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Friday, August 10, 2007

Ind. Courts - Ky. Judge refuses to validate Davis' marriage

Kate Braser writes in the Evansville Courier & Press:

A Kentucky judge's refusal this week to validate Misty Davis' marriage to convicted murderer Nicholas Harbison means she still must face a charge of assisting a criminal during a trial scheduled to begin in Pike County next month.

In the court order, Daviess County (Ky.) Circuit Court Judge Henry M. Griffin III wrote Davis failed to prove the marriage valid during a hearing in his courtroom on July 30.

Griffin concluded his order by writing, "The court finds that the controversy exists in the Indiana courts and should be litigated there and subject to appellate proceedings in Indiana." * * *

Davis is trying to prove she was married to Harbison. Her lawyer has contended that if the marriage is valid, prosecutors will have to drop charges against her. In Indiana a spouse cannot face a charge for assisting a criminal. * * *

Davis recently asked Griffin to validate her marriage to Harbison, even though a Pike County judge ruled the marriage invalid in January because Davis lied about her age on the license issued in Daviess County, Ky., in June 2002.

According to officials at the Daviess County clerk's office, a marriage certificate was obtained by Davis and Harbison under the impression that Davis' birthday was in 1983. Police said Davis was 17 at the time.

When the certificate was mailed back to the county clerk's office, a deputy clerk wrote "void" on it and did not sign the certificate. On the back of the certificate, a note was attached that said "sent a copy to Frankfort and advised customer lied about age so marriage is void."

In a hearing on the same matter in Pike County Circuit Court in December, Davis' mother, Debbie Davis, testified she always knew the marriage between her daughter and Harbison was legal, but had tried to have the marriage voided.

It wasn't until Debbie Davis learned criminal charges against her daughter could possibly be dropped if their marriage proved legal that she traveled to Owensboro, Ky., to retrieve a copy of the marriage certificate.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 10, 2007 08:14 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts