ranasrule Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- A 15-year-old girl can enter into a common-law marriage in Colorado, a state appeals court ruled Thursday. Younger girls and boys may also be able to marry. While the three-judge panel stopped short of setting a specific minimum age for such marriages, it said they could be legal for girls at 12 and boys at 14 under English common law, which Colorado recognizes. The ruling overturned a lower-court judge's decision that a girl, who is now older than 18, was too young to marry when she was 15. The panel said there was no clear legislative or statutory guidance on common-law marriages, and that Colorado courts have not determined an age of consent. Colorado is one of 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, that recognize common-law marriage, which is based on English law dating back hundreds of years. For traditional ceremonial marriage, Colorado law sets the minimum age at 18, or 16 with parental or judicial approval. "It appears that Colorado has adopted the common-law age of consent for marriage as 14 for a male and 12 for a female, which existed under English common law," the ruling said. "Nevertheless, we need only hold here that a 15-year-old female may enter into a valid common-law marriage." The appeal was filed by Willis Rouse, 38, who is serving time for escape and a parole violation. He argued that he and the girl began living together in April 2002 and applied for a marriage license a year later. The girl had become legally independent by then, but her mother also consented to the marriage and accompanied the girl and Rouse to obtain a license, the ruling said. A judge invalidated the marriage, saying anybody under age 16 needed judicial approval for either common-law or ceremonial marriage. While Thursday's ruling found that the girl was old enough to marry, it did not conclude whether she and Rouse have a valid marriage. The court sent the case back to the trial judge to make that determination. http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/15/teen.mar...p.ap/index.html and americans criticize the muslim nations for laws like these :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeAzn Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 The article clearly says that the girl is 18 and that the case was returned to the lower court. It also clearly said that lower courts ruled the marriage was illegal because she was underage. Reading is fun! Again, as I pointed out in an other thread, ranasrule loves making flame bait, anti-Western posts. Why so hateful man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 why can't boys marry at 12, like girls...? no sexism there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeAzn Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 why can't boys marry at 12, like girls...? no sexism there... It is common law, which are really really old laws that no one really recognizes today. Sometimes courts will recognized them and other times they will not, depending on how much the common law conflicts with current laws. The current laws regarding marriage is 18 year old (which is the legal age you are allowed to sign contracts) and 16 with parental consent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubka Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 and americans criticize the muslim nations for laws like these :whistle: well, we stop at 15, as you guys start women at 10 and are legal property of men, and bathing suits for you either :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echilon Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Seems ridiculous to me. There's no way I'd be ready to marry at 18, let alone 15. You're still legally and mentally a child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azcodemonkey Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Seems ridiculous to me. There's no way I'd be ready to marry at 18, let alone 15. You're still legally and mentally a child. That's kind of the problem with this country; we can't decide how old 15 really is. If you're old enough to be tried as an adult at the age of 15, you ought to be old enough to do other adult things as well. We can't seem to figure it out. I'm with you, though. I think 15 is too young to be making these kinds of decisions in a completely rational way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3beanlimit Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hey, what's the big deal? They can start stripping for money in Texas at 17. The land of the conservative fundamentalist and horny rich guy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubka Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hey, what's the big deal? They can start stripping for money in Texas at 17. The land of the conservative fundamentalist and horny rich guy.... 17, that is disgusting... but we love jesus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n3wt Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 17, that is disgusting... but we love jesus Just love underaged girls more I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japlabot Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 (edited) The ruling overturned a lower-court judge's decision that a girl, who is now older than 18, was too young to marry when she was 15 Why bother with all of this crap and just tear up the marriage that never happened, and then marry again at age 18 to make it legal. Why not just cohabitat for just another year, why does it need to be an official "marriage" Edited June 19, 2006 by Quick Reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts