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| Federal BIGAMY Law Bigamy is the condition of having two wives or two husbands at the same time. The second marriage to someone who is already legally married is void and may be annulled, while there is no effect on the first marriage. A person who knowingly commits bigamy is guilty of a crime, but it is seldom prosecuted unless it is part of a fraudulent scheme to get another's property or some other felony. It is not necessarily a defense to a charge of bigamy that the offending party believed in good faith that he was divorced or that his previous marriage was not lawful.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1878 that plurality of wives (polygamy), as originally permitted by the Mormon religion, violated criminal law and was not defensible as an exercise of religious liberty. The Latter-day Saints renounced polygamy in 1890, but the practice has persisted among some, although it has been rarely prosecuted.
Bigamy is a marriage in which one of the parties is already legally married. Bigamous marriages are void, and grounds for annulment. Local laws should be consulted, but typically a person who discovers they are married to a bigamist may have a judge declare the marriage void and seek to have criminal charges filed against the bigamist. A person commits bigamy when he intentionally contracts or purports to contract a marriage with another person when he has a living spouse.
State criminal laws governing bigamy vary by state, some allowing for stiff fines and punishment. To fraudulently induce one to enter into a bigamous marriage contract has been held to be a compensative wrong, and the resulting mental pain and suffering would support an independent action for damages. VENUE will place the trial in the state where the most jail time will be given unless the Bigamist cooperates with local Law Officials.
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