State v. Clements, 832 N.W.2d 485

Clements married Kristi Anderson in North Dakota in 2009; Anderson filed for divorce in 2011.
Before divorce resolution, Clements and Alicia Bjerke obtained a South Dakota marriage license and married in Brown County on June 14, 2011.
Marriage license was filed with Brown County on June 15, 2011; Clements and Bjerke participated in a ceremony and were solemnized.
State charged Clements with bigamy under SDCL 22-22A-1 on August 4, 2011; motion to dismiss followed, arguing no public offense was stated.
Trial court granted the dismissal multiple times, concluding bigamy is legally impossible to commit; State appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether SDCL 22-22A-1 criminalizes bigamy despite void ab initio status	Clements: bigamy legally impossible because second marriage voids ab initio	Clements: statute renders no crime since second marriage is void	Bigamy statute valid; cannot rely on legal impossibility.
Does a bigamous crime require a valid, legally recognized marriage at the time of contract	State: statute enforces prohibition regardless of voidness	Clements: void ab initio defeats crime	Crime occurs when entering into a second marriage while the first spouse is living.
Should the statutes be construed to give effect to all provisions	State: statutes harmonize to criminalize bigamy	Clements: statutes conflict; adopt narrow interpretation	Constructions harmonize to give effect to SDCL 22-22A-1.

United States v. Ali, 557 F.3d 715 (6th Cir. 2009) (civil statutes declaring bigamy void do not exonerate defendants)
State v. Eden, 169 S.W.2d 342 (Mo. 1943) (unlawful contract to marry is punishable as bigamy)
State v. Patterson, 24 N.C. (2 Ired.) 346 (N.C. 1842) (unlawful contract is punished as bigamy)
State v. Fitzgerald, 726 P.2d 1344 (Kan. 1986) (approves bigamy committed when a second marriage is entered while living spouse)
In re Collins, 85 S.D. 375 (S.D. 1970) (statutes should be construed to harmonize provisions)