Court hears case of polygamous judge

? A small-town judge who has three wives should not be removed from the bench because his private behavior has not tarnished the office he holds, the judge’s attorney told the Utah Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Judge Walter Steed was found to be a polygamist by the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, and the panel issued an order seeking his removal from the bench in February.

Steed’s attorney argued during Wednesday’s hearing that while drug abuse, for example, might be grounds for removal, Steed’s private behavior in his home should not be.

But those seeking to remove Steed argue that he shouldn’t break the laws he took an oath to uphold.

Steed has served for 25 years in the southern border town of Hildale, handing down rulings in drunken driving and domestic violence cases.

The town and neighboring Colorado City, Ariz., are dominated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that broke away from the Mormon church and still practices polygamy.

The towns’ residents follow a strict pioneer-style dress code of long dresses, high collars and long hair for the women, and plain white shirts and dark trousers for the men.

Steed legally married his first wife in 1965, according to court documents. The second and third wives were married – or “sealed” as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints refers to it – to him in religious ceremonies in 1975 and 1985. The women are sisters.