Justice may be disbarred

Winchester said Steed, if concerned about his constitutional rights, could have taken action earlier by seeking an opinion from the Ethics Advisory Committee of the state's Judicial Council, or by filing a petition for declaratory judgment in either federal or state court.

Justice Ronald Nehring asked if judges have the same right to engage in civil disobedience as others, even though when a person accepts a position such as judge it places limitations on his or her behavior.

Parker said that would depend on the nature of the conduct and that Steed's private actions in his home should not be considered in the same category as something such as drug abuse, which would bring a judicial office into disrepute.

"Is there a sliding scale of reproach?" Justice Michael Wilkins questioned.

Winchester said there is: "It's not in the issue of whether or not misconduct occurred but it is the level of the misconduct."

The JCC has five sanctions it can impose: public reprimand, censure, suspension, removal from the bench (which actually is done by the high court), or a private reprimand. Winchester cited as an example an unnamed judge who was in an accident with a car with an expired registration. He was privately reprimanded.

"If you get misconduct and it's relatively minor, you get a reprimand," Winchester said.

Outside BYU's moot court lecture hall with one of his wives, Steed later said he does not think he is being persecuted for his beliefs and accepts that the JCC and Supreme Court have jobs to do.

"I feel this is an issue — the constitutionality of the bigamy statute — that needs to be decided," Steed said. "If I can be a vehicle to get that decided, I don't feel picked on."

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