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02-25-2006, 03:36 PM
http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=8339
The Utah State Supreme Court has ousted a polygamist judge from the bench, saying his relationships with three women he considers his wives are polygamy and clearly against the law, putting his judicial office into disrepute.
Judge Walter Steed who presided over the Hildale Justice Court accepted the Utah Supreme Court's decision, though he stated that he was "extremely disappointed" in the court's ruling Friday.
"I had hoped that the court would see my case as an opportunity to correct the injustices that are caused by the criminalization of my religious beliefs and lifestyle, and I am disappointed that the court did not reach those issues in my case," Steed said in a written statement.
Hildale, Utah, which is Washington Country, is known to be a polygamous stronghold. Steed had presided over the Hildale Justice Court since 1980.
The polygamist Judge has been hearing cases on Saturdays, earning a little more than $300 a month. Steed was not expected to take the bench today - or any other day.
Steed's lawyer, Rod Parker, said, "I've advised Steed not to hear any more cases."
In a three-page written ruling, the high court unanimously agreed that Steed's personal or religious beliefs cannot transcend the laws that he has sworn to uphold while in office.
"In the case of a sitting judge, it is of little or no consequence that the judge may believe a criminal statute is constitutionally defective. A judge ignores the clearly stated criminal prohibitions of the law at his or her peril," states the ruling written by Associate Chief Justice Michael Wilkins.
Then-Judge Steed came under fire when the anti-polygamy group "Tapestry Against Polygamy" filed a complaint last year with the Judicial Conduct Commission, which investigates claims of judicial misbehavior.
"How can he uphold something he isn't honoring?" asked Rowenna Erickson with the anti-polygamy group. "He was definitely breaking the law."
Erickson says that Steed isn't the only official breaking the law by practicing polygamy. She said there are Utah attorneys and police officers who are also polygamists.
The Utah Judicial Conduct Commission said Steed's admitted behavior and his stated intentions to continue in polygamous marriages were prejudicial to the administration of justice and brought the judicial office into disrepute.
"Judges in this state are expected to abide by all of the laws applicable to them. Civil disobedience carries consequences for a judge that may not be applicable to other citizens," Wilkins said in the ruling. "When the law is violated or ignored by those charged by society with the fair and impartial enforcement of the law, the stability of society is placed at undue risk."
Steed legally married his first wife in 1965 in a civil ceremony and was sealed in religious rituals to two other women in 1975 and 1985, respectively. He has 32 children with the three women.
Bigamy in Utah is a third-degree felony.
Steed is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., which encourages polygamy as a means to achieve the highest state of glory in the afterlife.
Both the Utah Attorney General's Office and the Washington County attorney declined to prosecute Steed or his wives for bigamy because they were all consenting adults.
What say you? :What the
Should polygamy be held against him, after 26 years? Or has it worked well so far?
The Utah State Supreme Court has ousted a polygamist judge from the bench, saying his relationships with three women he considers his wives are polygamy and clearly against the law, putting his judicial office into disrepute.
Judge Walter Steed who presided over the Hildale Justice Court accepted the Utah Supreme Court's decision, though he stated that he was "extremely disappointed" in the court's ruling Friday.
"I had hoped that the court would see my case as an opportunity to correct the injustices that are caused by the criminalization of my religious beliefs and lifestyle, and I am disappointed that the court did not reach those issues in my case," Steed said in a written statement.
Hildale, Utah, which is Washington Country, is known to be a polygamous stronghold. Steed had presided over the Hildale Justice Court since 1980.
The polygamist Judge has been hearing cases on Saturdays, earning a little more than $300 a month. Steed was not expected to take the bench today - or any other day.
Steed's lawyer, Rod Parker, said, "I've advised Steed not to hear any more cases."
In a three-page written ruling, the high court unanimously agreed that Steed's personal or religious beliefs cannot transcend the laws that he has sworn to uphold while in office.
"In the case of a sitting judge, it is of little or no consequence that the judge may believe a criminal statute is constitutionally defective. A judge ignores the clearly stated criminal prohibitions of the law at his or her peril," states the ruling written by Associate Chief Justice Michael Wilkins.
Then-Judge Steed came under fire when the anti-polygamy group "Tapestry Against Polygamy" filed a complaint last year with the Judicial Conduct Commission, which investigates claims of judicial misbehavior.
"How can he uphold something he isn't honoring?" asked Rowenna Erickson with the anti-polygamy group. "He was definitely breaking the law."
Erickson says that Steed isn't the only official breaking the law by practicing polygamy. She said there are Utah attorneys and police officers who are also polygamists.
The Utah Judicial Conduct Commission said Steed's admitted behavior and his stated intentions to continue in polygamous marriages were prejudicial to the administration of justice and brought the judicial office into disrepute.
"Judges in this state are expected to abide by all of the laws applicable to them. Civil disobedience carries consequences for a judge that may not be applicable to other citizens," Wilkins said in the ruling. "When the law is violated or ignored by those charged by society with the fair and impartial enforcement of the law, the stability of society is placed at undue risk."
Steed legally married his first wife in 1965 in a civil ceremony and was sealed in religious rituals to two other women in 1975 and 1985, respectively. He has 32 children with the three women.
Bigamy in Utah is a third-degree felony.
Steed is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., which encourages polygamy as a means to achieve the highest state of glory in the afterlife.
Both the Utah Attorney General's Office and the Washington County attorney declined to prosecute Steed or his wives for bigamy because they were all consenting adults.
What say you? :What the
Should polygamy be held against him, after 26 years? Or has it worked well so far?