Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

RCW 9A.64.010

Bigamy.

Known as the Washington Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 9–9 (401 sections).

Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case State v. Mannering (2003)

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

2011 c 336 s 385; 1986 c 257 s 14; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.64.010.

How often courts cite this section

199720002010201820
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) A person is guilty of bigamy if he or she intentionally marries or purports to marry another person when either person has a living spouse.

(2) In any prosecution under this section, it is a defense that at the time of the subsequent marriage or purported marriage:

(a) The actor reasonably believed that the prior spouse was dead; or

(b) A court had entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage and the actor did not know that such judgment was invalid; or

(c) The actor reasonably believed that he or she was legally eligible to marry.

(3) The limitation imposed by RCW 9A.04.080 on commencing a prosecution for bigamy does not begin to run until the death of the prior or subsequent spouse of the actor or until a court enters a judgment terminating or annulling the prior or subsequent marriage.

(4) Bigamy is a class C felony.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.