Religious Marriage Without License Is Merely Voidable, and Not Terminated By Religious Divorce Alone

In Mussa v. Palmer-Mussa, (NC App., Dec. 6, 2011), a North Carolina appeals court held that the marriage of defendant Nikki Palmer-Mussa to Juma Mussa was void because at the time of the marriage Nikki was married to another man.  In 1997, Nikki married Khalil Braswell in a ceremony that complied with Islamic law, but without a marriage license from the state and without an imam officiating. Later the same year Nikki divorced Braswell in accordance with Islamic law by returning the dowry and shortly thereafter married Juma Mussa.  The court, however, concluded that while the marriage to Braswell without a license and not performed by a member of the clergy was voidable under North Carolina law as it stood at the time of the marriage, the marriage was not void.  A religious divorce alone did not suffice to terminate the voidable marriage. Judge Bryant dissented, arguing that Juma, who was seeking an annulment, failed to present direct evidence that proved the existence of a valid prior marriage. The Greensboro (NC) News-Record reports on the decision.