A local judge has ruled that police arrested an accused bigamist after the statute of limitation for the crime had run out.
But Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole still declined Wednesday to dismiss the case against Harold J. Garth, ruling that the lies Mr. Garth told about being divorced constitute concealment of his crime and therefore extend the time authorities had to prosecute him.
PDF: Motion to dismiss bigamy case
The ruling was a split victory for defense attorney Alan Dunn, who challenged the legality of Mr. Garth’s prosecution in the rare bigamy case on both the statute of limitation and concealment issues.
And since the state’s high courts never have contemplated such matters, a possible appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals could result in precedent being set in Tennessee with regard to bigamy.
“We respect Judge Poole’s decision,” Mr. Dunn said Wednesday. “We’re not sure if we’ll appeal now or settle the case.”
Whatever Mr. Dunn’s decision, Judge Poole said Wednesday during his ruling that the case had highlighted “extremely important” issues with regard to the definition of bigamy and how authorities should handle it in the future.
Mr. Garth, a former associate church pastor, remains charged with two counts of bigamy after evidence showed in early 2009 that he did not obtain a divorce before marrying a second woman.
Mr. Dunn had argued that Tennessee’s criminal legal code does not specify bigamy as a “continuing” crime, meaning the only time someone can commit bigamy is on the day he or she signs a questionable marriage license.
Bigamy’s statute of limitation, or the time frame in which authorities can commence a prosecution, is one year. Mr. Dunn argued that the prosecution of Mr. Garth was illegal since authorities did not arrest and charge him until more than three years after he signed the 2006 marriage license that rendered him a bigamist.
Judge Poole agreed with Mr. Dunn in his ruling, citing case precedent from several other states in which high courts have delivered the same opinion.
Mr. Dunn ultimately lost his motion to dismiss the case because of Mr. Garth’s concealment of his crime. Concealment of any crime can extend a statute of limitation.
Judge Poole did not agree with Mr. Dunn’s argument that public marriage licenses disprove concealment of bigamy even when a defendant lies about marital status.
“Presumably, the state does not routinely investigate every marriage to detect the offense of bigamy,” Judge Poole stated in his written ruling.
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