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Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-301

Bigamy

Applied in 1 court decision — leading case Estes v. State (2018)

Most recently applied in Estes v. State (May 2018)

Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 2013, ch. 227, §§ 1, 2.

(1) A person commits bigamy who: Is married and purports to marry or be married to a person other than the person's spouse in this state under circumstances that would, but for the person's existing marriage, constitute a marriage; or

(2) Knows that a person other than the person's spouse is married and purports to marry or be married to the person in this state under circumstances that would, but for the person's existing marriage, constitute a marriage.

(3) It is a defense to prosecution under subdivision (a)(1) that the person reasonably believed that the person's marriage had been dissolved by death, divorce or annulment.

(4) For purposes of determining when prosecution for this offense must begin under § 40-2-101: A violation of this section is a continuing offense; and

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the applicability of § 40-2-103.

(6) Bigamy is a Class A misdemeanor and, in addition to the authorized term of imprisonment, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

Current official text: Tennessee Code (LexisNexis). Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Tennessee statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.