| Jeffs' lawyers seek identity of sources from reporter | |
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By Jenniefer Dobner The Associated Press Fox 10 - Phoenix | |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Attorneys for Warren Jeffs have subpoenaed a local newspaper reporter, seeking the identities of confidential sources used in a story about the polygamist leader. Jeffs' attorney Wally Bugden handed the subpoena to Deseret Morning News reporter Ben Winslow outside a federal courtroom here Thursday. At issue is an April 5 story in the Salt Lake City daily which digitally enhanced a photograph to glean the contents of a note Jeffs wrote during a March court hearing. The paper said the note's contents were "corroborated by law enforcement sources who spoke to the Deseret Morning News on the condition of anonymity." Utah has no shield law protecting the confidential sources of reporters. "We're filing a motion to quash the subpoena," said David Reymann, a lawyer for the newspaper. The photograph of the note was taken by a Deseret Morning News photographer who was serving as the media pool photographer during a March 27 hearing in 5th District Court in St. George. The newspaper digitally enhanced and mirrored the photograph to discern its contents. A telephone message left for Bugden was not immediately returned Thursday. Deseret Morning News Editor Joe Cannon said Bugden is overreaching and believes that the information being sought should be protected by the First Amendment. "At the very least, this subpoena has an enormously chilling effect on our First Amendment obligation to report the news," Cannon said. "This whole thing is inappropriate." Jeffs, 51, is president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect whose members practice polygamy in arranged marriages that often pair teenage girls with much older men. Jeffs is being held in the Washington County jail pending a criminal trial on two felony counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in the 2001 spiritual marriage of 14-year-old follower and her 19-year-old cousin. Reymann said Bugden wants to put Winslow on the stand in 5th District Court on Friday during a scheduled hearing on a separate issue. "There is no reason this has to occur tomorrow," Reymann said, adding the amount of notice was unreasonably short. Lawyers were unable to have a requested telephone conference with Judge James Shumate on Thursday, Reymann said. If Shumate denies the motion, Winslow could be ordered to testify. Friday's hearing was scheduled to hear motions filed by a media coalition, including The Associated Press, seeking to have documents and orders believed to pertain to Jeffs' health unsealed by the court. Three weeks ago, Bugden filed a motion asking Shumate to ban news cameras from future court proceedings. He said the Deseret Morning News' enhancement of the photograph was an "outrageous intrusion of the defense camp," and that Jeffs has an expectation of privacy in court. No hearing has been scheduled on that matter. | |
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MyFoxPhoenix.com Originally published Friday, May 25 2007 | |
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