Internal Memorandum of Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internal Memorandum of Law - Research Paper Example In order to file a case against the appeal to be filed by Debbie Evans and others, and to evaluate the opponent’s chances of success in this endeavor, the bigamy laws of Utah and other relevant legislation, as well as the decided case law, have to be examined. Debbie Evans wanted to marry a married man Aaron, with the consent of his wife, Barb Conway. They had applied for a marriage license, which was denied, and their plea in the trial court for being provided with such a license was rejected. They wanted to file an appeal in the upper court against this order, challenging the State’s power to interfere with their religious freedom and curtailing their right to polygamous marriage, which in accordance with their religious customs. The Mormon Church, openly promoted polygamy, until the year 1890, when it discontinued this practice. This volte-face was occasioned by Utah territory’s attempt to obtain statehood, and as Congress was insistent that the presence of anti-polygamy legislation was essential for admission into the Union. Since that point in time, the Mormon Church has desisted from actively supporting polygamy, amongst its members. In its efforts to prove that it is opposed to the practices of the 30,000 odd polygamists, who reside in various places in the West, the Mormon Church has resorted to the excommunication of its members who practice polygamy (Cosgrove - Mather, 2004). The state of Utah was witness to a polygamy case that attracted considerable attention. This was the case of State of Utah v. Green, wherein the defendant had maintained conjugal relations with several women and had thereby fathered 28 children (the State of Utah v. Thomas Arthur Green, 2004). His conviction by the lower court was upheld in the Supreme Court of Utah.