Show ATTORNEY JUDGE ZANES OPINION A LONG H ON MORALITY NO LAW OH OR JUSTICE IN COURTS FOR MORMONS in the third judicial district CW CA utah territory salt lake coutry in the matter of the citation of AM aura winer miner to show cause tte tc at the present term of this coi clil cill l aurelius Au rellus reilus miner an attorney at law thereof was convicted I 1 t the crime of unlawful I 1 and sentenced to imprisonment il idi g 4 I 1 penitentiary for the term of six nong mong I 1 and to pay a fine of and the W 6 of prosecution before judgment I 1 was asked by the court if it wa ts t intention in the future to obey 1 r laws of the united states respect polygamy poil poll gamy and unlawful co habitat and not ot I 1 to 0 advise other people to tota b them to which he answered boats to ats t his majority he had never said that thal I 1 would obey all the laws of con cod conara t when reminded of the obligation ij his oath as an attorney he anaw that he was admitted to bract practice ce 4 the act referred to tw effect that he took an oath r support the constitution of the cm t states slates that since he had reached bed hed maloi malor ity there had bad been laws ot of united states in force which he 4 sald tarl publicly thau that he would not 01 0 and that there were other laws idy iny belcic hn his time which probably would not ime lue ha ie obeyed had he ill lil li d aring the tile t tune me they were in forced he was aa ready to obey all laws that tie tle differed from the couri court to the validity of the law a against dinst pia amy and unlawful when a law reaches into the domn domain morals morais he had a right tight to bo w div when f further arthe reminded that the supreme court of tile the united states the tile tribunal ot of final appeal provided bv by tiie the constitution of the united states stated had repeatedly affirmed the statute against polygamy and unlawful cohabitation to be vahid valid and binding upon every person within their jurisdiction he answered that he had sai sat said sald from his childhood in the lan lau language of bolo mon mou to fear god and keep lils his coin coln commandments mand ments is tt ti e whole duty of man that he reserved the rient to determine ue for the constitutionality and the validity of the law in question A certified copy of the trial and conviction of the respondent and a copy of the questions by the court and tiie the answers of the attorney tran transcribed bribed by the official reporter were filed tiled in tiie tue court and constitute the tte accusation the record shows the conviction of the accused and in view of the questions put to the defendant and of une tue circumstances under which th they cy were made maue his evasive answers au an thu the inference that he did not intend to obey in the future the law that lie he had violated in the past under the circumstances the court entered a rule ruic against the accused and cited him to appear on a day named and sho shuw show w c cuse 4 use why b his Is name should not be stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors ot of the court on the day named he appeared in person and by coun counsel sell seig but made no answer other than by oral argument counsel at also aiso so appeared at the instance and in behalf ot thi bar association of salt lake city and insisted on the accusation and on the disbarment of the accused the statutes of the territory of utah relating delatin to the matter in hand so far as it is necessary to refer to them are as follows the first subdivision of section page ISO f laws of 1884 provides tm that an atto attorney aney and counselor at law may be removed and suspended by the supreme court and by the district court upon his conviction of felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude in which case the record of conviction is conclusive evidence ad upon any violation ot of the oath taken by him or of his duties as such attorney and counselor tha the first clause in section page it ibid provides it esthe duty of an attorney and counselor 1 tv to sup gup support mo ire the constitution and the laws of the united states and of this territory section page ibid is as follows the proceedings to remove or suspend an attorney and counselor under the first subdivision of section must be taken by the court on the receipt of a certified copy of the record of conviction the under the second subdivision of the last named section may be taken by the court for matters within its knowledge or may be taken upon the information of another in view of the facts and the law the question arises should the name of the accused be stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors of this court if the crime of unlawful cohabitation involve involves moral morat turpitude his cony conviction ic of itself is suii suil sufficient lelent cause this presents the fu further arther question Is the conduct which constitutes the crime immoral if it a inan man lives with two or more inore women in the habit and repute of marriage such conduct constitutes the crime of unlawful cohabitation babl babi tation the effects of this crime upon society are essentially the same as those of polygamy A man who has a lawful wife living commits the latter offense when he be formally marries another woman and he commits the former offense when he associates with more women as their husband or ap apparently ardently as their husband both cr crimes F mes usually e exist together in n this territory although prosecution for polygamy is often barred by the statute of limitations aum assuming both crimes are essentially the same from the standpoint of morals inasmuch as the definition of pa polygamy ter gamy is more simple aud and belter understood Ier stood I 1 will consi consider dbr dir that crime from a moral point of view first I 1 assert that the moral sense of the civilized world has condemned polygamy as wrongful and immoral second lasser lasserot I 1 assert tt that polygamy violates well settled moral I 1 principles knowing that the various ethical schools may differ in some respects and that individuals may differ as to the extent of moral turpitude involved in this crime I 1 will wilt point out certain well settled moral rules or tests which this crime violates and which show that it is greatly immoral while moral philosophers differ liff er with respect to the source of ethical rules they do not dis disagree agree aFree as to their existence or as to their application to and binding effect upon human conduct while one school of ethics asserts asserts that moral truths are expressions of the divine will revealed in sacred writings or ia in the human conaci conscience ence and another school makes state enactments the source of right and wrong and a third believes that man is endowed with an innate sense by which jo determine right and broner and a fourth affirms that rightfulness bif ulness or wrongfulness rif rii 0 of conduct is determined 4 from born its effects nevertheless th eless it 1 is believed that all schools schools cons concede cde ede that conduct which in all its consequences immediate and mediate ag aggregates human happiness over huma human pain is right and conduct which in all its effects immediate and mediate causes more human misery than happiness Is wrong even if it in determining the moral quality of conduct we take into view its effect no not only in this life hut but in the lifo to come still it is ici the bellef belief yf d meu men who wao hivo h ivo falth faith fo ill a f future lif life ilfe e that hap happiness in the future state is consistent with happiness in this that the common gaoa with respect to this world is consistent with the welfare e in the world to come assuming assum ilg then that such actions and institutions as promote human welfare are morally right and that such actions as produce pain and distress are wrong and assuming also that justice which is is right I 1 will endeavor to test by these rules vie morality of the monog in mariage arlage 11 the marriage of one man to one ope woman and the marriage the marriage of one man inan t to two or more women whether we consider marriage in law simply as a contract or as more than a contract a status a state or condition it should fix the rights and duties ot of the parties with respect to each other they are mutually bound to love respect and cherish each other each has a right to the affection the society and the support of the other it is a union for life or until severed according to law all the duties of the husband which belong to the relation are due to the wife and the duties which clithe the wife owes that relation are due to the husband if the husband may neglect such duties and deprive his wife of the benefits and happiness which their discharge would bring if he may divide his society his attention at and his support with other women if he f t may thus neglect his wife and her children for the benefi benefit tot of other women and their children and the wife still be held to discharge all the duties which belong to the re relation then marriage is forthe for the wife an un unequal e ual acdan and an unjust contract and if 17 the wife may refuse to discharge her obligations obligation i also then this holy union of matrimony has no binding effect and free love or promiscuity must follow the overthrow of the institution of marriage will come the destruction of the family and of the home ana and ant that refuge ol 01 chasta chastity of purity and of that founta in of devotion of love and of hap happiness gl ness the institution which furnishes furn n so largely the incentives to industry to self seit respect to fidelity and to patriotism the sure foundation of social order of propriety and pro ress res and the cornerstone corner stone upal upon which civilized government reposes will inevitably be destroyed dest roved royed the great number of divorces obtained in the district and probate courts of this territory and tile the illegal divorces heretofore granted by the mormon church show that the thie institution of marriage is rex reg regarded carded lightly where polygamy prevails under the statutes of this territory divorces may maybe be obtained for such trivial causes and have been so f frequently granted that the utah divorce div orca is a proverbial term of derision and contempt and it must be so since the tendency of polygamy is to make marriage a means of gratification of passion and bestial lust just again polygamy is based upon the idea that war woman an is mans inferior not upon the idea that she is his bis equal it disregards her womanhood her rights and her claims the laws of the territory abundantly illustrate this proposition these laws with respect to the rights of married women to pronty like ilke the institution whose influence probably enacted them probably belong ito sto a bygone by cone gone age they are unworthy of this polygamy brings woman into contempt and must result in her degradation it t tends to make her an object of low and grovelling gro velling desires its tendency Is backwards and downwards to the barbarism where the marriage found her with the yoke of oppression and injustice 1 u stice upon her in the chains of lvery slavery I Alone monogamy gamy broke the yoke and loosed her chains eains and led her u up the stil sill lhing way of progress to the higi bigg high plane of equality justice and liberty ller her exaltation bag bas ha ever attended human progress and human welfare demands that ane shall be regarded as the equal of man in the darkness of barbarism and in the val vai galss s of superstition woman is a slave in the light of intelligence telli tell gence ence and truth and on the hilltops of progress s and civilization she is crowned with respect and love she is mans roans equal before man roan and before god and the bhe is f free ree tiie the family composed of one ond husband and one wife and the children of that union are arc more likely to agree ad cooperate than the family composed of one husband and many wives and the children of such relations the mother will be impartial and just between her own children but she wil wll not be so between her own and the children of other living wives because she has not the same and affections towards them all the children of the marriages bear the same relation to both parents and to each other the family is held by a common tie tic all its members have equal feelings and affections com coin mon roon hopes and aspirations and good will barl bari harmony nony and happiness are aro likely to prevail but ri rivalries valri vairl cs animosities dissensions ill III will discord and unhappiness are likely to grow up and exist in a family cor composed of one husband and numerous wives and the children of such wives such a family includes ail all the elements of dome domestic discord superstition and fear may keep it down but it will then become a smothered fire consuming the peace of the soul the happiness and wei wel tare of society demand that childr children cn when growing up shall have the care attention support counsel advice and of the fattier as well as of the mother ithe the great mass of men aro arc hardly to pro provide vitle vitie far or and alid billig bi ing 13 up well family of children if a man attempt more there theme will surely be neglect somewhere while the christian world believes that the new testament condemns polygamy it also believes that infinite wisdom and goodness are manifested f in nature that the disposition of men and women to associate together and to form the relationship termed marriage is an expression in natural law of the will of the great author and the relative proportion of males to females is also believed to be an intimation in nature upon the subject of marriage from the same infinite source if poly gamy were such an expression upon the subject of marriage it is reasonable to assume that it would have beenson lieen lyeen so ordered that several females nor tor each male would appear on the stage of human haman existence and assuming the great author to be infinitely wi wise se and infinitely good why has woman been given in her highest state of cevelo development p ment in her best estate a fond lond desire to b bo the only wife why lias has she that secret dread and inward horror of being one of many mady why ban bai she a nature which abhors p polygamy oly amy why is it that monogamy tends to produce harmony and happiness and polygamy discord and pain while e instance instances sot of unhappiness and distress may attend the inon luon marriage yet in all its effects immediate wd and media inedia tenear and remote it aggregates human happiness over nuh nub unhappiness it is a friend to humanity and it is therefore morally right and while some instances of happiness may attend polygamy yet in dinall all ali its effects immediate ani and mediate near and remote it aggregates pain and distress it is an enemy edemy to humanity it is morally wrong while wile immorality consists alone of wrong thoughts beliefs purposes and intentions municipal law cannot reach it but when those beliefs and intentions cause and attend actions and conduct injurious to society if of sufficient importance such conduct may be defined as crime prohibited and punished when the conduct and the intention both are immoral the crime involves moral turpitude the law does not notice trifles and therefore does not expressly forbid conduct slightly wrong and immoral conduct may be injurious to society but the injury may be so slight that the law will not notice it and the immorality of some misdemeanors is so slight that the offense does not in a legal sense hense involve moral turpitude this cannot be said of polygamy and of unlawful cohabitation the injurious effects upon society ot the conduct which constitutes these crimes are so widespread wide spread and far reaching and so destructive of human happiness chappine ss and of |