This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The United States government may become a defendant in a reality-show family's lawsuit challenging Utah's law banning polygamy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced polygamy as a condition of statehood, required by the Utah Enabling Act of 1894. With that in mind, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups has asked attorneys for the Brown family, stars of the TLC show "Sister Wives," and the state of Utah to show why the U.S. should not also be added as a defendant in the case.
The attorneys will present their arguments in a hearing scheduled for Dec. 16.
A nationally known constitutional law attorney filed the federal suit in July on behalf of Kody Brown and his four wives: Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. They say the law violates their right to privacy.
The state of Utah countered that the family doesn't have standing to challenge the law because they haven't been prosecuted under it, even though police in their former hometown of Lehi opened an investigation. The Utah County Attorney's investigation remains open.
Waddoups said neither side has offered very much evidence to support its claims.
"The court observes that all parties have relied upon facts to support their arguments for which they have not yet offered supporting evidence," the judge wrote in an order filed Nov. 1, saying that the Browns in particular should be prepared show they have legal standing to challenge the law. "Both sides should be prepared to present evidence to support such facts."
Twitter: @lwhitehurst