Legal Question in Family Law in California

I'm having trouble following the relations as you describe them so let me make sure I've got it. You have your brother, who is 31. And the two of you have a half-niece, meaning the daughter of another brother or sister who is a half-brother/sister to you and the 31yo brother. Is that what you mean by half-niece? Assuming that is the case, I don't believe your question has a definitive answer. California Family Code section 2200 provides: "Marriages between parents and children, ancestors and descendants of every degree, and between brothers and sisters of the half as well as the whole blood, and between uncles and nieces or

aunts and nephews, are incestuous, and void from the beginning, whether the relationship is legitimate or illegitimate." This is a very old statute, but there is almost no case-law interpreting it. One could argue that since it expressly prohibits half brothers and sisters from marrying, and doesn't expressly prohibit half nieces and uncles or nephews and aunts, that it is legal. On the other hand one can equally argue that once the statute prohibits half brothers and sisters, that it automatically includes half brothers and sisters from marrying their nieces and nephews of whatever relation. If I had to guess, I would say a county clerk is going to go with the second interpretation and refuse the marriage license. I should also warn you that sexual relations between people prohibited from marrying under F.C. section 2200 is a felony under the penal code.