The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-09-05
STATUTE IS
BADLY MIXED
QUEER COMPLICATION ARISING
UNDER DEFECTIVE LAW.
They MAY AND MAY NOT
Through Legal Mistake innocent Par.
ties to Divorces Find Them
selves in Peculiar Position.

From Thursdays Daily Gazette.
It would probably be unfair to say
that Montana has a monopoly of con-
Trajectory and half completed laws
and statutes, for no doubt other states
have u of complaint of the care
l-essness and ineficiency Of their law
makers, but for all that this state
seems to have Just a little more of
such things than it should have. Any
lawyer will tell you this, and every
court if approached and asked to
elucidate some of the laws that find
place in the codes will shake his head
and sorrowfully confess his inabil-
Iity to do so.
Perhaps, one OF the laws which
causes trouble to clerks of the
district court than any other is the
one relating to the matter Of divorce
and the disability to contract mar
riage within q stated period which
by statute attaches to both parties
to such proceedings. Section 146 Of
the civil code provides that the in
nocent party to a divorce granted on
any Of the six grounds which the
code says shall be sufficient on which
to grant a divorce shall not remarry
until after the lapse of two years
from the date Of the decree.
A subsequent legislature, apparent
ly recognizing the manifest injustice
of this provision, sought to repeal it.,
but its good intent was exceeded by
it's ability to perform what it seems
to have considered a righteous act.
House bill No. 142, approved March
6, 1895, repeats section LAG, but in the
repeating clause no reference is made
to the section by title, consequently
while virtually repealed, the section
still remains a part of the laws of the
Estate. Like many other laws it lis
a dead one," more honored in the
Ebreach than in the observance. The
intent of the lawmakers is
considered to be SO very
apparent that the letter of the law
is ignored and the purpose Of the
trainers is accepted, thus complying
with the spirit of the act, and the
innocent are not compelled to suffer
for the acts of the, guilty. Why it
NWas considered in the first instance
necessary or advisable to insert the
clause which house bill No. 142
seeks to repeal is not understood,
unless it was for the purpose of pre-
venting fraud and collision by par
ties who had tired of their matrimon-
llal bargain.
Within the past few weeks several
cases have occurred in this, county
Where if the letter of the law had
been observed there would have been
heavy hearts and Cupid's work would
hav Teen in vain. Persons who had
been innocent parties in divorce suits
applied for license to marry again,
Inquiry brought out the fact that in
no instance had the divorced parties
been freed from their former ALI.
ances the length of time required
by the law. The county attorney
was appealed to in every case for
his opinion, as he is the legal ad-
visor of the clerks Office. Fortunate
" for the parties he held in every
cas- that the law had been repealed
and that no other legal bar existing
to the marriage of the persons apply
ing for permits no reason existed why
the license should not be granted.
It might occur, however, that another
county attorney would hold to the
contrary and rule that the, section
was still in force and effect. In such
a case there could be no marriage,
unless the parties concluded to go
to a neighboring state and there have
the ceremony performed.
No doubt an effort will be made at
the coming session of the legislature
to have the law perfected and the
ambiguous section wholly repealed
instead of permitting it to remain as
it now is.
YELLOWSTONE COUNTY FAIR