Exam Question for Criminal Law Section

Alice now urges reversal of her conviction for bigamy on the ground that the trial court erroneously refused to admit the evidence offered.

The relevant bigamy statute in the jurisdiction is:

Bigamy: A married person is guilty of bigamy, a misdemeanor of the second degree, if he or she contracts or purports to contract another marriage, unless at the time of the subsequent marriage the actor believes that the prior spouse is dead; or a court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the actor does not know that judgment to be invalid.

Other party to bigamous marriage. A person is guilty of bigamy if he or she contracts or purports to contract marriage with another person knowing that the other is thereby committing bigamy.

Assume that the general provisions of the state’s criminal statutes are in all relevant respects identical to the Model Penal Code.

Would you expect Alice’s conviction for bigamy to be reversed on appeal? Explain your answer.