Why did Kody Brown sue the state of Utah? 'Sister Wives' star claimed he was targetted unfairly for polygamy
When TLC's wildly popular show 'Sister Wives' first premiered in 2010, people were fascinated by the family patriarch Kody Brown's lifestyle. Kody's life with his four wives — Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Sullivan, and 18 children made for a rather interesting watch for the audience who were very curious to know about the polygamist lifestyle of the Browns.
The family was shown living happily in Lehi, Utah, where Kody worked in the advertising sector. But as the show quickly began gaining popularity, the family began to get attention from not just fans but also law authorities.
Immediately a day after the show premiered in September 2010, Lehi police said that they were investigating the Brown family for practicing bigamy. In October, the police department presented their findings to the Utah County Attorney General. Although Kody is technically only legally married to Meri Brown, according to Utah's laws, bigamy includes cohabitation and not just legal marriage contracts.
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Faced with the threat of being prosecuted for bigamy in Utah, Kody and his family moved to Las Vegas in Season 2. Kody also filed a lawsuit in 2011 against Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, and Utah County Attorney Jeffrey R. Buhman. The lawsuit was called Brown v/s Buhman.
What is the Brown v/s Buhman case?
The Browns felt that they were being unfairly targeted for their lifestyle by the law-enforcing agencies, although they didn't technically break any laws. While filing the lawsuit, Kody Brown explained at that time, "There are tens of thousands of plural families in Utah and other states. We are one of those families. We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs."
"While we understand that this may be a long struggle in court, it has already been a long struggle for my family and other plural families to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy,” he said.
The Browns filed the suit in the US Federal courts. A year later, the criminal case against the Browns was dropped, but the lawsuit continued. In December 2013, US District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in favor of the Browns by passing the verdict that Utah may continue to ban multiple marriage licenses, but the state's anti-polygamy law that prohibited multiple cohabitations was unconstitutional.
But the Browns couldn't bask in their victory for too long, as in April 2016, the state of Utah appealed the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. A panel of three judges ordered the district court to dismiss the earlier ruling while citing "standing grounds".
The judges felt that the Browns' case was invalid because the Utah County Attorney's Office already had a policy that restricted polygamy prosecutions towards families that were accused of crimes such as child bigamy, abuse, and fraud. “That policy eliminated any credible threat that the Browns will be prosecuted,” the judges declared.
What did the courts finally decide?
In January 2017, the US Supreme Court announced that it wouldn't hear the Browns' appeal of that lower court's ruling. The court essentially rejected the family's petition to have their case heard. So it means that Utah's anti-polygamy law will remain effective.
This also means that the Browns can not return to their old life in Utah. But it looks like the family isn't really missing home, as they have already moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, in the previous season. The courts may not be open to hearing out the Brown family's appeal, but the public is definitely opening up to the family's lifestyle.
'Sister Wives' Season 15 is all set to premiere on Sunday, February 14, at 10/9c on TLC.