Night Court (1984)
0 mistakes in A Night Court at the Opera
Starring: John Larroquette, Harry Anderson, Richard Moll, Charles Robinson
Genres: Comedy
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Bull Shannon: All rise. Criminal court part two is now in session. The honorable Harold T. Stone presiding.
Trivia: While there have been many actors on the show over the years who played multiple characters, the character of Mrs. Smith is particularly interesting. She's an elderly woman brought in on prostitution charges, and at the end, it's implied Dan might take her up on her offer for sex. Mrs. Smith was played by Jeanette Nolan, who had previously appeared on the show as Dan's mother.
Question: In this episode, a married woman is surprised to discover that her first husband, a soldier who was MIA and then declared legally dead is still alive. How would this affect her marriage to her second husband? Is she still legally married to her first husband?
Answer: Being declared legally dead is called "death in absentia", meaning there is no evidence of death (i.e. a body), but the individual is presumed dead. This can happen to anyone, not just MIA soldiers. If a spouse petitions the courts to grant a divorce on the presumption of death and all criteria are meet, they are legally divorced and free to remarry. The return of the presumed dead would not change the divorce ruling. However, if a spouse does not go through the legal steps prior to remarrying, then the return of the presumed dead spouse would nullify and void the 2nd marriage immediately (and the remarried spouse could face bigamy charges).
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