From what little I know of Nancy Grace, she’s pushy and rude and is often inappropriate with guests. She’s surely opinionated, and sometimes she jumps to conclusions and is dead wrong. That’s what I think is the case here, where she’s lambasting Sister Wives star Kody Brown for having more than one wife and saying the guy should serve jail time. While I wouldn’t argue that polygamy should not be legal, I don’t think the Brown family should be prosecuted despite their high profile status. Here’s what Nancy Grace told OK! about the Browns. She says they’re breaking the law but that the state of Utah probably won’t do anything about it:
TLC’s hit reality show Sister Wives, which chronicles the lives of fundamentalist Mormon Kody Brown and his four wives – Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn – and 16 children in Utah has captivated audiences since it first aired. But by opening up their controversial lives to the world, the Browns have also made themselves suspect to legal charges and are currently under investigation for bigamy. Although the season finale aired last week, the drama is far from over.
To break down the legal issues with Sister Wives, OK! went to legal expert Nancy Grace. As the new host of the hit syndicated series Swift Justice With Nancy Grace, Nancy knows the law better than anyone on television. According to Nancy, if justice is served, Kody should be in jail.
Kody is legally only married to his first wife, Meri, but could he have a common law marriage because he lives with the other wives?
Utah does recognize common law marriage, but in this case bigamy trumps common law. He should go to jail.
How could being on the show be used against Kody and his family in court?
Video evidence is the best evidence. The cameras don’t lie. But forget what’s aired, there’s a mountain of unaired footage that will come into evidence too.
What could happen to the children?
If found guilty, the children could be removed. Historically with so many polygamous families in the state the children won’t be removed unless abuse is shown.
Could Kody or the wives go to jail?
The law is the law — bigamy is a 3rd degree felony in Utah. Those participating in the crime face a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But most likely, Utah will turn a blind eye, as usual.
What would the courts need to prove?
That someone already married, purports to marry or co-habitate with another in addition to their spouse — or?? — If you know the other has a husband or wife and purport to marry or co-habitate with them, that’s also a crime.
What do you think will happen?
When you don’t know a horse, look at his track record. Even with the family taunting authorities on national TV, it’s unlikely Utah will prosecute although clearly, they should!
[From OK! Magazine]
Nancy is a lawyer, so she presumably understands the legal issues involved and I do appreciate how clearly she’s explaining this case. I hope she’s right on one count – that it’s not likely that Utah will prosecute this family. Yes this is technically illegal and yes countless women and children suffer needlessly under polygamy. That’s not the case for this family, where all of the wives entered into this arrangement willingly and all of them are presumably able to leave and maintain custody of their children. (We assume, although some sources say this isn’t the case.) I’m admittedly biased, though, because I watched the full season of Sister Wives and came away with a better understanding of this family and even some sympathy for them. Of course this isn’t a “typical” polygamist family, just like the Duggars aren’t a typical family of 20. Why go after them when all they’re doing wrong is living together? They offer their daughters educational opportunities and life choices. It hardly seems like they should be punished for daring to go public. On the other hand, I get why Utah doesn’t want to make it seem like polygamy is acceptable when it’s not a choice in so many cases.
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