Case Categories: Polygamy

• Cleveland v. United States (1946)

  Cleveland v. United States (1946) upheld the convictions of a fundamentalist group of polygamous Mormons. Polygamy is not historically protected by the First...

• Davis v. Beason (1890)

  In Davis v. Beason (1890) upheld a law withdrew the right to vote from polygamists. The Court said the First Amendment freedom of religion must be subordinate...

• Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. United States (1890)

  In 1890, the Court ruled that Congress could dissolve the Mormon church because of its practice of polygamy. That action is now considered a clear violation of...

• Murphy v. Ramsey (1885)

  In Murphy v. Ramsey (1885), the Supreme Court upheld a federal law that denied polygamists the right to vote, denying that the law was an ex post facto...

• Reynolds v. United States (1879)

  In Reynolds v. United States (1879), the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibiting polygamy did not violate the free exercise clause of the...