Utah Supreme Court hears polygamy appeal
 
By Rachel Olsen
The Spectrum
 
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday heard the appeal of former Hildale police officer Rodney Holm, who is challenging the state's 100-plus-year-old prohibition on polygamy.

Holm is a follower of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which teaches polygamy as part of its doctrine. The court's decision in this case could eventually affect the many individuals in Utah who practice polygamy as part of their religion, said Rod Parker, Holm's attorney.

Holm's case -- involving the 1998 marriage of Holm to his third wife, his then-16-year-old sister-in-law -- was originally heard in August 2003 in 5th District Court in St. George.

A jury convicted him of bigamy and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor 16 or 17 years of age. A judge sentenced him in October 2003, and Holm, now 38, completed his jail time in June after receiving credit for good behavior.

At the Supreme Court on Thursday, Parker argued that state prosecutors focused only on those breaking the law while practicing their religion.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Laura Dupaix said Thursday that Parker's claim that the state's prosecution is religiously motivated was unfounded. Dupaix said the state prosecutes bigamist who traditionally or untraditionally marry minors.

Regardless, one of the points Parker made to the court -- discussed at length by the justices, Dupaix and eventually Parker -- was the fact that the application of the bigamy statute was religiously motivated.

Non-religious parties who cohabitate while married to another are not prosecuted under the same law, Parker said.

Parker said tens of thousands of individuals in Utah practice bigamy as part of their religion, and not to address the issue and its unfair application will affect many, forcing distrust and closed communities.

Parker also argued that the cohabitation law is unconstitutionally vague. He said that Utah law doesn't stop at banning bigamy, but allows the state to prosecute people who are cohabitating in a spiritual relationship, such as a multiple marriage in a polygamist relationship.

Supreme Court justices questioned Dupaix on the point. Dupaix argued the law was clear to the point that Holm, a police officer, knew his practices were not legal.

Dupaix said Holm was free to believe and associate with those who believe in polygamy, even to teach his children about polygamy, but he could not actively model the illegal behavior.

Parker countered that Holm's religious beliefs mandate the practice of polygamy, not just the belief.

Reiterating Dupaix's point about targeting sexual predators after arguments before the court, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said that his office does not have enough manpower to go after every alleged predator.

In court, Parker argued that Holm acted not out of sexual desires, but religious beliefs. However, because of his August 2003 conviction he must register as a sex offender, complete his three-year probation and was decertification as a police officer, among other things.

Also during Thursday's arguments, Parker and Dupaix discussed recent higher court rulings, from both the Utah Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court, demonstrating their different interpretations of the judgments made. Issues dealt with constitutionally protected relationships and the understandings of those issues.

Another recent legal issue discussed that could come into play in Holm's case is a recent amendment to the state Constitution defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Attorneys also discussed the extent to which the U.S. Supreme Court decided the government could be involved in a relationship.

Justices from the Utah Supreme Court took the arguments under advisement and will issue a decision at a later date.

The publication of those decisions usually takes months, Dupaix said.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published Friday, February 4, 2005
 
Back