Sec. 25.01. BIGAMY. (a) An individual commits an offense if:
(1) he is legally married and he:
(A) purports to marry or does marry a person other than his spouse in this state, or any other state or foreign country, under circumstances that would, but for the actor's prior marriage, constitute a marriage; or
(B) lives with a person other than his spouse in this state under the appearance of being married; or
(2) he knows that a married person other than his spouse is married and he:
(A) purports to marry or does marry that person in this state, or any other state or foreign country, under circumstances that would, but for the person's prior marriage, constitute a marriage; or
(B) lives with that person in this state under the appearance of being married.
(b) For purposes of this section, "under the appearance of being married" means holding out that the parties are married with cohabitation and an intent to be married by either party.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1) that the actor reasonably believed at the time of the commission of the offense that the actor and the person whom the actor married or purported to marry or with whom the actor lived under the appearance of being married were legally eligible to be married because the actor's prior marriage was void or had been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. For purposes of this subsection, an actor's belief is reasonable if the belief is substantiated by a certified copy of a death certificate or other signed document issued by a court.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the lawful wife or husband of the actor may testify both for or against the actor concerning proof of the original marriage.
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree, except that if at the time of the commission of the offense, the person whom the actor marries or purports to marry or with whom the actor lives under the appearance of being married is:
(1) 17 years of age, the offense is a felony of the second degree; or
(2) 16 years of age or younger, the offense is a felony of the first degree.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 4.03, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 222 (H.B. 253), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2011.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
25
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 2004–2024 · leading case:
Arteaga v. State, 521 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
Arteaga v. State, 521 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
· cites it 3× “, Tex. Penal Code § 25.01 (making bigamy a second-degree felony if the victim was seventeen years old and a first-degree felony if *338 the victim was sixteen years old or younger).”
Estes v. State, 546 S.W.3d 691 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018).
· cites it 3× “Tex. Pen. Code § 25.01 (a)(1). Judge Keasler argues that I mischaracterize the Court's holding.”
State v. Green, 2004 UT 76 (Utah 2004).
· cites it 2× “"); see also Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 25.01 (Vernon 2003) ("An individual commits an offense if: (1) he is legally married and he: (A) purports to marry or does marry a person other than his spouse in this state, or any other state or foreign country, under circumstances that…”
State of Texas v. Rosseau, Robert Louis, 396 S.W.3d 550 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).
“Tex. Penal Code § 25.01. 2 . Each sexual-assault count contained a paragraph alleging that, “at the time that the [sexual assault] was committed, [complainant], was a person whom the defendant was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the defendant was…”
In Re Marriage of JB & HB, 326 S.W.3d 654 (Tex. App. 2010).
“202 (voiding marriage during existence of prior marriage); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 25.01 (Vernon Supp.”
Senn v. Lumpkin, 116 F.4th 334 (5th Cir. 2024).
· cites it 2× “011(f ) and Texas’s bigamy statute, Tex. Penal Code § 25.01, which Section 22.”
State v. Priscilla Aguilar Hernandez, 395 S.W.3d 258 (Tex. App. 2012).
“See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 25.01 (a)(1) (bigamy is committed if a person is legally married and marries or purports to marry another person, or lives with another person under the appearance of being married).”
Senn v. State, 551 S.W.3d 172 (Tex. App. 2017).
“" See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 25.01 (a). Section 25.”
Rodriguez v. State, 571 S.W.3d 292 (Tex. App. 2018).
“See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 25.01 [hereafter, "the bigamy statute"].”
— Tex. Penal Code § 25.01(a) — 1 case
Arteaga v. State, 521 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
“, Tex. Penal Code § 25.01 (making bigamy a second-degree felony if the victim was seventeen years old and a first-degree felony if *338 the victim was sixteen years old or younger).”
— Tex. Penal Code § 25.01(a)(1) — 3 cases
— Tex. Penal Code § 25.01(a)(1)(A) — 1 case
Arteaga v. State, 521 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
“, Tex. Penal Code § 25.01 (making bigamy a second-degree felony if the victim was seventeen years old and a first-degree felony if *338 the victim was sixteen years old or younger).”
— Tex. Penal Code § 25.01(e) — 1 case
Senn v. Lumpkin, 116 F.4th 334 (5th Cir. 2024).
“011(f ) and Texas’s bigamy statute, Tex. Penal Code § 25.01, which Section 22.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.