ridiculous anyway, can’t tell me they’re not jealous of each other, it’s a natural instinct. I knew it would come to this after the same sex ruling
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3213297/Sister-Wives-cite-gay-marriage-ruling-polygamy-case.html
I especially like this:
‘What was lost to the state is precisely what is denied to all states: the right to impose criminal morality codes on citizens, compelling them to live their lives in accordance with the religious or social values of the majority of citizens.’
And last time I looked not approving of polygamy wasn’t just puritanical. Is it OK in Israel? What about Italy – they’re not puritanical.
Myself, I don’t see how someone can have a “Constitutional Right’ (smirk) to Gay marriage and not have the same right not to marry 5 wives and a pig. Its all right there in the Constitution if you look hard enough. I think Madison put it there in a footnote.
Yeah Nick that was only 62 years ago. Its like someone in 1953 being shocked at what happened in 1888. “Can you imagine they didn’t even give women the vote”
My best wishes to the Brown family, I’ve always thought they were a wonderful family. Fascinating case, I’ve been reading that the SC same sex marriage decision will play a role in this appeal.
“SALT LAKE CITY — A polygamous family says the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage shows that laws restricting consensual adult relationships are outdated, even if certain unions are unpopular.
Kody Brown and his four wives argue in court documents that their reality TV show “Sister Wives” shows polygamous marriages can be as healthy as monogamous ones.”
Good luck JT. Although Utah seems like another world, it was not long ago that this entire country was puritanical. I recently read a book about the LAPD Gangster Squad. Mickey Cohen was their high profile nemesis, but there was another organized crime kingpin from Corleone, Sicily named Jack Dragna. He was very low profile and the antithesis of Cohen. LAPD bugged the trailer of Dragna’s girlfriend[“Warrant? We don’t need no stinking warrant!”] and taped Dragna engaging in oral sex. This was 1953..my lifetime, and that was illegal! They convicted Dragna of lewd acts and used the moral turpitude clause to deport Dragna. He sneaked back into the US and appealed the deportation order, dying here shortly thereafter.