Silke Jasso
TLC’s “Sister Wives” won’t be allowed to appeal Utah’s law that bans polygamy.
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According to Page Six, the Supreme Court decided that Kody Brown and his four wives could not sue over the law, because they were not charged under it.
In 2013, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Browns and overturned some of the state’s bigamy laws, but the appeals court overturned the decision last year.
In the suit, the Browns claim that the law prevents them from having the right to freedom of speech and religion. They reportedly feel that they should be allowed to challenge the law, because the threat of prosecution was what forced them to move to Nevada, and the threat still looms over them when they return to Utah.
Utah law reportedly forbids married people from living with another “spouse” and threatens arrest for plural families. The long tradition of not prosecuting polygamists has been upheld by state officials unless they commit another crime such as child or spousal abuse, fraud or domestic violence.
Police started an investigation into the family after the show premiered in 2010 but it was closed without filing any charges.
Brown is legally married to Meri Brown and says he is “spiritually married” to the other three women. They live together in a “plural relationship” and belong to a religious organization that believes in polygamy.
