WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of a man and his four wives — stars of a reality TV show — challenging a ban on polygamy in their native state of Utah. They are members of a fringe religious group, related to Mormon fundamentalism, with polygamy as a core tenet of their beliefs. The Supreme Court in Washington declined to add the case to its schedule Monday, without giving any reason for its decision, thereby leaving the appeal court’s decision in place. The high court has not ruled on a polygamy case since 1878, when it declared that a law prohibiting bigamy was valid. Jonathan Turley, a lawyer for the Brown family, said they were “disappointed… but not surprised” by the Supreme Court’s decision declining to take the case.

Source: Manila Times January 24, 2017 03:52 UTC