{"data":{"id":"us-de/11-del.-c.-1002","jurisdiction":"us-de","citation":"11 Del. C. § 1002","heading":"Bigamy; defenses.","body":"In any prosecution for bigamy it is a defense that, at the time of the allegedly bigamous marriage:\n(1) The accused believed, after diligent inquiry, that the prior spouse was dead; or\n(2) The parties to the former marriage had been living apart for 7 consecutive years throughout which the accused had no reasonable grounds to believe that the prior spouse was alive; or\n(3) A court in any American or foreign jurisdiction had entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the accused did not know that judgment to be invalid; or\n(4) The accused otherwise reasonably believed that the accused was legally eligible to remarry.","path":["Title 11. Crimes and Criminal Procedure","Delaware Criminal Code","CHAPTER 5. Specific Offenses","Subchapter IV. Offenses Relating to Marriage"],"source_url":"https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc04/index.html#1002","current_through":"2026-08-10 (85 Del. Laws, c. 421, 424)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T23:02:13Z","sha256":"92b2dce18f3379186930543b244f5bf8eea1c3c4669b72cffb5fee3fe351d200","source_id":"us-de","stale":true,"prev":"us-de/11-del.-c.-1001","next":"us-de/11-del.-c.-1003"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}