Lawyer Asks Judge to Stop Hearing for Polygamist Cop
 
The Associated Press
 
PHOENIX -- An attorney for polygamist law officer Sam Barlow asked a federal judge Monday to stop a certification hearing in which the Colorado City marshal could lose his job for having three wives.

The Arizona Law Enforcement Advisory Council has scheduled for Thursday a certification hearing in which the board, which licenses law enforcement throughout the state, has sought since 1987.

Barlow, who has sired 36 children, belongs to a fundamentalist-Mormon sect that encourages polygamy in Colorado City which, with twin community Hillsdale, straddles the Arizona-Utah border.

He was hired as town marshal in 1986 after serving as a Mohave County sheriff's deputy for 20 years.

Barlow's attorney Mark Canvass said the council is selectively persecuting his client for his religious beliefs while deciding not to pursue other cases against officers involving adultery and incest.

U.S. Assistant Attorney Bill Jameson said the other cases brought up by Canvass weren't applicable, and that the issue that Barlow has broken his oath to uphold the state Constitution justified the hearing.

Judge Robert Broomfield said that he would decide before Thursday whether to grant an injunction and block the hearing. He said a decision by the council to limit the number of Barlow's witnesses may influence his decision.

"ALEAC has a clear double-standard," Canvass said, citing three cases of officers involved in various sexual incidents in which the board decided not to pursue.

Jameson responded, "The issue here is not officer Barlow's sexual practices, but what brings us here today is the issue that he has taken three wives and that violates the Constitution and the oath he has taken to uphold that Constitution."
 
The Associated Press
Originally published March 3, 1992
 
Back