| Fight over evidence delays Jeffs' hearing | |||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |||||
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs' next court appearance has been delayed until further notice. A judge in St. George's 5th District Court signed an order Tuesday afternoon canceling next week's hearing on a motion to suppress evidence seized when the FBI arrested Jeffs last year. No future date was set and no reason was given for the continuance. "Legal issues have led to the court continuing the hearing," deputy Washington County Attorney Brian Filter said Tuesday, declining to elaborate. The decision comes as new papers were filed in federal court in Salt Lake City, challenging the government's possession of evidence that the FBI seized when it arrested Jeffs. The court documents include a declaration from a member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, providing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the polygamous sect. "The need to protect such records from disclosure stems from the long history of persecution, ridicule, harassment and physical assault of the faithful by non-members and apostates," FLDS member Alvin S. Barlow Sr. wrote in the declaration. "This history of persecution has persisted since the Prophet Joseph Smith founded the Church and continues today in great force against the followers of the FLDS." Jeffs, 51, was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list when he was arrested during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas last August. Inside the Cadillac Escalade that Jeffs was riding in, the FBI found computers, religious books, a duffel bag of letters, pre-paid cell phones, pre-paid credit cards and more than $57,000 in cash, among other items. All of the evidence has been the subject of a legal battle playing out in federal courtrooms in Nevada and Utah. Jeffs' lawyers have filed federal motions to have the evidence declared "protected" under the FLDS leader's constitutional right to freedom of religion. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah says Jeffs' religious beliefs are not being attacked. To bolster their case, defense attorneys had Barlow, a member of the FLDS Church for 69 years, file the declaration. He outlines the FLDS Church's history and beliefs, dating back to the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith in the 1830s. The FLDS Church is a breakaway sect. Barlow said they share similar beliefs — but differ on polygamy. He said that Jeffs is considered the current president and prophet of the FLDS Church and has been since 2002. "The President, as leader of the entire FLDS, provides spiritual guidance, which is deemed confidential, to individual and groups of individuals within the Church," Barlow wrote. "The disclosure of communications made pursuant to the law of accountability to non-members significantly interferes with FLDS members' spiritual path towards God's Kingdom." In a reply filed Monday in federal court in Salt Lake City, Jeffs' defense attorney Richard Wright said the government is also ignoring that its possession of confidential FLDS records violates the First and Fourth amendments to the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Defense attorneys also say the government has no right to retain information about the FLDS Church's membership. In Nevada, a hearing scheduled for April 30 has been postponed. Wright said in court papers that the hearing is pending the outcome of the emergency motion filed here in Utah. Jeffs, 51, was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this year on a single charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He is also facing charges in St. George's 5th District Court of rape as an accomplice. He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. Defense attorneys have filed a motion in St. George's 5th District Court to suppress evidence in that case. In court papers, Jeffs' lawyers claim the August 2006 traffic stop ran afoul of the Fourth Amendment, which concerns search and seizure. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |||||
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deseretnews.com Originally published Wednesday, April 18, 2007 | |||||
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