Judical Code

(1) Before issuing any marriage license, the Clerk of Courts shall ascertain by questioning the applicants, by requiring them to fill out a form, or by any other means at her or his disposal, that they are sober, are mentally competent, and meet all the requirements of Chapter 1, Section 3 of this code.

(2) The Clerk of Court may issue Tribal marriage licenses to qualified applicants regardless of their places of residence.

(3) The Clerk of Court may charge a fee of not greater than $35.00 for the issuance of a marriage license.

(4) The Tribal marriage license shall be in conformance with the license in the Appendix of Forms to this Code. Such form shall be available upon request from the Clerk of Court.

b. Methods of contracting marriage.

(1) Persons within the jurisdiction of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Court may contract marriage by declaring in the presence of two witnesses that they take each other to be married. They shall thereafter be declared as married if, in the presence of two witnesses, they shall sign the marriage certificate printed on the face of their marriage license. Such witnesses shall also sign such certificate. See Appendix of Forms. In such cases the marriage shall be valid regardless of whether a ceremony is held.

(2) The contracting parties may marry according to the rites of any church, in which case they, the officiating member of the clergy, and two witnesses shall sign in the places provided on the face of the marriage license. See Appendix of Forms. A marriage may be solemnized by a judge of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Court, by the Chairperson of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community, by an individual of any religious denomination designated as having authority to perform marriages according to the form and usage of his or her religion or by a person recognized by Minnesota law as having authority to perform marriages.

Section 5. Validity of marriages.

a. Valid marriages.

Valid marriages performed or licensed by the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Courts are those which comply with Sections 3 and 4 of this Chapter of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Judicial Code. A valid divorce decree is necessary to terminate a valid marriage, absent death or annulment.

All marriages performed other than as provided for in this Code, which are valid under the laws of the jurisdiction where and when performed, are valid within the jurisdiction of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community.

b. Voidable marriages.

Voidable marriages are those in which one or more of the elements of Section 6 of this Chapter are met: Either of the parties to a voidable marriage may have the marriage annulled upon a motion to the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community Court and granting of the motion by the Court. Annulment of a marriage means that for legal purposes, the marriage never existed.

c. Void marriages.

Marriages which violate one or more of the following requirements of this Code are void without any decree

of divorce or other legal proceedings: Chapter One, Sections 3 (b), (c), (d), (e).

Section 6. Annulment.

a. Grounds for Annulment.

A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes existing at the time of marriage:

(1) That the party in whose behalf annulment is sought was under the age of 18 years, and such marriage was contracted without the consent of his or her parents or guardian, or persons having charge of him or her, unless, after attaining the age of consent, such party freely cohabits with the other as husband and wife;

(2) That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterward, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud; freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;

(3) That the consent of either party was obtained by force, unless such party afterwards freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife; or

(4) Impotence which continues and appears to be incurable.

An action to obtain a decree of annulment of a marriage, for causes mentioned in the preceding section, must be commenced within the periods and by the parties as follows:

(1) For causes mentioned in Subsection a(1), by the party to marriage who was married under the age of legal consent, within two years after arriving at the age of consent, or by a parent, guardian or other person having charge of such minor, at any time before such married minor has attained the age of legal consent;

(2) For causes mentioned in Subsection 2 by the party injured, within two years after the discovery of the facts constituting a fraud;

(3) For causes mentioned in Subsection 3 by the injured party within four years after the marriage.

(4) For causes mentioned in Subsection 4 by the injured party within two years after the marriage.

When a marriage is annulled for any reason, other than if for fraud in that the wife is pregnant with a child from a man other than the husband, children born before judgment may succeed to the estate of both parents. The Court may at the time of granting the annulment or at any future time, make necessary orders for the custody and