State v. Holm

137 P.3d 726 (Utah 2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was legally married to Suzie Stubbs in 1986. Subsequent to this marriage, D participated in a religious marriage ceremony with Wendy Holm. D also participated in another religious marriage ceremony with then-sixteen-year-old Ruth Stubbs, Suzie Stubbs's sister. After the ceremony, Ruth moved into Holm's house, where her sister Suzie Stubbs, Wendy Holm, and their children also resided. By the time Ruth turned eighteen, she had conceived two children with D, the second of which was born approximately three months after her eighteenth birthday. D was arrested and charged with three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old, and one count of bigamy. Stubbs testified that although she knew that the marriage was not a legal civil marriage under the law, she believed that she was married. At the close of the State's case in chief, D moved for reconsideration of his motion to dismiss, arguing that the jury should not be allowed to consider whether he violated the bigamy statute by purporting to marry Stubbs. Specifically, he argued that the 'purporting to marry' prong of the bigamy statute applied only to legally recognized marriages. The court again rejected his motion. The jury returned a guilty verdict on each of the charges, indicating on a special verdict form that D was guilty of bigamy both because he 'purported to marry Ruth Stubbs' and because he had 'cohabited with Ruth Stubbs.' D appealed.