Polygamy czar

Polygamy czar is an informal title given to the "Investigator of Crimes within Closed Societies" for the Utah Attorney General's Office. The position was established by the Utah State Legislature in 2000.[1] The office is responsible for investigating crimes associated with Fundamentalist Mormon communities that practice plural marriage, including tax evasion, welfare fraud, child abuse, sex abuse and domestic violence. Ron Barton, Utah's first polygamy czar, contributed to the prosecutions of polygamists Rodney Holm and Tom Green on child rape and bigamy charges.[2]

Mormonism and polygamy
see caption
Portrait of Ira Eldredge with his three wives: Nancy Black Eldredge, Hannah Mariah Savage Eldredge, and Helvig Marie Andersen Eldredge.
Background
Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy • Late-19th century Mormon polygamy • 1890 Manifesto • Second Manifesto (1904) • Council of Friends
Current state of polygamy
Modern Latter Day Saint polygamy •
Mormon fundamentalism •
Leaders
Prominent practitioners
Joseph Smith • Wives of Joseph Smith • Brigham Young • Wives of Brigham Young • List of Mormon polygamists •
FLDS Church • AUB • Kingston Clan • Centennial Park group
Related legislation
Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act • Poland Act • Edmunds Act • Edmunds–Tucker Act • Reed Smoot hearings
Related case law
Reynolds v. US • Cannon v. US • Clawson v. US • Davis v. Beason • Late Corp. of the LDS Church v. US • Cleveland v. US • Brown v. Buhman • List of polygamy court cases
Related articles
Celestial marriage • Spiritual wifery • Polygamy in North America • Timeline of civil marriage in the US • Freedom of religion in the US • Mormon colonies in Mexico • Latter-day Saint settlements in Canada •
Short Creek raid • Lost boys • YFZ Ranch •
Polygamy czar • Legal status of polygamy
 Latter Day Saints portal

In Utah, prosecutions for polygamy per se depend on the circumstances of each case, ranging from an infraction with a relatively small fine,[3][4][5] up up to a felony.[6][5]

In fiction

A fictionalized polygamy czar was introduced in the HBO series Big Love in the episode "Affair."

Officeholders
  • Ron Barton (2000–2004)
  • Jim Hill (2004–2006)

Notes
  1. O'Driscoll, Patrick (June 19, 2001). "Polygamist goes on trial in Utah". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2014-10-22.
  2. "Ron Barton Goes From Polygamy Czar to Tree Czar". 2004.
  3. "Utah State Legislature 76-7-101". Effective 5/4/2022
  4. "Polygamy essentially decriminalized in Utah". Fox News. 13 May 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. Hauser, Christine (2020-05-13). "Utah Lowers Penalty for Polygamy, No Longer a Felony". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  6. "Utah Code Section 76-7-101". State of Utah. Retrieved January 30, 2023.

References


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