Polygamist unfit for bench?

An admitted polygamist justice court judge in southern Utah contends he shouldn't be ousted from the bench for practicing consensual bigamy. He argues his marital status is protected by the U.S. and state constitutions and doesn't affect his judicial work.

But the state's judicial watchdog agency insists Walter Steed's behavior interferes with justice and brings a judicial office into disrepute.

The Judicial Conduct Commission has asked the Utah Supreme Court to remove Steed from office. The high court will hear the case Wednesday in the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University.

Steed has been a municipal court justice in the largely polygamous community of Hildale since 1980. He has admitted he engaged in consensual bigamy with three adult women with whom he has a total of 32 children.

He married the first wife in a state-recognized civil ceremony in 1965 and married the other two in 1975 and 1985, respectively, in religious ceremonies of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which encourages polygamous or plural marriages.

The commission contends Steed's marriages violate the state's bigamy law, which forbids taking another spouse while still married, purporting to marry another individual, or cohabiting with another person. Bigamy is a third-degree felony.

"So far, no federal court and no Utah state court has held that bigamy is protected by either constitution," even if it is practiced by consenting adults as part of their religious faith, said Colin Winchester, attorney for the JCC.

In fact, Winchester said, the Utah Supreme Court refused to recognize constitutional protection for bigamy in the conviction of polygamist Tom Green, who currently is in prison after being convicted of bigamy and other charges.

Even if an appellate court did rule that bigamy is constitutionally protected, it still is not acceptable for judges, Winchester said.

Judges must abide by a code of judicial conduct that governs both personal and professional behavior — some of which actually limits the rights a judge has compared to those of other citizens.

For example, a judge can't take part in political activity.

"You and I as citizens are constitutionally allowed to participate in the political process," Winchester said. "The code of judicial conduct says 'no' to that for judges."

The code also prohibits breaking the law, which would logically include laws prohibiting bigamy.

"Judges are held to a higher standard," Winchester said. "Our society demands that those who sit in judgment of others conduct their personal and professional lives in an appropriate manner. We do not want them to degrade or demean the judicial office they hold."