A lawsuit filed by the polygamous family featured on the reality show "Sister Wives" can go forward after a federal judge refused to dismiss the suit, which seeks to decriminalize polygamy, reports The Salt Lake Tribune.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled Friday that he didn’t agree with the Utah state attorneys office, which had argued the suit should be dismissed after a prosecutor agreed not to charge the family with bigamy, the story notes.

The judge wrote that a new policy by the Utah County Attorney’s Office of not prosecuting adult and consenting polygamists appeared to be a tactic to sidestep the lawsuit, according to the story.

The attorney for Kody Brown and his family said the ruling means "there will be no alternative to a ruling on the merits in this case."

The attorney also said he expects a ruling on "the power of the state to criminalize private relations among consenting adults." The Browns have argued that the bigamy law in Utah should be struck down because it violates individuals’ right to privacy.

A spokesman for the Utah Attorney General’s Office said he was "disappointed" by the ruling.