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| Cowboy Justice State of Texas vs. Warren Steed Jeffs |
 Warren Jeffs kissing one of his 12-year-old "child brides" on July 27, 2006 |
"If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree."
-- Warren Jeffs' diary, 2005 "Judge?" Check. "Lawyers?" Check. "Rope?" Check. "OK, let's go get us some justice." -- Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann |
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Photos seized during the April 2008 raid on the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas were released at a child-custody hearing in San Angelo on May 23, 2008. These photos offer proof that Warren Jeffs not only ordered underage girls to marry, but took underage brides himself. One of Warren's child brides was the 12-year-old daughter of Merril and Barbara Jessop. This photograph of the couple shows Warren kissing the girl in a manner that CPS lawyers described as "how a husband kisses a wife." And the Bishop's Records indicate that Warren "married" her on July 27, 2006 at the YFZ Ranch. These photos were taken only a month before Warren's arrest, while he was still a fugitive listed on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.
A search warrant affidavit, seeking Warren's DNA, was filed on May 29, 2008 and DNA samples were subsequently collected from him at the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Arizona were he was incarcerated on charges of being an accomplice to incest and sexual conduct with a minor. The samples were taken as part of an investigation into whether Warren sexually assaulted four girls at the YFZ Ranch in January 2004 and July 2006. Investigators have wedding photos and church marriage records indicating Warren "spiritually married" four girls ranging in age from 12 to 14. At least one girl conceived a child at 15, the affidavit says. These DNA samples will be used to help determine whether Warren fathered any children born to underage mothers. The marriage records (also referred to as the Bishop's Record) and photographs seized during the April 2008 raid implicate Warren for marrying another underage 14-year-old girl on or about January 18, 2004 in Utah. Investigators said the records and photos also provided evidence that this girl gave birth to a child believed to have been fathered by Warren (who was almost 50 years old) and that this girl "was approximately 15 years-of-age" at the time of conception. The search warrant affidavit states that in a photograph "the two are depicted at the birth of their child" and the girl "is seen with Jeffs holding a new born child wrapped in a blanket." The search warrant affidavit goes on to say that "Warren Jeffs 'married' two other children at the YFZ Ranch in addition to his purported marriage to "the 2 girls mentioned above. One he married on July 22, 2004 who was "14 years-of-age at the time of the 'marriage' ". And then there was a marriage on April 16, 2005 to another girl who was "12 years-of-age at the time of the 'marriage' ". On Tuesday, July 22, 2008 a Schleicher County, Texas grand jury indicted 6 men from the YFZ ranch. Four of those men were indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 17 and one man received an additional charge of bigamy. Those charges are all first-degree felonies that carry a potential of 99 years in prison or even a life sentence. One of these six indicted men, Warren Jeffs, was charged with sexually assaulting a young girl under age 17 some time around January 2005. The indictment said he "was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry" or "living under the appearance of being married," with this child bride. Warren is alleged to have "married" at least one little girl who was only 12 years old at the time. He was 52 years old when he did this. Warren was charged the next day while sitting in his jail cell in Kingman, Arizona, where he was incarcerated awaiting trial there for performing 2 underage child bride "marriages" to girls he "married" off, against their will, to their 1st cousins. Below are articles about how Warren Jeffs was very busy marrying little girls while he was on the run from the FBI. These articles are listed in chronological order. | |
 50 of Warren Jeffs' wives | |
| Polygamist Sect Custody Hearings on Hold as Parents Await Court Decision | |
| State Has Photos of Leader Warren Jeffs Kissing a Girl Alleged to Be 12 | |
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ABC News Originally published May 28, 2008 | |
| Texas officials say they have additional evidence of abuse among the hundreds of children who were taken into state custody last month from a polygamist sect's West Texas ranch. Some of that evidence, including testimony from an alleged child bride shown in photographs kissing sect leader Warren Jeffs, was to be presented Tuesday at a custody hearing for the child of one of the sect mothers. But before any of the evidence, which state officials would not describe, was entered into evidence, the state and sect lawyers resolved the case, agreeing that Child Protective Services will maintain custody of Louisa Bradshaw's baby, who was born in state custody. Bradshaw was initially taken into custody because officials thought she was a minor, although they have since said that she is older than 18. She will be allowed to stay with her baby in a shelter. Photographs showing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs kissing a girl, who Texas state officials have said was 12 at the time she entered into a spiritual marriage with Jeffs, were introduced as evidence in Bradshaw's case last week. The photographs, dated 2006, say "one year anniversary." Child Protective Services has said Bradshaw and her husband lived in the same building as the girl, on the Yearning for Zion Ranch. Patrick Crimmons, a CPS spokesman, said the girl in photo the is in Child Protective Services custody. Rod Parker, an attorney and spokesman for the church, said the photos were "just a publicity stunt by CPS because they feel their case caving in around them." Read more | |
| Grand jury leaves sect case in limbo | |
| No indictments issued, but panel meets anew in July | |
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, June 26, 2008 | |
| ELDORADO - Hearing testimony from 10 or more witnesses, a Schleicher County grand jury opened its investigation into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with a marathon day of evidence that produced no indictments as yet. Opening sometime after 9 a.m. and adjourning close to 6 p.m. Wednesday, the seven-man, five-woman panel interviewed an undetermined number of law enforcement personnel, at least six sect girls and young women, and at least one attorney. "The investigation is still ongoing," said Schleicher County District Clerk Peggy Williams after the grand jury had adjourned. "There are no indictments today." The panel meets again July 22, said Alan Futrell, attorney for the 16-year-old daughter of sect leader Warren Jeffs. Williams declined to confirm that date, directing questions to the state Attorney General's Office, which is leading the investigation and conducted the proceedings. A spokesman there did not return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday evening. Grand jury investigations typically are slow, secretive processes, with state law providing penalties for those who divulge the nature of the questions involved. Considering the especially complex nature of this case, Futrell said, the current proceedings were - and will be - no different. Read more | |
| AG May Seek DNA From Converse Girl In Polygamist Case | |
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Reported by: Demond Fernandez WOAI News 4 - San Antonio, Texas Originally broadcast July 11, 2008 | |
| A new twist in the investigation of a West Texas polygamist sect is now focused in the city of Converse. News 4 has learned the state may be trying to get DNA samples from a 12-year-old girl living there. According to News 4's sister-station in Austin, KXAN, a spokesman from the polygamist sect said the attorney general's office has a search warrant to get the child's DNA. KXAN-TV's staff alerted News 4 about the child after they got a call from the polygamist group's spokesman Willie Jessup. They said Jessup warned them investigators were going to the house in Converse with a search warrant. When News 4's Demond Fernandez knocked on the front door of the home Friday, no one answered. But an investigator's business card was on the door with an urgent message to call the attorney general's office. Members of the polygamist group have been the target of a major investigation since April, when the state raided the group's West Texas compound. More than 400 children were removed from the compound due to reports of sexual and physical abuse. News 4 called the attorney general's office Friday. A spokesman would only say they are "working with local and state investigators into possible criminal activity at the polygamist compound." The spokesman would not comment on specifics of the case. Read more | |
| Jeffs faces indictment over child bride swap | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally published July 21, 2008 | |
| ELDORADO, Texas (ABC 4 News) - Evidence of a swap of child brides could land polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs in even more legal trouble. The grand jury looking into the criminal allegations against the FLDS meets Tuesday, July 22 in the courthouse in Eldorado. Sources close to the Texas investigation predict "several" indictments will be handed up by the grand jury against some of the leading men of the FLDS polygamist group - including Jeffs. Jeffs is likely to be charged in connection with the swap that investigators say took place July 27, 2006 in a house on the Eldorado FLDS ranch belonging to Jeffs. At the time, Jeffs was a fugitive on the FBI's "10 Most Wanted List." The swap was made between Jeffs and one of his Lieutenants, Merril Jessop. Jessop is an FLDS "bishop" who runs the ranch. Jeffs reportedly got an underage bride from Jessop, and Jessop got a bride for one of his sons. In a dictation submitted Friday in 51st District Court, San Angelo, Texas, Jeffs is quoted as saying, "I looked at Merril Jessop, and he looked at me, and he said, 'I am willing,' and smiled. I said, 'I am willing.' I explained that the Lord wanted this young lady to be sealed to me to carry on in her training..." Pictures previously made public in court proceedings show wedding pictures of Jeffs posing and kissing the 11-year old daughter of Jessop. Read more | |
| Jeffs case may hinge on diaries, dictations | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | |
| Diaries and dictations may be used to build underage marriage cases against Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs as a grand jury meets today in Eldorado, Texas. Court documents obtained by the Deseret News focus on three marriages allegedly performed by Jeffs on July 27, 2006, including one in which Jeffs himself is purported to have been "sealed" to a then-12-year-old girl. "I seek unto the Lord for his Spirit to be with me and guide this record-keeping," Jeffs began a dictation recorded that night. The document said it was recorded "at the place of refuge R17," which Texas authorities say is another name for the Yearning for Zion Ranch. In the dictation, Jeffs said he had a vision. "The Lord showed me a quorum of three ladies to assist. I thank the Lord for those gifts and blessings. I was shown that I should perform three marriage sealings tonight, Brother Wendell's daughter (name redacted,) my daughter Teresa, and also Merril Jessop's daughter (name redacted)," he said. The documents were exhibits in a report prepared by court-appointed child advocates in connection with the case of 16-year-old Teresa Jeffs. The girl is seeking to replace her court-appointed ad litem, Natalie Malonis, whom she accuses of not obeying her wishes in custody proceedings. Teresa Jeffs wants to meet with Judge Barbara Walther in an attempt to oust Malonis from her case. Read more | |
| Schleicher County grand jurors hand down seven indictments | |
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The Eldorado Success Originally published July 22, 2008 | |
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Schleicher County grand jurors handed down seven indictments consisting of nine counts against six individuals following a day-long session presided over by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Only one indictment was made public so far, that of Warren Steed Jeffs for 1st degree felony sexual assault of a child. READ HERE The remaining indictments will be made public as the warrants are served. It was further announced that all the suspects are men and at least one of the charges is a bigamy charge.
Texas A.G. Greg Abbott announced seven indictments containing nine counts against six individuals. He made one of the indictments public, a 1st Degree Felony charge of Sexual Assualt of a Child against Warren Steed Jeffs. There is also a charge of bigamy against an unnamed suspect as well as charges of failure to report abuse. Abbott's statement followed a day-long session with Schleicher County grand jurors as they reviewed evidence and testimony in the YFZ Ranch criminal probe. | |
| Texas grand jury indicts polygamist sect members | |
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By MICHELLE ROBERTS The Associated Press Charlotte Observer Originally published Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | |
| ELDORADO, Texas -- A Texas grand jury indicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs and four of his followers Tuesday on charges of felony sexual assault of a child. Another was indicted for failing to report child abuse. Attorney General Greg Abbott said the five men are charged with one count of sexually assaulting girls under age 17. One of them, but not the 52-year-old Jeffs, faces an additional charge of bigamy. Abbott said a sixth member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse. Jeffs, already convicted of being accomplice to rape in Utah and awaiting trial in Arizona on other charges related to underage marriages, is accused of assaulting a girl in Texas in January 2005, according to the indictment issued Tuesday. "Our investigation in this matter is not concluded," said Abbott, whose office is acting as the special prosecutor in the case. The grand jury in this tiny western Texas ranching community will continue consideration of other possible criminal charges on Aug. 21, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because proceedings of the panel are secret by law. The identities of the Jeffs' followers who were indicted in addition to him were not released Tuesday because the indictments remain sealed until authorities can arrest the men. "There will be an aggressive effort to apprehend them," Abbott said when asked whether he was concerned the men might have fled Texas. Read more | |
| Jeffs, FLDS members indicted in Texas | |
| Jeffs, 5 others indicted | |
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By Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, July 23, 2008 | |
| ELDORADO, Texas Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs could be served with a grand jury indictment today in his Arizona jail cell, charging him here with sexual assault, a first-degree felony. A Schleicher County grand jury indicted Jeffs late Tuesday, alongside five other FLDS members. Their indictments remain sealed because they have not been taken into custody. "I believe they're not in the area," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told the Deseret News Tuesday night. Four of those men were indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 17 and one man received an additional charge of bigamy. Those charges are all first-degree felonies that carry a potential of 99 years in prison or even a life sentence. The last man was indicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse, which could garner six months in jail. "We are certainly shocked," FLDS member Willie Jessop said Tuesday night. "We'll face those allegations as soon as we know who they're looking for. We think it's ridiculous." The indictment accuses Jeffs of committing the offense around Jan. 14, 2005, in Schleicher County. Jeffs sexually assaulted a girl under age 17 whom under Texas law he "was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry" or "living under the appearance of being married," the indictment said. Around the same time in 2005, Jeffs was reportedly at the YFZ Ranch dedicating the foundation of the group's temple. Jeffs was arrested in August 2006 in a traffic stop outside Las Vegas, then a fugitive on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. The YFZ ranch was raided in April, and hundreds of boxes of evidence were seized as Texas child welfare workers and law enforcement investigated allegations of abuse. "I just believe the state of Texas is going to continue to move forward on this and continue investigation and identify crimes that have been committed," Doran said. Read more | |
| Turning Up the Heat on Polygamists | |
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By HILARY HYLTON / AUSTIN TIME Magazine Originally published Thursday, Jul. 24, 2008 | |
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The Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) had basked in victory after the Texas Supreme Court ordered the return of the children taken from its ranch in Eldorado in April. But the state's attorney general Greg Abbott pledged to prosecute FLDS members to the full extent of the law. And this week, after going through evidence taken from the Yearning for Zion Ranch, Abbott indicted Warren Jeffs the "Prophet" of the polygamists along with four of his followers on charges of first-degree felony sexual assault of a minor. (The four men were not named, and law-enforcement officials are still seeking their arrest.) Evidence gathered during the raid included two photographs of young girls one age 12, the other 13 sitting in Jeffs' lap and embracing him, and kissing him in one photo. One was marked "first anniversary," the other as a marriage photo.
The 12-year-old shown kissing Jeffs is a stepdaughter of Carolyn Jessop, whose book Escape details her flight from the FLDS. Married at 18 to 50-year-old Merrill Jessop now the 72-year-old leader at the YFZ Ranch she said one of her daughters had a recent conversation about the photograph with her half brother who still lives at the ranch. "What's wrong with it?" the boy asked. "There is a lot of denial," Carolyn Jessop says, and Jeffs still commands loyalty despite his imprisonment. Jeffs moved the FLDS "aristocracy" to Texas, Jessop says, and little girls were given great status as they were married off to older men: "spiritual marriages" (polygamy) pave the way to the highest ring of heaven, and this enhances the girls' social position. Read more | |
| Five members of polygamous sect surrender | |
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CNN Originally published Monday, July 28, 2008 | |
| (CNN) -- Five members of a polygamous sect who were indicted alongside leader Warren Jeffs last week turned themselves in Monday to face sexual assault charges, Texas authorities said. Four of Jeffs' followers were charged with one count of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 17, and each faces five to 99 years in prison, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. One of those four also faces a bigamy charge. A fifth follower is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse, he said. Bail for the defendants facing felony charges -- Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36, Allan Eugene Keate, 56, Michael George Emack, 57, and Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33 -- was set at $100,000 each. Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, charged with the misdemeanor failure to report child abuse, faces a sentence of up to six months in prison and a fine of $2,000 per count. A Texas grand jury indicted Jeffs last week on sexual assault charges, Abbott said. Jeffs was charged Tuesday with sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony. A conviction on the charge could mean a maximum penalty of five to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of $10,000, said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the attorney general. Read more | |
| Removal is sought of 8 FLDS kids again | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008 | |
| Texas child welfare authorities have filed court papers asking a judge to put eight children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch back into foster care. Child Protective Services claims it is because the mothers have refused to limit the children's contact with men involved in underage marriages, suggesting the families are being uncooperative. "We are concerned about the welfare of these eight children," said Marleigh Meisner, a CPS spokeswoman. "We have found in these particular cases, these children do not have a protective parent who is willing to ensure their safety." The six girls and two boys, ages 5 to 17, will not be removed from their homes immediately. A judge in San Angelo has set a Sept. 25 court hearing to consider the request. In affidavits filed with the motions, child welfare workers don't explicitly state that any of the children have been sexually abused. One of the children, a 14-year-old girl, was married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. The girl said in an interview that "it isn't what CPS is making it to be." "She said that the marriages are pure," CPS caseworker Ruby Gutierrez wrote in an affidavit. "Further, (the girl) stated that this can't be a crime because Heavenly Father is the one that tells Warren when a girl is ready to get married and that he is only following the word of Heavenly Father." Texas child welfare authorities have claimed that children on the Yearning for Zion Ranch are at risk of abuse, with girls becoming child brides and boys growing up to become sexual perpetrators. As part of the massive custody battle, CPS asked parents to sign service plans to protect their children including a requirement that the children be kept away from men who may have been involved in underage marriages. In these cases, the parents refused to sign. Read more | |
| Data bolstering case against Jeffs | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008 | |
| Marriage records, dictations and even love letters to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs are being used to bolster Texas child welfare authorities' claims of underage marriages within the Utah-based polygamous sect. Documents filed in a San Angelo court on Tuesday allege more marriages including a pair of 12-year-old girls married to Jeffs. "I am praying to become a Heavenly comfort Wife for you. I love you so much I pray I may be worthy to advance. I fill (sic) you so close. Love always," one of the girls wrote in a 2005 letter included in the court filings. In dictations made by Jeffs, other FLDS leaders are implicated in the marriage ceremonies including YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop. "Then I looked at Merril Jessop and he looked at me and he said, 'I am willing,' and smiled. I said, 'I am willing.' I explained that the Lord wanted this young lady to be sealed to me to carry on in her training, even to witness great things in the Lord," Jeffs said in a July 27, 2006, dictation in which he said Jessop married a 12-year-old daughter to Jeffs. Affidavits filed by child welfare workers claim evidence of at least 10 underage marriages. The girls range in age from 12 to 16, CPS said. In the July 2006 dictation, Jeffs also sealed a 15-year-old girl to Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, who was indicted last month by a Schleicher County grand jury on a sexual assault charge, as well as bigamy. Another indicted man, Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, is also alleged to have married a 15-year-old girl. Read more | |
| Texas seeks custody of teen Jeffs allegedly wed | |
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By MICHELLE ROBERTS The Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published August 18, 2008 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The mother of a girl allegedly given in marriage at age 12 to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs refused to answer questions Monday from attorneys for the state child welfare agency that wants to regain custody of the girl and her younger brother. The state wants to remove the girl, now 14, and an 11-year-old brother from the mother's care, saying 55-year-old Barbara Jessop isn't a suitable caregiver because her daughter and several other children were involved in underage marriages. Jessop has 10 children, and Ruby Gutierrez, an investigator for Child Protective Services, testified Monday that two adult sons took underage brides and three daughters were given in marriage when they were underage. The children's father, Fredrick "Merril" Jessop, allegedly blessed the girls' marriages. Two of the girls are now over 18. The Jessop hearing ended after CPS attorneys finished presenting their evidence Monday evening and was scheduled to resume Tuesday morning with witnesses for Barbara Jessop. During the proceedings Monday, Texas Ranger Nick Hannah introduced into the record dozens of documents seized from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado showing marriages recorded in certificates, photos and church census documents. He said the 30 documents introduced at the hearing were among "hundreds of thousands" of documents taken from the ranch in April. Barbara Jessop refused to answer roughly 50 questions asked by attorneys for the child welfare agency, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children and her relationship with their father. "I stand on the Fifth (Amendment)," she said repeatedly in a flat tone. Her attorney, Gonzalo Rios, said Jessop was exercising her right against self-incrimination because of the continuing criminal investigation. Two of Merril Jessop's sons have been indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child, as has Jeffs. Read more | |
| 'I stand on Fifth,' FLDS mom tells court in custody battle | |
| CPS wants judge to put 7 children in foster care | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas To nearly every question she was asked, Barbara Jessop gave the same answer: "I stand on the Fifth." "Can you name the children you have given birth to?" Texas Child Protective Services attorney Jeff Schmidt asked her during a contentious custody hearing here on Monday. "I stand on the Fifth," she replied stoically. "What dates did you live at the YFZ Ranch?" "I stand on the Fifth." "Is it wrong for a girl under 17 to marry a man more than 21 years older than she is?" "I stand on the Fifth." Child Protective Services is seeking to remove seven FLDS children from their homes and place them in foster care. They are among the hundreds taken in the April raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch who were subsequently ordered returned a couple of months later. Two cases involving three children are being negotiated in hopes of a possible settlement. "We're hopeful that there will be an agreement and that the judge will hear it," said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner. At the hearing Monday, Jessop's attorney said she didn't want to answer the questions because they could incriminate her in a criminal investigation that is under way. Jessop refused to identify her daughter in photos presented to her that showed her then-12-year-old daughter kissing Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs on their purported wedding day. Read more | |
| Judge orders FLDS leader's bride into state custody | |
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By Lisa Sandberg San Antonio Express-News Originally published August 19, 2008 | |
| SAN ANGELO -- A judge here ordered the child bride of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs to be placed in state custody Tuesday, saying she feared the girl's mother was unable to protect her. "Allowing the child to remain (in her mother's custody) would be contrary to the interests of the girl," said state District Judge Barbara Walther. Walther, however, denied a request by Child Protective Services for custody of the girl's 11-year-old brother and ordered that he remain with his mother. The judge ordered that neither child be allowed contact with their father, Frederick "Merril" Jessop, also a sect leader. Testimony at the two-day custody hearing indicated Frederick Jessop was not currently living with the mother, Barbara Jessop. "It's a very difficult decision for a judge to make," said Marleigh Meisner, an attorney for CPS. "We certainly respect her decision." Barbara Jessop had no comment as she exited the courtroom. Three other cases involving custody of children in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are pending in Walther's courtroom. Earlier Tuesday, CPS attorneys argued that Barbara Jessop had displayed an unwillingness to protect her children from abuse and therefore should lose temporary custody of them. The daughter was "spiritually married" to the group's prophet, Warren Jeffs when she was 12 and he was 50. He was convicted in Utah of helping arrange marriages between adult men and underage girls and is awaiting trial on similar charges in Arizona. Attorneys for Barbara Jessop called no witnesses. Attorney Gonzalo Rios argued that the state singled out his client unfairly and failed to provide her the opportunity to show progress. Read more | |
| Judge orders child bride of Warren Jeffs into foster care | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A judge has ordered a 14-year-old girl believed to be married to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to be placed into foster care. But her 11-year-old brother will remain with his mother. "The court is concerned that the mother is unable to provide assurances she'd be able to protect the child in the future," Judge Barbara Walther said of the girl, while making her ruling here on Tuesday. Barbara Jessop left the courthouse showing little emotion. Fundamentalist LDS Church member and spokesman Willie Jessop called the judge's actions "barbaric." "Who can tear families apart like that when there's clearly no evidence? They haven't had any evidence for years that there's been any marriages at all," he said as he left court. "Let alone anything to justify what she's done. It's barbaric." Barbara Jessop's attorney, Gonzalo Rios, told a Deseret News reporter afterward that they would appeal. Read more | |
| FLDS mother seeks to change attorneys | |
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By Matt Phinney San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published September 25, 2008 | |
| The start of a hearing involving a 14-year-old girl who the state says was married two years ago to the FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs was delayed about seven hours Thursday while the court decided who all would represent her mother. In the end, the girl remains in the home of a New Braunfels foster family, and a new hearing has been set for Jan. 8 to determine her placement. Barbara Jessop lost custody of the girl last month after pleading the Fifth Amendment more than 50 times during a hearing. Jessop, one of dozens of parents who became embroiled in the state's largest child-custody action in April, is allowed to have one supervised phone call with the girl each week, as well as weekly face-to-face visits. According to testimony, the girl called Barbara Jessop as many as 21 times in one week, and notes secretly passed between her and the girl during visits. Cathie Irons, a CPS caseworker, said the relationship between mother and daughter still needs to be monitored. Otherwise, the girl appears to be doing fine, although some of her academic placement scores are low, Irons said. Jessop said she wants her daughter to come home. "I don't understand yet why she was taken away from me," Jessop said. Read more | |
| FLDS Leader Faces New Felony Charges | |
| "Prophet" Jeffs indicted by Schleicher County Grand Jury | |
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By Jim Forsyth 1200 WOAI News Radio - San Antonio, Texas Originally broadcast Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | |
| Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 'prophet' Warren Jeffs was indicted on felony charges for a second time today in connection with the April raid on the FLDS compound in Schleicher County, 1200 WOAI news reports. Jeffs was indicted on a second first degree felony county of aggravated sexual assault. Jeffs was indicted in July on charges of sexual assault of a child. Both are first degree felonies which carry punishment of up to 99 years in prison. Jeffs, 53, is already in prison in Utah where is is serving a ten year sentence on charges of arranging an underaged marriage at an FLDS compound there. He is awaiting trial on similar charges in Arizona. Three other FLDS members were also indicted on Wednesday. One if facing a felony charge of conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor. A second was charged with thre counts of third degree bigamy. The third was charged with three bigamy counts and one count of tampering with physical evidence. Some 460 children were seized when state officials raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April. The vast majority of those children are now living with their parents. | |
| Warren Jeffs, three others, indicted in West Texas case | |
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By Corrie MacLaggan Austin American-Statesman - Austin, Texas Originally published Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | |
| A grand jury in Schleicher County today issued felony indictments against four people associated with the Yearning For Zion ranch in West Texas, including sect leader Warren Jeffs, according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. With this latest action, a dozen people associated with the ranch owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been indicted in what is still an ongoing investigation led by the Texas Rangers. Jeffs was indicted on first-degree felony charges of aggravated sexual assault, Abbott said. That is in addition to Jeffs' July indictment on charges of sexually assaulting a child, the attorney general said. Abbott didn't name the other three defendants. One was indicted on charges of conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor. Another was indicted on three counts of bigamy. The final defendant was indicted on three charges of bigamy and one charge of tampering with physical evidence, Abbott said. The charges "reflect a cooperative effort" between the Attorney General's Office, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, 51st Judicial District Attorney Steve Lupton and United States District Attorney Richard Roper, Abbott said in a statement. "For months, dedicated men and women from our Cyber Crimes, Fugitive and Special Investigations Units have literally been living in San Angelo, commuting home to their families on weekends," Abbott's statement said. Texas officials in April removed more than 400 children from the ranch after they said an investigation determined that young girls were being forced into marriages with older men. State officials returned the children after a Texas Supreme Court ruling said that the state failed to show that more than a few were at risk. | |
| Polygamist leader faces new sex assault charge | |
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CNN Originally published Wed November 12, 2008 | |
| (CNN) -- A grand jury has indicted polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on a second sexual assault charge in connection with a probe of his Texas compound, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Schleicher County, Texas, grand jury charged Jeffs, who already could be sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of a different charge in Utah, with a first-degree felony count of aggravated sexual assault. The indictment is Jeffs' second in Schleicher County. In July, he was charged with sexually assaulting a child under 17. Grand jurors have also indicted three more members of Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, prosecutors said Wednesday. One member faces a count of conducting the unlawful marriage of a minor, another faces three counts of bigamy and a third faces three counts of bigamy and one count of tampering with evidence. The Texas charges stem from a state and federal investigation into the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch outside Eldorado, about 190 miles northwest of San Antonio. In April, child welfare workers removed more than 400 children from the compound, citing allegations of physical and sexual abuse. After a court battle, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the children returned in June, saying the state had no right to remove them and there was no evidence to show the children faced imminent danger of abuse on the ranch. To date, 12 people associated with the compound have been indicted as part of the investigation, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. Read more | |
| State still seeks custody of sect's 14-year-old bride | |
| Welfare officials want assurance girl in FLDS won't be married again | |
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By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle Originally published January 6, 2009 | |
| A fight for the custody of the 14-year-old bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs could be heating up, according to a document filed in West Texas over the holidays. The girl is the only child still in foster care who was among the 439 children taken by CPS last spring from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado. And the teen could remain in foster care permanently, her parents' rights severed, which could free her up for adoption, if her mother does not assure the agency that she can provide a safe home, one where the girl is not married to another man. A Texas Child Protective Services progress report on the case, filed Dec. 22, reveals the agency's frustrated attempts to persuade the teen's mother, Barbara Jessop, to cooperate with them by assuring them her daughter would not be involved in other marriages. The agency indicated it now wants permanent custody of the girl. Read more | |
| FLDS mother wants jury to decide custody | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 | |
| Texas child welfare authorities are seeking permanent conservatorship of a 14-year-old girl allegedly married to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs. The girl's mother wants a jury to ultimately decide who gets custody of all of her children. Barbara Jessop's attorney, Valerie J. Malara, filed a demand notice in an Eldorado, Texas, court, seeking a jury trial to decide custody over her three children. The demand was filed in advance of a permanency hearing scheduled Thursday in San Angelo, Texas, where child welfare authorities were to update a judge on the girl's status in foster care. The girl, believed to have been married at age 12 to Jeffs, was ordered back into foster care in August after a judge ruled Jessop failed to protect her from abuse. In a Child Protective Services status report filed in the case and obtained by the Deseret News on Monday, child welfare workers sought "permanent managing conservatorship" over the girl. In the immediate future, CPS is asking to keep the girl in foster care. "We are still hopeful for reunification in this case, if it can be achieved," agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said Monday. Malara did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Permanent managing conservatorship would give CPS widespread authority over the girl under Texas law, including the right to decide care, education, medical care, legal rights, the right to consent to a marriage and even direct the "moral and religious training of the child." The CPS report said Jessop "has not demonstrated herself as a safe and responsible caregiver." Read more | |
| Custody Hearing for FLDS Girl | |
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Reported by: Laura Kellerman/RNS KRBC - KTAB TV Abilene Originally broadcast Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 | |
| A hearing is scheduled in Texas Thursday to discuss a young teenage girl who is in foster care following a raid at the FLDS ranch last April. The girl is believed to have been married to the polygamist sect's leader Warren Jeffs. Child Protective Services asked the judge to place the girl back into temporary foster care last August after her mother refused to sign safety plans to protect her from sexual abuse and limit contact with men involved in underage marriages. The state could now seek permanent custody of the girl. State officials removed nearly 440 children from the west Texas Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008. CPS officials have continued their investigation after the children were returned to their families in June following a Texas Supreme Court ruling. Twelve men have been charged in connection with the Texas Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound, including Jeffs. He was indicted in Texas for sexually assaulting a child and is currently serving time behind bars on other charges. | |
| State aims to keep Jeffs' alleged wife | |
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, January 8, 2009 | |
| Texas now is seeking permanent custody of the alleged child bride of polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs, a shift from previous stated goals that it wanted to reunify the now-14-year-old girl with her family. In a progress report filed in advance of today's custody hearing, the state's Child Protective Services agency argues that Barbara Jessop appears incapable of providing a safe home for her daughter. Barbara Jessop's husband, Frederick Merril Jessop, was the leader of the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County that served as home to hundreds of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "Barbara Jessop has not demonstrated herself as a safe and responsible caregiver," the CPS report, written by caseworker Ashley Kennedy, states. A message The Associated Press left for Barbara Jessop's attorney was not returned, but FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop said the accusations that Barbara Jessop is an unfit mother are "absolutely ludicrous." According to the progress report, Jessop has been uncooperative with investigators and caseworkers. The report alleges she has failed to allow unannounced visits to her home and refused to provide any assurances that she would prevent the girl - 12 at the time of her alleged marriage to Jeffs - from being wed to an adult man before she is an adult. Attorneys will appear today at Tom Green county Courthouse in a regularly scheduled hearing to discuss the report. Read more | |
| BREAKING NEWS: Attorneys agree to trial in sect custody case | |
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 8, 2009 | |
| Attorneys today agreed on a September trial date to determine the custody of a 14-year-old girl who is alleged to be a child bride of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. According to an order signed this afternoon by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, the state will investigate another possible placement for the girl, who sect documents record as being married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old. Attorneys for the girl, her mother, Barbara Jessop, and the state's Child Protective Services agency declined to comment. The order otherwise leaves previous requirements intact for the girl and her mother, whom CPS has accused of being uncooperative since the girl's removal from her care last year. The state in a progress report filed last month said it is now seeking permanent custody of the girl - the only child of 439 removed in April from the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County who is in temporary state custody. The jury trial will take place Sept. 28 in Tom Green County, as the attorneys in a separate order agreed to waive the constitutional requirement that such a trial be held in Schleicher County, whose courthouse has no air conditioning. "Before you want a trial in Schleicher County in July or August," Walther told the attorneys to laughter in the courtroom, "I suggest you check out the courthouse." | |
| Polygamy leader's alleged bride subject of custody trial | |
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CNN Originally published January 9, 2009 | |
| (CNN) -- Court proceedings will be held in September to determine whether a 14-year-old girl believed to have married polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs should permanently remain in state custody. The September 28 proceedings were scheduled at a hearing Thursday in San Angelo, Texas, according to CNN affiliate KLST. The 14-year-old girl was one of 400 children removed in April from the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Yearning for Zion (YFZ) ranch near Eldorado, Texas. A judge later ordered the children returned after the Texas Supreme Court ruled there was no evidence the children were in imminent danger on the ranch. The girl was among those ordered released, but was taken back into foster care in August after child protection officials alleged her parents did not take measures to limit her contact with men involved in underage marriage. According to court documents filed in December, the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop, "has not demonstrated herself as a safe and responsible caregiver" and "has not demonstrated that she can provide a safe and stable home" for the girl. In counseling sessions, Jessop has denied that her daughter was abused, the documents said. The girl is believed to have married Jeffs as a 12-year-old in July 2006 with the consent of her parents. At the time, Jeffs was 50. Jeffs is also accused of marrying several other underage girls, authorities have said. Jeffs was indicted last year by a Texas grand jury, along with five FLDS members, on sexual assault charges. He is already facing a sentence of up to life in prison in Utah and is awaiting trial in Arizona. As part of the case, Texas authorities took DNA samples from Jeffs in May, saying at the time they were investigating allegations he "spiritually" married four girls ranging in age from 12 to 15. Read more | |
| Report: FLDS child told to manipulate caseworkers | |
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By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle Originally published February 3, 2009 | |
| A 14-year-old thought to be the youngest bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was advised through text messages to "please stay angry" and to "keep crying, pout, sleep in" in an attempt to manipulate Texas caseworkers, according to a report filed with a San Angelo court. The girl is the only one of 439 children taken in last year's raid of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado who remains in foster care. In a report to state District Judge Barbara Walther, filed Jan. 27 in San Angelo, the girl's guardian ad-litem reported that a prepaid cell phone was given to the girl by her biological mother, Barbara Jessop. The foster family notified Texas Department of Child Protective Services that she had the phone and it was confiscated by the agency after several text messages were discovered on it, seemingly coming from the girl's mother and others. "Please stay angry," read one incoming message. "We need you to keep crying, pout, sleep in," read another. "CPS needs to see that you are miserable there." Records seized from the FLDS ranch in Eldorado, including excerpts from Jeffs' journals, indicate the girl was married to Jeffs when she was 12. Jeffs is the jailed leader of the FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy. Court officials in San Angelo confirmed this week that a report on the cell phone incident and its messages was filed last week by the Children's Advocacy Center, the girl's guardian ad-litem. Walther has ordered the district clerk's office not to release the report. Read more | |
| Lawyer asks to quit FLDS custody case | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 | |
| A lawyer appointed to represent a 14-year-old girl believed to have been married at age 12 to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is seeking to drop out of the child custody case. Court clerks in San Angelo, Texas, confirmed to the Deseret News on Tuesday that Carmen Dusek filed a motion to withdraw as the girl's attorney. The reasons why were not immediately clear as the filing had not been made public. "She does not comment on pending cases," said a woman who answered the phone at Dusek's law firm. A judge will consider the motion on Friday, the same day she plans to take up the case of 17-year-old Teresa Jeffs, the daughter of the FLDS leader. Meanwhile, a report on the 14-year-old girl accused her mother of text messaging her, urging her to "stay angry" and to "keep crying" because "CPS needs to see that you are miserable there." The Court Appointed Special Advocates, an independent body acting on behalf of a child's best interests, filed a report on the girl earlier this week. Court officials declined to release it saying that a judge had agreed to hear a motion to seal it Friday. The San Angelo Standard-Times obtained a copy and reports it recommended the judge halt visitation between the girl and her mother, Barbara Jessop. "CASA is shocked that Mrs. Jessop would place her daughter again in a situation where she would be forced to sneak around to communicate," the newspaper quoted the report as saying. "The text messages telling (the girl) how to behave are disturbing." Read more | |
| Report: Texts coached girl | |
| Agency: She was told to 'cry, pout' | |
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published February 4, 2009 | |
| A 14-year-old girl alleged to be a wife of Warren Jeffs received text messages while in foster care telling her to "please stay angry" and to "keep crying, pout, sleep in," according to a court-appointed guardians' report obtained by the Standard-Times. The report, filed last week in the 51st District Court by San Angelo-based Court-Appointed Special Advocates, describes a series of text messages sent to the girl between Jan. 15 and Jan. 21 from a contact labeled as "POP." The girl's attorney, Valerie Trevino, recommends in the report that 51st District Judge Barbara Walther halt visitation between the girl and her mother, Barbara Jessop, except when monitored by a therapist. It also recommends barring all phone communication between the two. "CASA is shocked that Mrs. Jessop would place her daughter again in a situation where she would be forced to sneak around to communicate," the report states. "The text messages telling (the girl) how to behave are disturbing." Brett H. Pritchard, the Killeen-based attorney for Jessop, declined to comment on the report. A hearing on whether to seal the report is scheduled for Friday, and a court administrator said it remains under temporary seal until the hearing. "Come to the hearing on Friday, and you'll hear all my problems with it," Pritchard said. The girl's court-appointed attorney, Carmen Symes Dusek, of San Angelo, declined to comment. Child Protective Services investigators allege the girl was married at age 12 to Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in a 2006 ceremony at the sect's YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County. Read more | |
| Sect mother denies telling daughter to manipulate caseworkers | |
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By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle Originally published February 4, 2009 | |
| The mother of the 14-year-old bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs did not coach the girl to manipulate Texas caseworkers through cell phone texts, attorneys for the woman said Wednesday. The girl, the only one of the 439 children removed by last year by Texas Department of Child Protective Services from a polygamist sect's ranch in Eldorado who remains in foster care, was found with a cell phone on Jan. 20. Incoming texts on the cell phone, according to a court report filed last week, instructed the girl to "please stay angry," "crying will get you what you want and "CPS needs to se that you are miserable there." The girl eventually admitted that her mother, Barbara Jessop, gave her the phone, outraging the girl's guardian, who works for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in San Angelo. "CASA is shocked that Mrs. Jessop would place her daughter again in a situation where she would be forced to sneak around to communicate," wrote Valerie Trevino, a CASA case manager and the girl's guardian ad litem. "The text messages telling (the girl) how to behave are disturbing." But attorneys for Jessop say the text messages in the report are not accurate. "Jessop's attorneys do not believe the statements contained in the CASA report accurately reflect the actual text messages and were taken out of context," said attorneys Valerie J. Malara and Brett Pritchard in a statement issued Wednesday. "It is believed that CASA's report was submitted to the court several days prior to CASA actually receiving the telephone texts from (CPS)." Read more | |
| FLDS mother criticizes child welfare report | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 | |
| The mother of a 14-year-old girl at the center of a custody fight with Texas child welfare authorities is criticizing a report about the girl. In a statement Wednesday, lawyers for Barbara Jessop denied that she or anyone acting on her behalf leaked a copy of the Court Appointed Special Advocates report to several Texas newspapers. The Deseret News also obtained a copy of the report, which described 36 text messages sent to the girl that included telling her to "please stay angry," "crying will get you what you want," and "CPS needs to see that you are miserable there." The report says the cell phone was smuggled to her by her mother. Jessop's attorneys, Valerie Malara and Brett Pritchard, said they are joining Texas Child Protective Services in seeking to have the report sealed in a hearing scheduled Friday, saying that publication of its contents are "inappropriate." They also take issue with what it says. "Jessop's attorneys do not believe the statements contained in the CASA report accurately reflect the actual text messages and were taken out of context," Malara and Pritchard wrote. CASA acknowledges it hadn't seen the text messages themselves by the time the report was filed with the judge, nor did CPS give any input on what it should do. CASA recommends that the girl's phone contact with her mother be cut off and that their in-person visits be restricted to twice a month and supervised by a therapist. Jessop's lawyers said the recommendations are "inappropriate, factually incorrect and heavy handed." Read more | |
| Text claims disputed by sect mom's attorneys | |
| Sect mom's attorneys say bits out of context | |
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, February 5, 2009 | |
| Attorneys for YFZ Ranch matriarch Barbara Jessop sharply dispute a report intimating that the woman's daughter was coached on how to behave while in foster care. Valerie Malara and Brett H. Pritchard broke from their practice of declining comment on issues related to the state's investigation of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to criticize both the publication and the content of a report filed last week by the court-appointed guardian for Jessop's 14-year-old daughter. The attorneys' remarks provide a rare public prelude to what is expected to be a lengthy, possibly contentious hearing Friday in the Tom Green County courthouse. The guardian's report, obtained and published Tuesday by the Standard-Times, describes text messages telling the girl - an alleged wife of sect leader Warren Jeffs - to "please stay angry" and "to keep crying, pout, sleep in." "Jessop's attorneys have reviewed the CASA report and compared it to complete transcriptions of the text messages prepared by the Department," Malara and Pritchard said in a joint statement released Wednesday. "Jessop's attorneys do not believe the statements contained in the CASA report accurately reflect the actual text messages and were taken out of context." The statement chastises the release of the report, calling its publication "inappropriate," and asks media organizations to refrain from publishing any further reports "made in connection with the case so as to maintain the right of privacy of the individuals involved, as well as ensure a fair trial for all parties." Read more | |
| Texas Seeks Custody of Girl Allegedly Married to Polygamist Warren Jeffs | |
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The Associated Press FOX News Originally published Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | |
| AUSTIN, Texas A 14-year-old girl allegedly married to polygamist group leader Warren Jeffs when she was 12 may be placed permanently in Texas state custody. Family and Protective Services Commissioner Anne Heilingenstein said during a legislative hearing on Tuesday that Child Protective Services would seek permanent custody of the girl because efforts to reunite her with her parents have failed. The girl is the only one of the 439 children taken from the Yearning For Zion Ranch last year still under court oversight. She has been in temporary foster care since last August. Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was convicted in Utah as an accomplice to rape and awaits trial on charges in Arizona and Texas related to underage marriages. | |
| Alleged underage bride to leave foster care | |
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The Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Thursday, May 7, 2009 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas An alleged child bride of jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs will be allowed to leave foster care and live with a distant relative, a judge ruled Thursday. Texas District Judge Barbara Walther agreed to allow the 14-year-old girl the only child from the Yearning For Zion Ranch remaining in foster care to move in with the relative next week. Although some of the records in the case are sealed, the relative does not live at the ranch or in nearby San Angelo, said Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins. "CPS is comfortable with the placement, and the judge obviously was comfortable with it because she approved it," he said. The agency will continue to oversee her case and monitor visits with her mother until a Sept. 9 hearing, where the girl could be permanently placed with the relative. The girl, allegedly married to Jeffs shortly after her 12th birthday, was placed back in foster care last August. She had been among the 439 children returned to their parents in June after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state's decision to sweep all the Fundamentalist LDS children into foster care was overly broad. Walther, however, ordered the girl back into foster care after her mother, Barbara Jessop, refused to guarantee the girl's safety during a tense court hearing. Jessop, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, refused to answer about 50 questions, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children, her relationship with their father and whether a parent had an obligation to protect her children. At the time, Walther said there was "uncontroverted evidence" of the girl's underage marriage. Read more | |
| FLDS custody case officially ends in Texas; alleged 'bride' dropped from court oversight | |
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By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio Originally published July 23, 2009 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY -- The nation's largest child custody case has ended quietly with a judge's order. The battle for children from the Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' ranch in Eldorado, Texas, was over Thursday when a judge signed an order effectively ended court oversight of a 15-year-old girl. She was the last of the 439 children taken into state protective custody when Texas child welfare authorities raided the ranch last year. "The court has stated that they will no longer continue to review the placement, progress and welfare of the child," said Valerie Malara, a lawyer representing the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop. "The attorney ad litem is dismissed out of the case, CASA's dismissed out of the case, and the state is out of the case as well." The order, signed Thursday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, places the girl in the custody of her aunt. Her parents, YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop and Barbara Jessop, will have visitation. The aunt, Naomi Carlisle, can determine how much that will be. A copy of the order, obtained by KSL Newsradio on Thursday, prohibited the girl from having any contact with FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. The girl is alleged to have been married at age 12 to Jeffs. She was ordered back into foster care last year after Walther ruled Barbara Jessop failed to protect her from abuse. At one point, Texas Child Protective Services sought to have "permanent managing conservatorship" over the girl. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs 15 yr old wife returns to family | |
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By Bryan Oliver KVII 7 - Amarillo, Texas Originally published Friday, July 24, 2009 | |
| TEXAS -- There's been a big decision in one of the largest custody cases in the U.S. history and it happened in Texas. A Texas district judge signed an order giving a relative permanent custody of a young girl, 15, who was allegedly married to polygamist sect leader Warren Jeff when she was 12. She was the only child who remained in state custody after a massive April 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch near the West Texas town of Eldorado. The case at one point had 429 children in state custody. | |
| Trial date set for Jeffs in first of two Arizona cases | |
| Polygamous church sect leader also faces charges in Texas | |
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By DAVE HAWKINS SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Las Vegas Review-Journal Originally published March 27, 2010 | |
| KINGMAN, Ariz. -- More than five years will pass between the original indictment of polygamous church sect prophet Warren Jeffs in Arizona and his first trial in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman. Attorneys and Judge Steven Conn established a schedule during a Friday hearing that sets the first of two Arizona trials for Jeffs on Nov. 2. The original indictment of Jeffs, now 54, stretches all the way back to June 2005. Over time, that indictment was dismissed and a new indictment crafted in 2007 accuses Jeffs of facilitating illegal sexual relations between underage girls and male adults. Under a legal accomplice theory, Mohave County attorney Matt Smith contends that the leader of the Arizona-Utah border-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is criminally responsible for the sexual violation of the underage girls by assigning them to male adults in church-sanctioned spiritual unions, or "celestial marriages." Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor for alleged sexual relations arising from the union of a 16-year-old girl and her 51-year-old cousin in 2001. That's the case that is set for trial in November. Jeffs also is charged with conspiracy and two counts of sexual conduct with a minor for alleged sexual relations during the union of a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin, also in 2001. Attorneys and Judge Conn agreed Friday that the second case won't be set for trial until after the first is completed. Read more | |
| Ariz. Charges Dismissed Against Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs | |
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News: Justice KSAZ Fox 10 - Phoenix Originally broadcast Wednesday, June 9, 2010 | |
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KINGMAN, Ariz. - Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith has filed a motion to dismiss child molestation charges against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. He's citing the fact that two of his victims no longer want him to be prosecuted. They also say he's experienced medical problems while in the Mohave County Jail. Judge Steven Conn granted the motion Wednesday to dismiss the four charges of sexual misconduct with a minor with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. Smith says that Jeffs has already served more time behind bars in Arizona than he would have served under a conviction. Jeffs has been jailed in Kingman since Feb. 2008. Jeffs is a leader in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They have a major presence in Colorado City and Texas. In Texas, Jeffs is charged with sexual assault and bigamy. Extradition proceedings to Texas have already begun. In the meantime, Jeffs will be transferred to a Utah prison. He was convicted there in 2007 for being an accomplice to rape, and is currently appealing his two consecutive 5-year prison terms there.
Statement by Attorney General Terry Goddard "I'm disappointed in the circumstances that caused the Mohave County Attorney to dismiss the case against him. Fortunately, my office has already spoken with the Texas Attorney General's Office and has been assured that Mr. Jeffs will be prosecuted there to the fullest extent of the law." | |
| Arizona charges dismissed against polygamist sect leader | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published June 9, 2010 | |
| (CNN) -- A judge dismissed charges against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs on Wednesday after the Mohave County, Arizona, prosecutor requested they be thrown out, citing "much more serious charges" against Jeffs in Texas and the desire of his alleged victims that he "face these more serious charges as soon as possible." Jeffs, the leader and "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been awaiting trial in Arizona on four charges of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor. He was indicted in Texas in 2008 on a felony charge of sexual assault of a child. The indictment accuses Jeffs of assaulting a child "younger than 17 years of age and not legally married to the defendant" in January 2005. The FLDS first became known to many when Jeffs was arrested during a routine traffic stop in August 2006. At the time, Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. The FLDS is a 10,000-member offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church. Its members openly practice polygamy at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and in two towns straddling the Utah-Arizona state line: Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. Critics of the sect say young girls are forced into "spiritual" marriages with older men and are sexually abused. Sect members have denied that any sexual abuse takes place. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs coming back to Utah | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast June 9, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A Mohave County, Arizona judge dismissed the last of the charges against Warren Jeffs and ordered him returned to Utah. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith told the judge in a "motion to dismiss" that the two victims in these cases "no longer desire to proceed with prosecution in the State of Arizona..." Smith admitted that trial would have been a waste of time and money. The Judge in the case had already said Jeffs had served more jail time than he would receive if convicted. Though Jeffs will come back to Utah, he likely will not stay long. Texas authorities already has a fugitive warrant for his arrest. Once here, they will immediately ask for his extradition. Jeffs may wish he'd stayed in Arizona. In Texas he is not charged with be an accomplice to child rape, but with the rape itself. The charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison. What's happening to Warren Jeffs is the legal equivalent of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. See photo | |
| Texas will prosecute FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs after Arizona drops its charges | |
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By Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Originally published June 10, 2010 | |
| The Texas case against polygamous church sect prophet Warren Jeffs suddenly looms even larger than it did before after Arizona officials decided to dismiss their charges Wednesday, according to a recent article in the Wichita Falls Times and Record News newspaper. Jeffs has been awaiting trial in a Mohave County, Arizona jail since February 2008 for alleged crimes which occurred in that jurisdiction. Jeffs, as the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(FLDS) is obviously the "big fish" among all the defendants charged in the polygamous sect trials. The Texas investigations were launched by Wichita Falls native Gregory Abbott, who is currently the Attorney General for the State of Texas. Abbott's AG personnel along with many Department of Public Safety troopers, including several from the Wichita Falls office, raided the FLDS compound at the YFZ Ranch, near San Angelo, Texas. With the dismissal of the Arizona charges, prosecution of the group's leader will be dependent on the Texas Attorney General's office and other Texas prosecutors. Two previous FLDS sect members were convicted by Texas juries and sentenced to heavy prison time for their role in the activities behind the walls of secrecy which surrounded the mysterious YFZ Ranch. Merrill Leroy Jessop was recently convicted and sentenced to 75 years in the Texas penitentiary by a jury near San Angelo, Texas, for crimes committed at the YFZ Ranch, also as a result of the work by Gregory Abbott's office. Read more | |
| Arizona Authorities Drop Case Against Warren Jeffs | |
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Ayinde O. Chase - AHN News Editor All Headline News - West Palm Beach, Florida Originally published June 10, 2010 | |
| Mojave, AZ, United States (AHN) - Arizona authorities have dropped the charges against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. The reason, Jeffs has already served more time in prison awaiting trial than he would have done if convicted. Additionally Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith says that the two alleged victims in the cases no longer want to proceed with prosecution in Arizona. Jeffs who was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor can't have the same set of charges be refiled since they were dismissed with prejudice. Jeffs however was sentenced to two five-year terms in a Utah prison for his role in a spiritual marriage that involved an underage girl and her teenage cousin. Furthermore, Texas authorities have already begun extradition proceedings for Jeffs. He faces charges in that state of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy based on his marriages to two underage girls at the FLDS' Yearning for Zion ranch at Eldorado. Jeffs is the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. | |
| Brent Hunsaker - Arizona drops charges against Warren Jeffs | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally published June 10, 2010 | |
| Warren Jeff's attorneys have reason to celebrate. They fought a battle of attrition against the Mohave County Attorney and won. Jeff's followers in the FLDS group have reason to celebrate. The dropping of charges in Arizona is a kind of vindication. They might even call the conviction on two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah an aberration. Jeff's foes have reason to celebration. Sure, there will be no trial in Arizona. But the battle was so drawn out (mostly by Jeff's attorneys) that he served more time in jail waiting for a trial than he would have if convicted on the remaining charges. (That's from the judge folks, not me.) What's more, Texas is now free to extradite And that's why the dismissal of charges in Arizona is not good news for Warren Jeffs. Sources tell me the Kingman jail was relatively comfortable -- much more comfortable than the jail in little Schleicher County, Texas. Also, the Texas charges are much more serious. He's not charged with being an accomplice, he's charged with the rape itself -- of being the groom in a marriage with an underage bride. The maximum sentence is life. The Texas Attorney General has been handling all the cases so far against other FLDS men. And so far, he's 5-for-5 with two plea bargains and three jury convictions. The sentence on the last conviction was 75 years. Warren Jeffs could end up spending the rest of his life in a Texas prison. See photo | |
| The evidence against polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast June 12, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeffs remained in jail in Kingman, Arizona, Friday evening. Now that a judge there has dismissed the last of the charges against him, the prophet of the largest polygamist group in North America is awaiting transfer back to the Utah State Prison where he is serving two, consecutive sentences of 5-to-life for being an accomplice to rape. How long he will stay in Utah is open for debate. Texas authorities want him to stand trial for child rape. A conviction there could guarantee that Jeffs would spend the rest of his life in prison. No Texas warrant has been received by the Utah Department of Corrections, but with stakes high, members of Jeff's legal team have already sent notice they will fight extradition. How strong is the Texas case against Jeffs? "Very strong," answers Carolyn Jessop. She was once married to polygamist leader Merril Jessop who was a counselor to Jeffs and runs the Texas ranch. She has been following the Texas case very closely since it is alleged that Merril Jessop gave his 12-year old daughter to Warren Jeffs as a "spiritual wife." "A lot of these girls were hurt," said Jessop who still confessed shock her ex-husband would give up a little girl to supposedly be raped by Jeffs. "I realized Merril had the ability to commit some really horrific crimes. I naively assumed he might protect his daughters when it came to that level of abuse." "When I left, Warren was marrying girls as young as 14," Jessop continued. "I didn't think he'd take it below that. But when I realized he'd married my step-daughter who had barely turned 12 ... it's heartbreaking." Read more | |
| The Strange Legal Trip of Polygamist Warren Jeffs | |
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By Hilary Hylton / Austin TIME Originally published Saturday, Jun. 12, 2010 | |
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Five years ago, Warren Jeffs was charged with sex crimes resulting from the polygamous marriages he arranged for his followers in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Jeffs then began a circular journey through the jailhouses and courtrooms of the west. This week, the self-styled prophet awoke to the promise of a change of scenery but not a change of fortune. An Arizona judge dismissed the original charges against Jeffs, the very charges that had catapulted him into national headlines. But the dismissal has only cleared the way for Texas authorities to get their hands on him to face even more serious charges. "Extradition proceedings against Warren Jeffs have commenced," Lauri Saathoff, a spokesperson for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told TIME.
Jeffs has already spent more time in an Arizona county jail cell than he would have spent in prison if found guilty of the original charges: arranging and performing marriages between two underage girls and their older male relatives, thus being an accomplice to sexual misconduct with minors. The prosecutor in the case said the two victims no longer wanted to pursue the charges, making a prosecution impractical. Jeffs' attorney, Mike Picarretta, hinted at "irregularities" and said the cases would have been dropped years ago had they involved someone less well-known than his client. (See pictures of families excommunicated by Warren Jeffs.) Read more | |
| FLDS leader Warren Jeffs back in Utah State Prison | |
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By Aaron Falk and Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | |
| UTAH STATE PRISON Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is back in Utah. Jeffs arrived at the prison Tuesday just before 11 a.m., said Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke. Jeffs was transported from Kingman, Ariz., where, early last week, Mohave County prosecutors dismissed four charges of sexual misconduct with a minor. The dismissal was expected to speed up criminal proceedings in Texas, where Jeffs faces more serious charges. He had been jailed in Kingman since February 2008. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith dropped the Arizona cases against Jeffs last week, saying the two alleged victims no longer wanted to proceed with prosecution. Jeffs had been facing four counts of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor, stemming from two arranged marriages between teenage girls and their older male relatives. A judge granted Smith's request Wednesday and ordered that Jeffs be moved to Utah, where his 2007 convictions on two counts of rape as an accomplice are on appeal. Jeffs faces more serious charges in Texas, and his attorney has said he would fight any attempt at extradition to that state. Jeffs was indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy, months after authorities raided the Yearning for Zion ranch at Eldorado in April 2008. Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS Church, commands followers who live in the twin communities of Colorado City and Hildale, Utah. The FLDS practice polygamy in arranged marriages, a tradition tied to the early theology of the mainstream Mormon church. Mormons denounced the practice in the 1890s. Gherke said Jeffs would undergo a standard evaluation before prison officials decide where he will be housed. Corrections officials are unsure how long Jeffs will remain in Utah. | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Jeffs officially transferred to Utah | |
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By JIM SECKLER Mohave Daily News Originally published Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | |
| KINGMAN Warren Jeffs' two-year stay in Mohave County came to an end early Tuesday morning. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office flew Jeffs around 7 a.m. to the Utah State Prison near Draper to finish out his 10-year prison sentence following his 2007 conviction on Utah charges. He arrived in Utah about two hours later. Jeffs had been in Mohave County Jail since February 2008, MCSO spokeswoman Trish Carter said. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith dropped the remaining Arizona charges last week against Jeffs, 54, the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado City. He had been charged in Mohave County with four counts of sexual conduct with a minor in two 2007 Arizona cases. He was charged with being an accomplice of two men who had sex with two underage girls in 2002 and 2003 in the polygamist communities of Colorado City and Hildale, Utah. Four counts of incest were dropped last year. Jeffs is serving a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted in Utah in 2007 of two counts of rape as an accomplice. He also is charged with felony sexual assault of a child under 17 and aggravated sexual assault in Schleicher County, Texas, after a raid by law enforcement officers at the Yearning for Zion ranch compound in Eldorado, Texas, in April 2008. The state of Texas expects to extradite Jeffs from Utah to face those charges. Jeffs' Arizona attorney, Mike Piccarreta, filed probably his last motion Friday in Mohave County Superior Court opposing any extradition to Texas due to "constitutional infirmities" that may occur in the Texas justice system. | |
| Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs fighting extradition | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast June 24, 2010 | |
| POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE PRISON, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeffs won't be going to Texas without a fight. In prison on Thursday, he was given a "waiver of extradition" which he refused to sign. That means he will have a hearing on extradition before a Utah judge in the next 30 days. Legal experts tell ABC 4 the only grounds to deny extradition is "mistaken identity." In other words, Warren Jeffs would have to somehow prove that he is not the person named in the three Texas fugitive warrants. Recently, Mohave County, Arizona dropped its charges against Jeffs and returned him to the Utah Department of Corrections. Jeffs is serving two consecutive sentences of 5-years to life in Utah. In 2007 he was convicted in St. George of being an accomplice to the rape of a child. In Texas, he's charged with rape for supposedly marrying girls as young as 11. The Texas Attorney General has filed four felony counts against Jeffs. If convicted, Jeffs might never return to Utah again, instead spending the rest of his life in a Texas prison. See photo | |
| Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs refuses Texas extradition | |
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By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | |
| UTAH STATE PRISON Utah prison officials say polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has refused to sign a warrant seeking his extradition to Texas to face criminal charges. The warrant was served at the Draper prison on June 24, said Mike Haddon, deputy director of the Department of Corrections. Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office, confirmed Jeffs' refusal and said he has 30 days to appeal the warrant. Jeffs, 54, faces charges of bigamy, sexual assault of a child and aggravated assault in Texas. The charges stem from alleged marriages to one girl under age 17 and another under age 14, both in 2005. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. The Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have sometimes involved underage girls. The Texas charges stem from evidence gathered in a raid on the church's ranch near Eldorado in April 2008. Records confiscated during the raid indicated multiple marriages to underage girls, some as young as 12 years old. Jeffs, according to the records, had dozens of wives; 58 were listed in the year before the alleged marriages that led to his indictment. Defense attorneys Wally Bugden and Tara Isaacson, who represented Jeffs during a 2007 criminal trial in southern Utah, declined comment late Monday. In 2007, a Utah jury convicted Jeffs of two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role the 2001 marriage of a 14-year-old follower to her 19-year-old cousin. He is serving consecutive terms of five years to life in prison. Until recently, Jeffs had been in a Mohave County, Ariz., jail, awaiting two trials on sexual misconduct charges related to marriages of underage FLDS girls. Prosecutors asked a judge to drop the charges on June 6 after the two alleged victims said they no longer wanted to proceed with prosecution. | |
| Extradition hearing scheduled for Warren Jeffs | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast July 19, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - An extradition hearing has been scheduled for FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, who was convicted in St. George on two counts of rape as an accomplice, is also indicted in Texas on charges related to his "spiritual" marriages to underage girls as young as 13. Texas served a fugitive warrant on Jeffs who is in the State Prison at Point of the Mountain, but Jeffs opted to fight the warrant. ABC 4 News has learned Jeffs' attorneys will argue that he cannot be extradited to Texas until all of his appeals are first exhausted in the Utah case. Attorneys familiar with extradition law say usually another state's warrant can only be rejected for "mistaken identity" - proof that you are not the person named in the warrant. The extradition hearing for Jeffs is scheduled for July 27th at the West Jordan Courthouse. See mug shot | |
| Extradition Hearing Set for Polygamist Sect Leader | |
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By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press Writer KSAZ Fox 10 - Phoenix, Arizona Originally published Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Utah judge has set a date for an extradition hearing for imprisoned polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs, who is facing multiple felony charges in Texas. Jeffs refused to sign extradition papers delivered to him last month at the Utah State Prison by Texas authorities. Utah courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said Jeffs will be asked to sign the papers again at a July 27 hearing before 3rd District Judge Terry Christiansen. If Jeffs declines, Volmer said another hearing would likely be set. Jeffs' Utah defense attorneys, Wally Bugden and Tara Isaacson, declined to comment Tuesday. Texas authorities have charged Jeffs with bigamy, sexual assault of a child and aggravated assault. The charges stem from two alleged underage marriages between Jeffs and girls ages 17 and 15 in 2005. Evidence of the alleged unions was gathered in a raid on a church ranch near Eldorado, Texas, in 2008. Records confiscated during the raid indicated multiple marriages to underage girls, some as young as 12. Jeffs, according to the records, had dozens of wives; 58 were listed in the year before the alleged marriages that led to his indictment. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs to have extradition hearing | |
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Written by: Dan Metcalf Jr. Email: dan.metcalf@abc4.com Contributor: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast July 20, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - FLDS leader Warren Jeffs faces an extradition hearing on July 27. The hearing will be held in West Jordan before 3rd District Court Judge Terry Christiansen. Jeffs was recently transported to Utah to serve his sentence for a 2007 rape-as-an-accomplice conviction. Jeffs had been awaiting trial in Arizona on similar charges, but prosecutors dropped the case, and he was returned to the Utah State Prison 2 weeks ago. Jeffs now faces trial in Texas, where a 2008 raid on the YFZ ranch near El Dorado resulted in several court cases, including allegations of arranged marriages between Jeffs his male followers and several underage girls. See mug shot | |
| Warren Jeffs to be back in Utah court tomorrow | |
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ABC 4 News Originally broadcast July 26, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs is expected back in a Utah courtroom tomorrow. Jeffs was returned to Utah from Arizona, after charges were dropped there. Tomorrow is an extradition hearing. Texas wants to try Jeffs on rape charges. Authorities there say they have proof he married girls as young as 13. If convicted, Jeffs could spend the rest of his life in prison. He was already convicted of rape as an accomplice in our state. See photo | |
| Polygamist Convictions Overturned | |
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By DAN FROSCH The New York Times Originally published July 27, 2010 | |
| The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday morning threw out the rape convictions of the polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs and sent the case back for a new trial, ruling that the instructions given to the jury during his prosecution were faulty. Mr. Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was given two consecutive sentences of five years to life after he was convicted in 2007 of being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl from his church whose marriage he presided over. But in a unanimous decision, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that a state judge had erred when he failed to tell the jury that Mr. Jeffs could not be found guilty unless he specifically intended for the girl's husband to have nonconsensual sex with her, which Mr. Jeffs denied. The ruling was a setback for Utah prosecutors, who had hoped that Mr. Jeffs would serve at least 10 years in prison. The victim, Elissa Wall, claimed that Mr. Jeffs pressed her in 2001, at age 14, to marry her first cousin, Allen Steed. She said Mr. Steed then forced her to have sex. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Jeffs knew the marriage would lead to nonconsensual sex, but insisted that the union go forward anyway. Ms. Wall said that Mr. Jeffs had refused to release her from the marriage, despite her pleas. But Mr. Jeffs's lawyer, Wally Bugden, argued that though Mr. Jeffs had indeed encouraged the marriage and advised the couple to stay together, he never intended for Mr. Steed, who was 19 at the time, to rape Ms. Wall. Mr. Jeffs's legal team argued in its appeal that Judge James L. Shumate should have told the jury to focus on Mr. Steed's actions, not on Mr. Jeffs's sway over the couple in his capacity as the all-powerful leader of the sect, which has an estimated 10,000 members. Read more | |
| What next for Warren Jeffs? | |
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Reported by: Chris Vanocur ABC 4 News Originally broadcast July 27, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeffs is now expected to be moved from the state prison to the Washington County jail. But it's unclear if he will face a retrial in Utah or a new one in a different state. Neither Utah's attorney general, nor the Washington County attorney is sure what happens next. Jeffs could be tried on the same charges here or new ones in Texas. But his lawyers are planning on asking for bail and, as Mark Shurtleff admitted, Jeffs could walk out a free man. Shurtleff said Tuesday, "I don't know that I was completely shocked but I am upset and very disappointed." And maybe confused. Prosecutors aren't sure what to do with Warren Jeffs now. They could retry the case in Utah but, as Shurtleff admitted, "The decision is going to make it very difficult to retry." And it's not exactly like Jeff's lawyers are quaking in their boots. Walter Bugden, one of the attorneys for Jeffs said after the ruling, "If Mr. Belnap declines to dismiss, if Mr. Belnap, the prosecutor in Washington County decides to go forward with the prosecution, then bring it on." Another option is to send Jeffs to the Lone Star State where he faces triple charges - including bigamy and sexual assault of a child. As Shurtleff said Tuesday, "I am pleased that Warren Jeffs is now facing extradition to Texas and maybe justice will be served in Texas." Now, if prosecutors don't ask the Utah supreme court for a rehearing, the case then could end back in the same Washington County court where it began 3 years ago. Jeffs did have an extradition hearing scheduled for Tuesday to see if he would be sent to Texas, but that hearing was canceled. | |
| Utah court reverses polygamist's convictions | |
| Jeffs to stay in prison before Texas takes his case | |
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By Rachel B. Duke The Washington Times Originally published Tuesday, July 27, 2010 | |
| Warren Jeffs, the leader of a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy, had his convictions for participating in child rape reversed by the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday, but he will remain in prison until he is handed over to Texas authorities to face similar charges in that state. "We conclude that there were serious errors in the instructions given to the jury that deprived Jeffs of the fair trial to which all are entitled under our laws," Justice Jill Parrish wrote in a unanimous 4-0 decision. In 2007, Mr. Jeffs was found guilty on two counts of being an accomplice to first-degree felony rape related to his religious role in the marriage of Elissa Wall, 14, to her first cousin Allen Steed, 19, which Miss Wall has maintained was not consensual. The court declared a mistrial on the grounds that jurors were wrongly told they could decide in judging Mr. Jeffs whether the marital relations between Miss Wall and Mr. Steed were consensual. Mr. Steed was not charged with rape, pending Mr. Jeffs' conviction, and still has not been tried. "Only after there is a determination that an offense has been committed can the law impose liability on another party who 'solicited, request, commanded, encouraged or intentionally aided' in the commission of that offense," the justices wrote. Known as "the prophet," the 54-year-old was serving two consecutive terms of five years to life before the court reversed his convictions. He is head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), which has about 10,000 members, many of who live in isolated communities along the Utah-Arizona state line. Read more | |
| UPDATE: FLDS Leader's Convictions Overturned | |
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Reported by: Laura Kellerman/CNN Newsource KRBC Abilene Originally published July 27, 2010 | |
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UPDATE: Warren Jeffs' extradition hearing has been canceled after the Utah Supreme Court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial. Click the attachment below to read the complete ruling. The Texas Attorney General requested the extradition to bring Jeffs to San Angelo to face the charges in relation to underage marriage with members of the polygamous group at the YFZ ranch near Eldorado. Jeffs was convicted on charges of rape as an accomplice in 2007. Jeffs, the so-called "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS, was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years to life. He was accused of using his religious influence over his followers to coerce a 14-year-old girl into marrying her 19-year-old cousin. "We regret the effect our opinion today may have on the victim of the underlying crime, to whom we do not wish to cause additional pain," the court said. "However, we must ensure that the laws are applied evenly and appropriately, in this case as in every case."
Click here to download attachment: jeffs utah supreme ct ruling See mug shot | |
| Texas begins new proceedings to extradite Mormon sect leader Warren Jeffs | |
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Robert T. Garrett Dallas Morning News Originally published Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Tuesday immediately began a new proceeding to extradite Warren Jeffs, a spokesman for Abbott said. "We are currently working with the Texas governor's office and Utah authorities to bring Warren Jeffs to Texas to stand trial," said the spokesman, Jerry Strickland. Jeffs was indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury on three sexual offenses, all first-degree felonies, in July 2008. At the time, Abbott said he hoped to extradite Jeffs, then in an Arizona jail awaiting separate charges, to Texas "as quickly as possible." The rural West Texas county is home to the breakaway Mormon sect's Yearning for Zion ranch. Three months before Jeffs' indictment, Child Protective Services removed 440 children and about two dozen women over allegations the community permitted a culture of sexual abuse and marriages between girls and much older men.
Robert T. Garrett | |
| Texas case against FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs more important after Utah convictons erased | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Originally published July 28, 2010 | |
| In a dramatic reversal of fortune for FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, the Utah Supreme Court reversed all the convictions in that state against him which would've kept him locked up. Suddenly the Texas cases of bigamy and sexual assault against him loom as something much bigger than additional charges to stack on top of the Utah prison sentences. Now, the State of Texas could be all that stands between the so-called polygamist prophet and his freedom. Earlier this year, the State of Arizona dismissed all its charges against him. Several Wichita Falls residents played significant roles in the Texas case when Texas Rangers and CPS workers descended on the FLDS compound in West Texas. While Utah may still re-try the FLDS prophet, the road to freedom is clearly in front of Jeffs if he can figure out a way to navigate his way through the remaining barriers in the legal system. Things certainly look a lot brighter for the man with many wives and children than they did a few months ago when he was apparently rotting away in an Arizona jail waiting for trial there and looking ahead to a prison stretch courtesy of a Utah jury. Now the Arizona crimnal justice system has thrown in the towel and the Utah justices have erased his prison sentence with one dramatic ruling as if it never existed. Texas had a hearing already set up Tuesday in which the Lone Star State planned to drag him back to face some justice here. But in the wake of the Utah court's ruling, Texas has cancelled its extradition hearing to bring Jeffs back. Read more | |
| Texas sends extradition request for Warren Jeffs | |
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Ben Winslow FOX 13 News KSTU-TV Originally broadcast July 30, 2010 | |
| Fox 13 has learned Texas governor Rick Perry has formally sent a request to extradite fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs to the Lone Star State. A spokeswoman for the governor says they sent the extradition request to Governor Gary Herbert today. Jeffs is wanted in Texas on aggravated child sex assault and bigamy charges. He is accused of participating in an underage marriage there. Jeffs' conviction on rape as an accomplice was overturned this week by the utah supreme court. Prosecutors here are still deciding if they want to retry him. Meanwhile, a hearing on that issue has been delayed. A St.George judge has now set an Aug. 23 hearing on the issue. | |
| Governor signs extradition warrant to send polygamist leader to Texas | |
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Ben Winslow Fox 13 News KSTU-TV Originally broadcast August 10, 2010 | |
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SALT LAKE CITY - Governor Gary Herbert has signed an extradition warrant to send polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to Texas to face charges there, Fox 13 has learned. The governor signed the warrant late Tuesday, a spokeswoman confirmed. "The governor received the request and after careful review, he signed it," said governor's spokeswoman Angie Welling. "It's also accompanied by an executive agreement which allows the state to bring Mr. Jeffs back to Utah once the Texas case is concluded." Jeffs, 54, is facing child sex assault and bigamy charges in Texas, accused of marrying an underage girl. A copy of the warrant obtained by Fox 13 under a public records request in Texas, seeks to have him handed over to Texas Rangers from either the Utah State Prison in Draper or Washington County's Purgatory Jail. Jeffs' defense team has previously said they would fight efforts to extradite the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader to the Lone Star state. Meanwhile, the Utah Attorney General's Office said it planned to seek a rehearing before the Utah Supreme Court, which overturned Jeffs' convictions here on rape as an accomplice. The court cited improper jury instructions. The Washington County Attorney's Office in St. George told Fox 13 that it is still considering whether or not to re-try Jeffs, who was accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.
FOX 13's Ben Winslow reports | |
| Utahan Governor Firms Up A Warrant That Will Deport The Polygamous Jeffs To Texas | |
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News Sampurn Wire New Kerala - Kerala, India Originally published August 11, 2010 | |
| Washington, August 11, 2010: The Governor of the state of Utah happens to be Gary Herbert. He happens to be a member of the conservative Republican Party. It has been reported that Herbert has firmed up a warrant of deportation that will transport the polygamous church leader, Warren Jeffs, to Texas to cope with the criminal indictments. Jeffs happens to be the 54-year-old boss of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints. The spokesperson of Herbert happens to be Angie Welling. Welling has divulged that the warrant and an executive concurrence were formalized by Herbert on Tuesday evening. What had happened was that the Texan powers that be had discharged a series of indictments against Jeffs, who had been indicted with bigamy, motivated sexual attack and assault. These indictments were anchored in suspected incidents involving Jeffs with juvenile girls at a church farm in Texas. The Utah legal representatives of Jeffs have asserted that they would initiate a legal fight against the extradition. Jeffs presently is in the Utah State Prison in anticipation of a judicial verdict on a retrial of his criminal case of 2007. In the preceding month, the Utahan Supreme Court knocked over the convictions of Jeffs on two counts of collaborationist rape. | |
| Polygamist Leader May Face Tougher Case in Texas | |
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By Sanjiv Bhattacharya AOL News Originally published August 12, 2010 | |
| (Aug. 12) -- Utah will have to wait in line before it gets a chance to retry polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. First he's going to a state where prosecution has been more vigorous. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes the case against Jeffs is stronger in Texas, where he will be extradited. Jeffs, 54, is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), a Utah-based group that practices polygamy according to the Mormon tradition (the LDS Church disavowed the practice a century ago). Numerous reports allege that the group has arranged marriages in the past between men and underage girls. He was convicted on two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah, but both charges were overturned by the Utah Supreme Court on July 27. A hearing Aug. 23 will determine whether he will face a retrial there. "We want to retry him," Shurtleff told AOL News. "We think we can. But we're going to let Texas go first because their case is not an accomplice issue, it's Warren Jeffs personally who's been accused." Jeffs' attorneys have said they will fight the extradition order. Texas prosecutors have successfully convicted seven FLDS men on crimes such as sexual assault against a child and bigamy -- a 100 percent record. The sentencing has been harsh, too. Jeffs has been charged in Texas with bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault based on alleged incidents with underage girls at a church ranch near Eldorado, Texas. If convicted, he could face 99 years in prison. The success rate in Texas as been largely a result of using DNA evidence to link men with underage victims. But that evidence was acquired during a raid on the FLDS ranch in Eldorado in April 2008. Church and family documents were also seized in the raid. Shurtleff remains a vocal critic of that tactic. "I don't think that what they put those children through justifies the end," he said. "That whole SWAT team, guns drawn approach is not something that we would contemplate in Utah." Read more | |
| Texas asks to try notorious polygamist Warren Jeffs | |
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By Daphne Bramham, Postmedia News Vancouver Sun Originally published August 13, 2010 | |
| Thank heavens for Texas. At the request of the Texas governor, notorious polygamist Warren Jeffs will be extradited from Utah to face charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault involving two under-aged girls, who were his "celestial wives," in the Lonestar state. Jeffs is the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) the largest polygamous group in North America with large chapters in Utah, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Last month, Jeffs' conviction in Utah for being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old was overturned by the state's Supreme Court. Though a Utah court is set to hear his request for a speedy retrial on Aug. 23, there are questions about whether Utah will proceed. And one month earlier, Arizona had dropped its own charges including sexual conduct with minors and incest against Jeffs. So now it's up to Texas, which isn't lumbered by a history of polygamy. Unlike Utah and Arizona where mainstream Mormons are a substantial proportion of the population, many who have polygamous ancestry dating back before the church banned polygamy in 1890 Texas has few Mormons. For decades, legislators in Utah, Arizona and, strangely, British Columbia have had a policy of don't-ask-don't-tell regarding the FLDS, despite the leaders' growing penchant for forcing young girls into marriages with much older men and pushing surplus men to the edges of society. Read more | |
| Texas in line for next trial with FLDS polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Originally published August 14, 2010 | |
| It's beginning to look like the State of Texas is all that stands between FLDS polygamist prophet and leader Warren Jeffs and his freedom. The man who inherited twenty wives and has countless children will probably be sent to Texas after Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed an extradition warrant Tuesday evening. A provision in the warrant allows Utah to bring the church leader back to the land of the Utes after Texas tries him. There has been some speculation among Utah authorities it might be difficult to re-try the polygamist chief on the charges which have been thrown out based on problems with the jury charges. A spokesperson for Governor Herbert said attorneys for Jeffs have the right to challenge the extradition to Texas by filing a writ of habeas corpus. Defense lawyers are evidently not anxious for a trip to the Lone Star State for their client as they have said they will oppose any extradition to Texas. Because of the announced intention to fight extradition a timeline is difficult to compute at this time how soon the reluctant polygamist will return to Texas soil. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtlef said Texas has the strongest case against Jeffs. "The Texas case will be easier to prosecute because it is based on Jeffs' personal actions. The Utah cases are based on Jeffs being an accomplice," Shurtleff said, explaining why Utah was willing to allow the Lone Star State to try its case before Utah tries the polygamist a second time. Read more | |
| Jailers ready for Jeffs | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published August 20, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The jail is set and the schedule cleared. Preparations are underway in the Texas courts to receive Warren Jeffs, the spiritual leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The governor of Utah has signed extradition papers to get Jeffs to Texas, a process which Jeffs' attorneys have said they will fight. The FLDS former leader remains in Utah after convictions on which he was sent to prison were overturned by the state Supreme Court in Utah. One expert described Jeffs' defense team's plan to fight the Texas extradition as "a long shot." "He would have to file a writ of habeas corpus in the Utah court to test the legality of his arrest, to assert that there is no probable cause for his arrest," said Clifford Rosky, a criminal law professor at the University of Utah. Jeffs' attorney has said that is the route he will pursue. Rosky guessed that the process might take a few weeks before he is sent to Texas. Jeffs remains incarcerated in the mental health unit of the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah, while awaiting a hearing to consider a new trial on the Utah charges that were dismissed by the state supreme court there in late July. According to a Friday story in the Salt Lake Tribune, Walter F. Bugden, one of Jeffs' attorneys, said he will file a habeas corpus motion opposing the extradition until there is a resolution in the Utah case. "It is not only a question of fairness but of constitutional proportion to shuttle him back and forth between states," Bugden said. "I think that the decision should be made and shouldn't just be left pending until after he has a trial in Texas. I think it is fundamentally unfair to not finish what they started." Read more | |
| EXCLUSIVE: Extradition hearing set for Warren Jeffs | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast August 21, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeffs is a step closer to Texas. ABC 4 News has learned a court hearing on extradition to Texas will be held on Thursday, August 26 at 1:00pm in the West Jordan courtroom of Judge Terry Christiansen. Jeffs is indicted in Texas on three counts: Sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Attorneys for Jeffs will argue against extradition. But legal experts tell ABC 4 that really the only way they can succeed in getting the Texas warrant quashed is by proving the Warren Jeffs now being held in the Utah State Prison is not the same Warren Jeffs named in the warrant. Meanwhile in Texas, sources tell ABC 4 the decks are being cleared in anticipation of Jeffs' arrival. Judge Barbara Walther will delay the scheduled trial of another FLDS leader, Wendell Nielsen, so the Jeffs case can be moved "to the front of the class." Nielsen was scheduled for a pretrial hearing next week. Word is Judge Walther wants to have the Jeffs trial wrapped up in 120 days. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told the San Angelo Standard-Times his office hasn't heard whether Jeffs will be coming to his jail, but he is ready nonetheless. Much of the evidence against Jeffs was obtained in the controversial 2008 raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion ranch outside of Eldorado, Texas. So far the Texas Attorney General is six for six in cases against FLDS leaders. See mug shot | |
| Jeffs may be sent back to Texas | |
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The Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published August 21, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY A Utah judge has taken a step toward sending polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs to Texas to stand trial on charges of bigamy and sexual assault. Judge Terry Christiansen signed a warrant for Jeffs' arrest on Friday following an extradition request from Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The charges stem from alleged sexual relations with two underage girls at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. The Utah Supreme Court reversed Jeffs convictions on accomplice to rape charges last month and sent the case back for a new trial. Jeffs remains in the mental health unit at the Utah State Prison in Draper. His initial appearance is set for Thursday in Third District court. | |
| Jeffs Hearing Rescheduled to September 7th | |
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By Nancy Volumer, Contributor KCSG Television Originally published August 24, 2010 | |
| (Salt Lake City, UT) - At the request of counsel, the heaing in the case of State of Utah vs Warren Steed Jeffs that was scheduled for this Thursday has been continued to September 7th at 1:00PM at the West Jordan Courthouse with Judge Terry Christiansen. The hearing before Utah Third District Court Judge Terry Christiansen is in reference an arrest warrant for Warren S. Jeffs that will send Jeffs to Texas to stand trial on charges of bigamy and sexual assault. Charges filed in Texas are for alleged sexual relations with two underage girls at the FLDS Yearning For Zion Ranch, near Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas. | |
| Extradition hearing delayed for sect leader, Jeffs | |
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The Spectrum Originally published August 25, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A state judge has postponed an extradition hearing for polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was scheduled for a 3rd District Court hearing in West Jordan on Thursday. On Tuesday, however, the court rescheduled the hearing for Sept. 7. Defense attorneys for the 54-year-old church leader requested the delay. They have said they will fight Jeffs' extradition to face criminal charges in Texas. Authorities have charged Jeffs with bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault related to alleged incidents with underage girls at a church ranch. The Utah Supreme Court reversed Jeffs' 2007 convictions on accomplice to rape charges last month and sent the case back for a new trial. | |
| Decorum order posted for Jeffs extradition hearing | |
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By Kevin Jenkins The Spectrum Originally published September 01, 2010 | |
| ST. GEORGE -- A courtroom decorum order has been published for next week's extradition hearing in the case of polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs in West Jordan. Utah State Courts officials have published 3rd District Judge Terry Christiansen's order online at www.utcourts.gov/media/hpcases/. The order is a result of limited seating in the courtroom and the high profile of the case. The order indicates that state court Public Information Officer Nancy Volmer will begin distributing about 50 passes to district courtroom 37 at 1 p.m. Volmer said the passes are for members of the media as well as for members of the general public who may have an interest in the case, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until the passes are gone. Volmer said the distribution of the passes will actually begin at the courthouse at 12:30 p.m. Volmer said Jeffs will be present at the hearing, in which the judge will present him with a copy of the prosecution's information charging him with being a fugitive from justice in Texas. The charge is based on Texas authorities accusing Jeffs of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy charges. Jeffs is expected to confer with his attorneys about whether he wants to waive an extradition hearing and be transported to Texas to face the charges there, Volmer said. Read more | |
| Jeffs scheduled for extradition hearing | |
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By JENNIFER DOBNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER The Spectrum Originally published September 7, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Utah judge will ask Warren Jeffs to sign a waiver that would extradite the polygamous church leader to Texas to face criminal charges. Jeffs refused to sign a similar warrant in June and his attorneys have said they will fight extradition. Jeffs is the 54-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The southern Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have sometimes involved underage girls. Texas authorities have charged Jeffs with bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault related to alleged incidents with girls at a church ranch near Eldorado. Jeffs is scheduled to appear at a 1 p.m. hearing Tuesday in 3rd District Court before Judge Terry Christiansen. | |
| Sect leader Jeffs fights extradition to Texas | |
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By JENNIFER DOBNER The Associated Press The Washington Post Originally published Tuesday, September 7, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY -- Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on Tuesday refused to sign a waiver that would have allowed his extradition to Texas, where he faces bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges over alleged incidents with underage girls at a church ranch. Dressed in a dark grey suit, Jeffs attended the short hearing in a West Jordan courtroom where he refused a waiver of extradition from Utah. It was his second refusal; Jeffs also refused in June, when Texas authorities brought a similar warrant to the Utah State Prison, where he is incarcerated. Both the Utah and Texas governors have signed extradition warrants, setting up a legal mechanism for Jeffs' transfer. Jeffs, 54, is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The southern Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have involved underage girls. Jeffs' defense attorney, Walter Bugden, said his client was not trying to avoid facing the Texas charges, but wants a speedy trial in Utah first. In Utah's Washington County, Jeffs is facing a possible retrial on two counts of rape as an accomplice. The Utah Supreme Court recently overturned his 2007 conviction, ruling that faulty jury instructions denied Jeffs a fair trial and state attorneys misapplied accomplice liability law in the case. "The reality of the situation is that if he is sent to Texas now, he won't come back to Utah to face a possible retrial on the Utah charges for several years," Bugden said after the hearing. "Utah filed first." Bugden will make those arguments before a judge at a Nov. 15 hearing. Read more | |
| The Polygamist Prophet: One Step Closer to a Texas Court | |
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By Hilary Hylton / Austin with Jeanettte Moses / Salt Lake City TIME Originally published Wednesday, Sep. 08, 2010 | |
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The appearance was brief, perhaps two or three minutes, but the presence of Warren Jeffs in a Salt Lake City area courtroom this week revealed a man who has changed in the four years since his arrest. The man who was once on the FBI's Most Wanted List looked thinner, his hair, now close-cropped, dusted with gray, and he wore a pair of frameless glasses that seemed to emphasize his most distinctive feature, his wide, compelling eyes. Jeffs has reportedly suffered from illness brought on by extended periods of prayer and fasting. But the brief courtroom hearing with its mundane talk of calendars and hearings also brought the sometime "prophet" of a Utah-based polygamist sect one step closer to a Texas courtroom to face allegations of sexual assault and bigamy perhaps law enforcement's best avenue to keep him behind bars.
Jeffs and 11 members of his Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) were charged in 2008 by Texas authorities with a variety of felony charges, from bigamy to child abuse, following a raid on the group's Yearning for Zion Ranch in tiny Eldorado, Texas. Seven of the men have been convicted and have received sentences ranging from 7 to 75 years; another goes on trial this month. Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told TIME: "Whenever Warren Jeffs is brought to Texas, we stand ready to try him on felony charges returned by a Schleicher County grand jury." Read more | |
| FLDS Leader Warren Jeffs Files Petition to Quash Texas Extradition | |
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By Morgan Skinner KCSG News KCSG TV - St. George, Utah Originally published October 18, 2010 | |
| (Salt Lake City, UT) - Attorneys for FLDS leader Warren S. Jeffs have filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus claiming the state has violated Jeffs constitutional right to a speedy retrial and asked the judge to toss the warrant to extradite Jeffs to Texas. Attorneys Walter F. Bugden and Tara L. Isaacson want all charges against Jeffs in Utah resolved before he faces charges anywhere else. Court documents contend the governor's warrant for extradition to Texas is improper and will violate Jeff's constitutional rights if allowed to proceed. A hearing on has been scheduled November 15 in Third District Court before Judge Terry L. Christiansen in West Jordan. Texas extradition charges against Jeffs include bigamy, aggravated sexual assault, and assault with underage girls alleged to have taken place at the church's YFZ ranch near Eldorado, Texas. Jeffs was found guilty of being an accomplice to rape of a 14-year-old FLDS church member he married to her 19-year-old cousin. The Utah Supreme Court overturned the conviction based upon what the court said were faulty jury instructions that denied Jeffs a fair trial and remanded the case for retrial. Warren Jeffs is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) one of the largest practitioners of polygamy in the United States. The FLDS church emerged in the 1930's when its founding members were excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Followers of the FLDS continue the practice of polygamy after the Mormon Church discontinued the practice in 1890. See mug shot | |
| Warren Jeffs fighting extradition to Texas | |
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ABC 4 News Originally broadcast October 18, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Attorneys for Warren Jeffs have filed motions that would keep the polygamist leader from being extradited to Texas. Jeffs' attorneys filed the motions in West Jordan's Third District Court on Friday, October 8, 2010, arguing that their client should not be extradited to Texas "...until after all pending prosecution in Utah is resolved." Jeffs was convicted in 2007 of rape as an accomplice for allegedly arranging and performing a wedding between then 14-year-old Elissa Wall and her 19-year-old cousin Allen Steed. That conviction was overturned this year by the Utah Supreme Court and remanded for re-trail because of an erroneous jury instruction. Jeffs faces bigamy and sexual assault charges in Texas, stemming from a raid on the FLDS Yearning For Zion Ranch near El Dorado in 2007. CLICK HERE TO READ THE COURT DOCUMENT Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed an order of extradition to Texas on August 10. According to Jeffs' attorneys, the prophet and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) has a right to bail unless the state of Utah can show cause as to why they should hold him in custody. Jeffs' attorneys also argued that any Utah case against their client has been weakened by the overturned conviction and the erosion of credibility of the state's key witness, Elissa Wall. Jeffs' attorneys also claim that a new Utah conviction against the FLDS leader was unlikely. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs wants to stay in Utah | |
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Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published November 15, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY A Utah judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday on a petition from polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs to quash an extradition agreement signed by the governors of Utah and Texas. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages. Jeffs is wanted in Texas on charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges allegedly involving underage girls at a church ranch near Eldorado. The charges stem from information gleaned from church and family records seized during a raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in April 2008. Jeffs' attorneys say he should not go to Texas until his Utah cases are resolved. In July, the Utah Supreme Court overturned Jeffs' 2007 convictions on accomplice rape charges, but Jeffs remains in state prison while authorities decide whether to retry him. A hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. Monday in 3rd District Court before Judge Terry Christiansen. In court papers, Jeffs' attorneys have argued that the church leader could be fighting charges in Texas for years, jeopardizing his ability to participate in his Utah defense. They contend that the witnesses and documents could be difficult to relocate and memories could fade while Texas pursues its case. "They seek to procrastinate the resolution of Mr. Jeffs' long-standing Utah case indefinitely, while Texas, which has not even begun its prosecution, can start from scratch in yet another governmental attempt to remove the FLDS prophet from the public sphere," attorneys Walter Bugden and Tara Isaacson wrote in court filings. Read more | |
| Judge Orders FLDS Leader Extradited to Texas | |
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by Morgan Skinner KCSG News KCSG Television Originally published November 15, 2010 | |
| (West Jordan, UT) - Third District Judge Terry Christiansen ordered FLDS leader Warren Jeffs extradited to Texas Monday. Attorneys for Jeffs had claimed that sending Jeffs to Texas violated his right to a speedy retrial in Utah as an accomplice to rape. Judge Christiansen ruled that once a governor signs an extradition order, the court can only determine whether the documents are in order. The judge said he didn't believe it proper for his court to substitute judgment for that of the governor. Jeffs' attorneys appealed the ruling. (Notice of Appeal) The Utah Court of Appeals has issued a stay in the appeal filed by Warren Steed Jeffs. The state's attorneys have until Wednesday, November 17 at 5:00PM to issue a response. The Court of Appeals will then consider the 8A petition for extraordinary relief and either grant or deny the request. If it is granted, the case will move forward in the Court of Appeals. If it is denied, the extradition will proceed. (Stay Order) The 54-year old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) was in court Monday. Jeffs was previously convicted in southern Utah as an accomplice to rape of a 14-year old girl, a member of his congregation that Jeffs' married spiritually to her 19-year old cousin. The conviction was over turned by the Utah Supreme Court in July citing flawed instructions to the jury. Prosecutors in Washington County where he was tried and convicted have not determined whether they will re-try Jeffs. Read more | |
| Appeals court halts extradition of polygamist leader | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN International Originally published November 15, 2010 | |
| (CNN) -- The Utah Court of Appeals said that polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' extradition to Texas has been halted while the court considers his appeal of the extradition order, documents showed Monday. The Utah Supreme Court in July overturned Jeffs' conviction on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, saying instructions given to jurors were erroneous. Jeffs was accused of using his religious influence over his followers to coerce a 14-year-old girl into marrying her 19-year-old cousin. He was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms of five years to life. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert in August signed an extradition warrant at the urging of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. In Texas, Jeffs faces a felony charge of sexual assault of a child, as well as charges of sexual assault and bigamy, according to the warrant. If convicted, he could face a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. Jeffs' attorneys filed the motion for a stay last month, saying Utah "is punting, using the [Uniform Criminal Extradition Act] as an offensive line to protect its weakened prosecution, buying time until it can figure out what to do next in its now frantic effort to defeat Mr. Jeffs and the unpopular religion he represents." The defense argued the Interstate Agreement on Detainers -- a federal law under which a state can obtain custody of a person even if the person is already incarcerated in another state -- no longer applies to Jeffs, as his status changed with the Utah Supreme Court's ruling. Jeffs is now presumed innocent of all charges against him, defense attorneys claim, and extraditing him to Texas would violate his constitutional rights. The court stayed the extradition until it can decide on Jeffs' appeal of the extradition order, requiring a response from the state by close of business Wednesday. Read more | |
| Judge rejects petition to block Jeffs extradition | |
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By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press writer KSL 5 TV Originally published November 15, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Court of Appeals said Monday it will consider a petition to block polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' extradition to Texas to face charges of sexual assault and bigamy. The ruling came only a few hours after a state judge rejected the request, saying he had no authority to decide the issue or to overrule the Utah governor's decision to sign an extradition agreement with Texas. Gov. Gary Herbert signed the executive agreement with Texas Gov. Rick Perry in August. Before that, Jeffs had twice refused to sign papers voluntarily agreeing to his extradition. "I don't believe it's proper for this court to substitute its judgment for that of the governor," 3rd District Judge Terry Christansen said. Now the appeals court will determine whether Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, should be allowed to stay in Utah to resolve a long-running pending criminal case before being sent to Texas. In a statement, defense attorneys Walter Bugden and Tara Isaacson said they were gratified by the appeals court's quick attention to the case. "After 50 months of incarceration, Mr. Jeffs is entitled to a speedy trial here in Utah," the attorneys wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Before he is shuttled to Texas, we would like finality in the Utah prosecution, with either dismissal or a retrial." Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| State argues that Jeffs should be extradited because Gov signed order | |
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By Emiley Morgan and the Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY According to attorneys for the State of Utah, it's as simple as this: Warren Jeffs should go to Texas because an extradition warrant has been signed by the governor. The state filed its response to polygamist leader Jeffs' petition for emergency relief that would halt his extradition to Texas for criminal prosecution Wednesday. In the response filed by assistant attorney general Craig Barlow, it is argued that Jeffs should be extradited because Gov. Gary Herbert has signed an executive agreement authorizing Jeffs' extradition and a reversal of the order would require the Utah Court of Appeals to "turn its back on a rich history of extradition law." Barlow also argues that Jeffs meets all the criteria of extradition, that a state judge has already rejected Jeffs claim and did so correctly and that this request may exceed the limits of what role the judicial system can play when an extradition warrant is in place. The Utah Court of Appeals said Monday it would consider Jeffs' petition just hours after a state judge rejected the request, saying he had no authority to decide the issue or to overrule the Utah governor's decision. The appeals court will determine whether Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, will, in fact, be extradited to Texas or if he will remain in Utah to resolve a long-running pending criminal case. Read more | |
| Utah Supreme Court Gets Warren Jeffs Extradition Case | |
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By Nancy Volmer, Contributor KCSG TV - St. George, Utah Originally published November 17, 2010 | |
| (Salt Lake City, UT) - In the matter of the Extradition of Warren Steed Jeffs, the Utah Court of Appeals has certified the case to be transferred to the Utah Supreme Court for determination. Court order The state's response, a Memorandum in Opposition to Jeffs' petition for emergency relief was filed Wednesday as required. The Utah Supreme Court will now review the matter and determine how to proceed. Attorneys for Jeffs had claimed that sending Jeffs to Texas violates his right to a speedy retrial in Utah as an accomplice to rape. The 54-year old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) was previously convicted in southern Utah as an accomplice to rape of a 14-year old girl, a member of his congregation that Jeffs' married spiritually to her 19-year old cousin. The conviction was over turned by the Utah Supreme Court in July citing flawed instructions to the jury. Prosecutors in Washington County where he was tried and convicted have not determined whether they will re-try Jeffs. Read more | |
| State: Jeffs should be extradited because Gov signed order | |
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By ksl.com KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast November 18, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY According to attorneys for the State of Utah, it's as simple as this: Warren Jeffs should go to Texas because an extradition warrant has been signed by the governor. The state filed its response to polygamist leader Jeffs' petition for emergency relief that would halt his extradition to Texas for criminal prosecution Wednesday. In the response filed by Assistant Attorney General Craig Barlow, it is argued that Jeffs should be extradited because Gov. Gary Herbert has signed an executive agreement authorizing Jeffs' extradition and a reversal of the order would require the Utah Court of Appeals to "turn its back on a rich history of extradition law." Barlow also argues that Jeffs meets all the criteria of extradition, that a state judge has already rejected Jeffs claim and did so correctly and that this request may exceed the limits of what role the judicial system can play when an extradition warrant is in place. The Utah Court of Appeals said Monday it would consider Jeffs' petition just hours after a state judge rejected the request, saying he had no authority to decide the issue or to overrule the Utah governor's decision. The appeals court will determine whether Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, will, in fact, be extradited to Texas or if he will remain in Utah to resolve a long-running pending criminal case. Jeffs, 54, is currently incarcerated at the Utah State Prison. He has been held there since he was arrested, prosecuted and convicted on two charges of rape as an accomplice for his role in marrying a 14-year-old FLDS follower to her 19-year-old cousin a time totaling 50 months. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Utah Supreme Court to decide on Jeffs' appeal | |
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Kevin Jenkins The Spectrum Originally published November 19, 2010 | |
| ST. GEORGE - Polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs' appeal of a Texas extradition order will be decided by the Utah Supreme Court following a vote by at least four judges of the Utah Court of Appeals, the court announced Wednesday. Gov. Gary Herbert signed an extradition warrant in August turning Jeffs over to the custody of Texas law enforcement officials for trial on charges in that state, but Jeffs' attorney, Walter Bugden, has vowed to fight the extradition. Bugden is seeking Jeffs' rights to a speedy trial in Utah following the high court's decision to overturn his client's 2007 conviction in St. George on two charges of accomplice to a rape. The charges stem from a marriage Jeffs, the president of the polygamous-leaning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints based in Hildale and Colorado City, performed between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin in 2001. A separate trial on the rape charge, in which the girl's then-husband is the suspect, has yet to be decided in St. George's 5th District Court. She has since remarried and written about her experiences as a member of the church community. Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court Judge Terry Christiansen ordered Jeffs to comply with the extradition order on sexual assault and bigamy charges Monday, but the defense appealed the decision and the extradition was halted. In Court of Appeals documents filed Wednesday by the Attorney General's Office, the prosecution argues the legal groundwork for extradition exists and Jeffs' reasons for opposing extradition are irrelevant. Read more | |
| Utah Supreme Court to decide Jeffs' extradition appeal | |
| Polygamous sect leader seeks to block extradition to Texas | |
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By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Supreme Court will consider a petition to block polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' extradition to Texas to face charges of bigamy and sexual assault. Jeffs, 54, is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. In court papers, defense attorneys argue that sending Jeffs to Texas before a long-running criminal case is resolved denies him the right to a speedy trial. They also objected to the conditions of an extradition agreement signed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Texas Gov. Rick Perry that would deny Jeffs bail in Texas. Third District Judge Terry Christiansen denied the petition on Monday, saying he lacked the authority to overrule an extradition order approved and signed by the governor. The state Court of Appeals issued a stay of the extradition the same day and the case was transferred to the Utah Supreme Court on Wednesday. It's not clear whether justices will hear oral arguments in the case. The Utah attorney general's office contends Jeffs has no legal grounds to argue against extradition. In a response filed with the appeals court, the state prosecutors said extradition is a "power explicitly granted to the executive branch," and can't be decided by a judge. Prosecutors also said the question of bail is moot because the laws that govern extradition agreements permit judges in the "demanding state" in this case Texas to set or deny bail Read more | |
| Utah Supreme Court Tries to Block Jeffs' Extradition to Texas | |
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MyFox Phoenix KSAZ FOX 10 Originally broadcast Monday, 22 Nov 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Supreme Court is in the spotlight as they try to block polygamist leader Warren Jeffs' extradition back to Texas. Jeffs' lawyers argue that sending him to Texas before his long-running criminal case in Utah is over violates his right to a speedy trial. They also object to the conditions of the extradition agreement, which denies Jeffs' bail in Texas. In Utah, Jeffs is facing a retrial for an overturned 2007 conviction of arranging a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He's also been charged in Texas with similar cases. | |
| Utah Supreme Court denies Jeffs appeal; extradition to move forward | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker Contributor: Dan Metcalf Jr. ABC 4 News Originally broadcast November 23, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Attempts to stop the extradition of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs have failed. On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court cleared the way for his removal to Texas. After months of arguments beginning in 3rd District Court and piles of legal briefs, the Supreme Court's order was short: "The Petition is denied, the stay previously imposed by the Court of Appeals is lifted, and the appeal is dismissed." That order means Texas Rangers can pick up Jeffs from the Utah State Prison at Point of the Mountain and take him to Schleicher County, Texas to stand trial. Jeffs is charged with aggravated sexual assault and bigamy for allegedly marrying an underage girl on the FLDS ranch outside of El Dorado, Texas. Sources close to Texas prosecutors tell ABC 4 that Jeffs will be transported by aircraft and that a medical team will accompany him. Since Jeffs' capture more than three years ago, his health has deteriorated. He has gone on frequent hunger strikes and has had to be force-fed through a tube. Washington County authorities even said he tried to commit suicide while in the Purgatory Jail. Still unresolved is Utah's case against Warren Jeffs. In 2007, Jeffs was convicted by a jury in St. George on two counts of accomplice to rape. But last summer the Utah Supreme Court overturned that conviction saying an instruction to jurors was in error. The court ordered a new trial. Since then, state's attorneys have asked for a rehearing before the Supreme Court on the matter to "clarify" the ruling. Attorneys have said they will not decide whether to retry Jeffs on the Utah charges until after that hearing. Despite his legal troubles, Jeffs remains the prophet leader of the largest polygamist group in North America. Stay tuned to ABC 4 News and ABC4.com for more on this story. | |
| Utah Supreme Court denies Warren Jeffs' petition to halt extradition | |
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By Emiley Morgan Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010 | |
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SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Supreme Court denied a petition for emergency relief Tuesday from polygamous leader Warren Jeffs, which means he'll be sent to Texas where he faces a number of criminal charges there. Though an extradition agreement was signed by both Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Texas Gov. Rick Perry earlier this year, Jeff's defense attorneys tried to prevent the extradition on the grounds that sending Jeffs to Texas before the pending criminal case in Utah is resolved is a denial of his right to a speedy trial. They had filed a petition for emergency relief with the Utah Court of Appeals, which indicated it would hear the case and stayed the extradition pending their decision. Soon after, the case was transferred to the Utah Supreme Court, which dismissed the request and the Utah Court of Appeals' stay in a brief, two-line statement. "The petition is denied, the stay previously imposed by the Court of Appeals is lifted and the appeal is dismissed," the order states. Jeffs, the leader of the Utah-based Fundamentalist LDS Church, is currently incarcerated at the Utah State Prison. He has been held there for the past 50 months since he was arrested, prosecuted and convicted on two charges of rape as an accomplice for his role in marrying a 14-year-old FLDS follower to her 19-year-old cousin. The Utah Supreme Court overturned the 2007 convictions in June and sent the case back to the 5th District Court in St. George. Utah prosecutors have yet to decide whether they'll retry Jeffs, 54. In Texas, Jeffs faces charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges for incidents involving underage girls at the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. The charges stem from information gleaned from church and family records seized during a raid in April 2008.
e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com TWITTER: DNewsCrimeTeam See photo | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Utah high court: Polygamist leader Jeffs can go to Texas | |
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BY BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published November 24, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Supreme Court said Tuesday it won't block polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' extradition to Texas for trial on bigamy and sexual assault charges. The court denied Jeffs' appeal and lifted a stay a lower court had imposed last week keeping him in Utah. Jeffs, 54, is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Southern Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have involved underage girls. In court papers, defense attorneys argued that sending Jeffs to Texas before a long-running criminal case in Utah is resolved denies him the right to a speedy trial. Jeffs' lawyers also objected to the conditions of an extradition agreement signed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Texas Gov. Rick Perry that would deny Jeffs bail in Texas. The Utah attorney general's office contended that Jeffs had no legal grounds to argue against extradition. In a response filed with the appeals court, the state prosecutors said extradition is a "power explicitly granted to the executive branch" and can't be decided by a judge. Prosecutors also said the question of bail is moot because the laws that govern extradition agreements permit judges in the "demanding state" in this case Texas to set or deny bail. Texas authorities have charged Jeffs with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault for alleged spiritual marriages of underage girls at a church ranch near Eldorado. The charges stem from evidence gathered during a raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008. Read more | |
| Utah clears polygamist's Texas extradition | |
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U.S. News UPI - United Press International Originally published Nov. 24, 2010 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs can be extradited to Texas on sex charges, the Utah Supreme Court has decided. The justices denied a petition for emergency relief by Jeffs's attorneys Tuesday and lifted a stay of extradition from a lower court, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Jeffs probably will be moved after the Thanksgiving holiday, state Assistant Attorney General Craig Barlow said. Jeffs's attorneys had argued extradition would violate his right to a speedy retrial in Utah on accomplice-to-rape charges. Jeffs was convicted in 2007 but the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Lower court Judge Terry Christiansen sided with the state, ruling only the governor can approve or deny an extradition in most cases. There is a plane poised to take Jeffs to Texas, but prosecutors there aren't planning to "whisk Mr. Jeffs away under cover of darkness," Barlow said. "My impression was they did not plan to take any kind of extraordinary measures to come to Utah and take him into custody forthwith." Jeffs has been imprisoned since his 2006 arrest as an accomplice to rape for presiding over a marriage between an unwilling 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. See photo | |
| Utah Supreme Court orders polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs to Texas for trial | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Originally published November 24th, 2010 | |
| In a decision issued Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that FLDS polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs can be extradited to Texas to stand trial for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy charges. The nation's headlines were dominated by the story of Warren Jeffs arrest in 2008 by Texas law enforcement authorities after they raided the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. More than 400 children were taken into custody by Child Protective Services officials during the raid. Texas Rangers gathered evidence during the surprise raid which will be used against America's most famous polygamist in his trial. Charges are based on an alleged celestial marriage between Jeffs and a 12-year old girl, and a baby that Jeffs allegedly fathered with another underage girl. Jeffs, 54, was allegedly acting under his authority as ecclesiastical leader of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. While Texas officials are eager in getting Jeffs back to the Lone Star State to face justice, they are not going to rush the procedure unreasonably. Although a plane is reportedly standing by to whisk the poster boy for polygamists out of Utah and into Texas, a blizzard which blanketed Utah Tuesday evening will delay travel plans. Law enforcement officials in both Texas and Utah estimated the top polygamist will probably not be transported to Texas until after the Thanksgiving holiday. Although this decision was not unexpected, it certainly ended a long winning streak which had raised the hopes of Jeffs' followers that he might walk out of the Utah prison a free man. Read more | |
| Read the Texas Attorney General's Press Release announcing Warren Jeffs brought to Texas to stand trial on felony sexual assault of a child charges, dated December 1, 2010 | |
| Polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs extradited from Utah to Texas to face trial | |
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By Paul J. Weber Associated Press Writer KTVK - Phoenix Originally published December 1, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been extradited from Utah to Texas to face trial on bigamy and sexual assault charges, the Texas Attorney General's Office said Wednesday. Jeffs, who is being held without bail in Texas, is set to make a court appearance Wednesday morning in San Angelo. Texas authorities have charged the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault. Attorney General's Office spokesman Jerry Strickland said the 54-year-old Jeffs arrived Tuesday night at a West Texas jail, but declined to specify where he is being held. Jeffs' Southern Utah-based church practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have involved underage girls. Strickland said a Texas Ranger and an officer from the Attorney General's Office went to Utah to pick up Jeffs and flew with him back to Texas. At Wednesday's hearing, Jeffs was expected to have his rights and charges read to him, but was not expected to enter a plea, Strickland said. The Utah Supreme Court on Nov. 23 ruled it would not block the transfer of Jeffs to Texas. In court papers, defense attorneys had argued that sending Jeffs to Texas before a long-running criminal case in Utah is resolved denies him the right to a speedy trial. Jeffs' lawyers also objected to the conditions of an extradition agreement signed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Texas Gov. Rick Perry that would deny Jeffs bail in Texas. The Utah Attorney General's Office contended that Jeffs had no legal grounds to argue against extradition. Read more | |
| Mike Watkiss Reports | |
| Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs extradited to Texas | |
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By Dennis Romboy Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 | |
| DRAPER Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has been extradited to Texas. Utah State Prison personnel took Jeffs to the Salt Lake City International Airport early Tuesday evening. Representatives from Texas then transported him from Utah by airplane just prior to 4 p.m. The Utah Department of Corrections has received confirmation that Jeffs landed in Texas late Tuesday night, according to prison spokesman Steve Gehrke. In Texas, Jeffs faces charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges for incidents involving underage girls at the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. The charges stem from information gleaned from church and family records seized during a raid in April 2008. See photo | |
| Jeffs moved to Texas for trial | |
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By Kiah Collier San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 1, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, leader of a polygamist sect of fundamentalist Mormons, was arraigned in a Tom Green County District Court in San Angelo Wednesday morning. Jeffs, who is being held in the Reagan County Jail in Big Lake without bail, will return for a pretrial on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. During the 15-minute arraignment, Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st District Court read Jeffs his rights, announced and explained the three charges he faces and showed him copies of the indictments. Walther asked Jeffs, who does not yet have an attorney, whether he wanted her to appoint one to him. "I need more time," Jeffs said. Angela Goodwin, a prosecutor with the Texas Attorney General's office, was present at the arraignment. Jeffs was extradited from Utah to Texas Tuesday night where he will stand trial, according to a Wednesday news release from the Texas Attorney General's office. The release says Jeffs was taken into custody in Utah earlier Tuesday and is being held without bail. Jeffs is being charged with two counts of felony sexual assault as well as felony bigamy. The Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, the polygamist sect Jeffs is part of, was founded in Southern Utah. In 2004, Jeffs founded the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado for his followers. The ranch was later raided in 2008 after a phone call alleging abuse. About 400 children were taken into custody during the raid based on allegations they were being forced into underage marriages and sexually abused. To date, all of the seized children have been returned to their parents. Court clerks in San Angelo said they added Jeffs' arraignment to the docket early Wednesday morning and didn't know anything about it until today. Peggy Williams, district clerk for Schleicher County, said that she found out late last night that Jeffs would be transferred to San Angelo. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs was arraigned in a Tom Green County District Court in San Angelo, Texas on December 1, 2010. Jeffs is being held in the Reagan County Jail in Big Lake, Texas without bail. | |
| FLDS: Infamous inmate big news in small town | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 1, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas There was one common reaction in Big Lake about the presence of Warren Jeffs in the county jail: surprise. "I could not believe he is in this little bitty town," Kashia Craig, a part-owner of a gift shop in Big Lake, said. Jeffs, the leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was brought from Utah to Texas by air Tuesday night and surreptitiously moved to the Reagan County Jail, where he spent the night before being arraigned in 51st District Court in Tom Green County on Wednesday. After the arraignment, he was moved back to Big Lake. Jeffs is to stand trial on three first-degree felony charges. Craig said she was from Dallas originally and she wouldn't have thought a figure that had attracted national news attention would be in her new hometown. She said it slightly bothered her that someone accused of sexual assault of a child would be in a town where she had children, although she said Jeffs should be innocent until proven guilty. "If it's true," Craig said about the allegations against Jeffs, "then I hope he gets justice." Jeffs is charged with sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault and felony bigamy. Raymond Gary, Craig's father, said at the store that he was skeptical about Jeffs' chances of getting justice. "You can get away with anything with a good lawyer," Gary, a retired Baptist minister, said. "He just needs to know the Lord." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs jailed in Big Lake (Reagan County, Texas) Published Dec. 1, 2010 | |
| FLDS: Sect leader in Texas | |
| Jeffs arraigned on three felony charges | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 1, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, walked into the Tom Green County courthouse for an arraignment with a gray sweater tucked into the chains that surrounded his waist, covering the top of the bright orange jumpsuit. He spoke so softly, presiding Judge Barbara Walther asked to have a microphone moved more closely to him. "I need more time," Jeffs said when asked by the judge whether he had a lawyer or whether he wanted one appointed for him. Walther, the 51st District judge, had explained to Jeffs his right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney for the three charges facing him: sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and bigamy, all of them first-degree felonies. A first-degree felony is punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. "Do you understand?" Walther asked of Jeffs in the 15-minute arraignment that started at 11 a.m. "Yes," Jeffs said. The arraignment ended with Jeffs still holding onto a paper he was called to sign. In the absence of a lawyer, he did not sign it. The paper outlined the general process that the court has to ensure a speedy trial, and a signature was required only to affirm that Walther had given the paper to him in open court, but she allowed him to leave it unsigned until he had the opportunity to have an attorney examine the paper. Jeffs was brought into the courthouse guarded by Texas Rangers and Tom Green County Sheriff's deputies. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs arraigned in Texas on sex charges | |
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By ksl.com KSL 5 TV Originally published December 1st, 2010 | |
| SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been arraigned in Texas after being quietly extradited from Utah to face trial on bigamy and sexual assault charges. Jeffs was in a West Texas courtroom Wednesday for the hearing. Jeffs faces charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges for incidents involving underage girls at the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. The charges stem from information gleaned from church and family records seized during a raid in April 2008. The Texas Attorney General's Office says Jeffs wasn't asked to enter a plea and told the judge he needed time to find a lawyer. Jeffs is being held without bond at a jail outside San Angelo in West Texas. During the hearing, District Judge Barbara Walther read Jeffs the indictment and asked if he understood the charges. He declined to sign a scheduling order that laid out the dates of his court appearances, Strickland said. Strickland called the jail choice an issue of "security." He did not elaborate, but noted that prosecutors were not approaching the case differently because of Jeffs' high profile. "When you have sexual assault of a child, it doesn't matter who you are," Strickland said. The 54-year-old Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His first trial is scheduled for Jan. 24. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Polygamist sect leader returns to Texas to stand trial | |
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By Chance Welch Crime and Safety Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Wednesday, Dec. 01, 2010 | |
| Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is scheduled to be arraigned today in a San Angelo courtroom on charges that he sexually assaulted a child. Jeffs, leader of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), was extradited from Utah Tuesday night to a west Texas jail, according to a statement by the Texas Attorney General's Office. He is being held without bail and faces two charges of sexual assault of a child and a bigamy charge, according to the release. He is set to appear today in the Tom Green County Court in San Angelo for his arraignment, according to court administrators. The two sexual assault charges stem from a January 2005 incident with a child who was younger than 17 years old and an August 2006 incident with a child younger than 14 years old, according to the indictment. The bigamy charge is from a July 2006 incident for marrying a child younger than 16 years of age while still married to another woman. In Utah, Jeffs was convicted in September 2007 of two counts of rape in connection with conducting the marriage of a 14-year old girl, but the conviction was overturned in July by the Utah Supreme Court. Utah governor Gary Herbert signed an extradition order to Texas in August. Jeffs appealed the order and the Utah Court of Appeals halted the extradition and it to the Utah Supreme Court, which ruled on Nov. 23 that it would not block the transfer to Texas. See photo | |
| Warren Jeffs Moved to Texas to Face Trial | |
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By Megan Fox The News Portal Online Originally published Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | |
| Warren Jeffs, a radical leader of a Mormon Church sect has been extradited to Texas to face charges of felony bigamy, sexual assault and assault. The self-proclaimed profit is facing the array of charges stemming from his teachings about maintaining several wives, arranged marriages and sex with underage girls. The case against Jeffs has gained national attention as the problems of religious freedom will certainly come into question. The federal authorities have been investigating Jeffs for several years. He runs a radical sect of the Latter Day Saints church. The Mormon church has largely disavowed multiple marriages but there are still several outside groups that practice the arranged marriages and bigamy that was once a massive part of the religion. Jeffs runs the largest of those groups in the state of Utah. However, the case against Jeffs will be extremely difficult to prove. His lawyers are already planning for a defense that includes religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Furthermore, witnesses are hard to come by. Jeffs literally has thousands of followers who are all planning to be in attendance for his trial to show support for their leader. It is likely, according to legal experts, that the charges of bigamy will be dropped at some point. The prosecution is likely to stick to the charges of sexual assault and also the arranged marriages of underage girls. These are the most damning of all the charges that have been brought against the religious leader. See photo | |
| Polygamist Sect Leader Extradited to Texas for Trial | |
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By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. The New York Times Originally published Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | |
| HOUSTON -- Warren S. Jeffs, the jailed leader of a polygamous sect of Mormons, was transferred Tuesday to West Texas to stand trial on charges of bigamy and sexual assault after fighting extradition from Utah for two years. Prosecutors say Mr. Jeffs had sex with under-age girls among his followers after ceremonies in which he took them as "spiritual" wives at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Tex. Mr. Jeffs founded the ranch in 2004 as a community for his followers, who practiced polygamy there and arranged marriages between under-age girls and male elders, according to testimony. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Jeffs was arraigned in San Angelo on two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of bigamy. The indictments said one of the victims was 14 years old when she was assaulted in 2006. The judge sent Mr. Jeffs to a jail in Big Lake, Tex., to await trial. The state raided the ranch in 2008 and gathered evidence that has led to the convictions of seven other men in the sect on similar charges. About 400 children were initially taken into state custody in the raid, but they were later ordered returned to their parents because there was no evidence they had been abused. Read more | |
| Thursday chat: Ready for another FLDS media circus? | |
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By Rick Smith San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 2, 2010 | |
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Is the FLDS saga old news in San Angelo?
Or will the Warren Jeffs trial attract another worldwide media circus like the first hearings did? Are you still interested in the long-running story or just ready for it all to hurry up and end? | |
| FLDS: Jeffs a challenge for his jailers | |
| Arizona sheriff says Jeffs was highest-maintenance prisoner | |
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Dave Hawkins Special to the Standard-Times San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 2, 2010 | |
| KINGMAN, Ariz. Texas can expect numerous challenges and a drain of taxpayer funded resources associated with the incarceration and prosecution of polygamous church sect prophet Warren Jeffs, 55. That's what officials in northwest Arizona indicate after holding Jeffs in the Mohave County jail in downtown Kingman for nearly 27 months. Jeffs was extradited to Texas from Utah Tuesday and is housed in the county jail at Big Lake. He was arraigned Wednesday and has a pretrial hearing scheduled Dec. 8. "He was very costly to incarcerate and house," said Mohave County, Ariz., Sheriff Tom Sheahan. "He went on these self-imposed hunger strikes, which forced us to force feed him through tubes. It was a big drain on our staff, a big drain on our medical provider, and he was just a problem inmate from day one." Jeffs was booked into jail in Kingman February 26, 2008, and was released June 15, 2010, after local charges were dismissed. The devout loyalty of Jeffs' followers and their strenuous belief that he was unjustly jailed magnified external security concerns, according to Jail Director Bruce Brown. More than a dozen officers worked a special detail each time Jeffs was transported from jail to the courthouse, about 100 yards away. Personnel would block the street, remove civilians and drive Jeffs from the jail salley port directly to the entry door at the courthouse. Extra officers patrolled streets around the courthouse during Jeffs' hearings, and at least a half-dozen officers were always present in the courtroom. Inside the jail, Jeffs required isolation, both for medical monitoring and for his own protection. "We had to keep him segregated from the inmate population because there's certain members inside our general population that would not have allowed him to exist in safety very long," Brown said. Read more | |
| FLDS leader Jeffs faces unbeaten Texas prosecutors | |
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By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published December 2, 2010 | |
| BIG LAKE, Texas Extradited to Texas two years after being indicted, polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs will be facing Texas prosecutors who haven't lost a criminal case against his followers since the 2008 raid of his Yearning for Zion ranch. In the rural courts near the YFZ ranch where Jeffs is considered a prophet, his followers have been reliably convicted by juries that barely deliberate two hours. Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was quietly extradited to Texas this week from Utah. He remained jailed Thursday, charged with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault. The 2008 raid swept more than 400 children into protective custody, and left a dozen men in the church facing charges that include sexual assault and bigamy. Seven of Jeffs' followers have been prosecuted since last year, and all were convicted. Only in one case have jurors deliberated more than two hours. The sentences have ranged from six to 75 years. "The evidence has been clear and convincing to juries," said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's office that is prosecuting the cases against FLDS members. Now it will be Jeffs' turn. He is scheduled for trial Jan. 24 on the aggravated sexual assault charge. Prosecutors plan to try him separately on the other charges. Strickland said prosecutors don't see Jeffs as the marquee defendant in their case. "Our interest in Warren Jeffs focuses on the crimes he's accused of committing, and we'll treat his cases just as we've treated the other defendants," Strickland said. Read more | |
| Jeffs marks 55th birthday, in jail | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 3, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, whom many members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints consider to be their leader, marked his 55th birthday Friday. He spent the day, as he has spent many other birthdays, in a jail cell, this time in the Reagan County Jail in Big Lake. "There won't be any cake," Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner said Friday morning. Jeffs was booked into the jail Tuesday night after being surreptitiously extradited from Utah to stand trial in Texas on charges of child sexual assault, felony bigamy and aggravated sexual assault, all first-degree felonies. Birthday or not, sheriff's department staff said, a nutritionist sets out the meals for inmates on a regular weekly schedule, as laid out in Texas jail standards. Garner pointed to a large brown book of jail regulations at the top of a shelf in a corner of his office and said, "That's our Bible." The same jail regulations spell out the rules on visitors. In Reagan County's case, visitation occurs from 1 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays; visitors have half an hour with the inmate if they are from the surrounding area, or an hour if they are from far away. Garner said Jeffs has had a couple of visitors since he was incarcerated Tuesday. "I don't think they were attorneys," Garner said. Sheriff staff said they could not release information about the visitors as it is confidential. Inmates may make a list of up to 10 people who they want to visit them. Read more | |
| FLDS: Three pay visit to Jeffs in jail | |
| People said they are friends of the family | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 4, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, may have a cell to himself at the jail in Big Lake where he awaits prosecution for alleged sexual assaults and bigamy, but it doesn't leave him completely alone. He has had visitors. On Saturday, three people came to see Jeffs for about an hour. "We're just friends of the family," said one man who identified himself and the two prairie dress-wearing women who accompanied him as FLDS members. The visitors declined to say whether they were from the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in Schleicher County, and the man said he didn't want to reveal what he spoke of with Jeffs. "They would use that information against us," the man said. Jeffs' visitors waited silently for admission to the visitation room, along with visitors waiting to see other prisoners, against the backdrop of the hum of the air conditioner. On occasion the two young women exchanged knowing smiles. The FLDS man said he had gone to see Jeffs on Wednesday, the day after Jeffs was extradited from Utah to Texas. "He is doing well," the man said. Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner said people who come from more than 100 miles away can have up to an hour of visitation time; otherwise they get 30 minutes. "We're putting the monkey on the inmates' back," Garner said about having jail inmates coordinate their own visitations. Garner said each prisoner is allowed to make a list of up to 10 people whom they can allow visitation as long as the people on the list meet a variety of criteria, such as not having been recently released from prison. Read more | |
| OUR OPINION: New chapter in FLDS saga | |
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San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 4, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas It wasn't so long ago only about seven years that few Concho Valley residents had heard of an obscure religious sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that practiced polygamy and whose members dressed as if it were the 1800s. Then word came of a compound and temple being built on land near Eldorado, then came a raid by law enforcement on the Yearning for Zion Ranch that resulted in the removal of more than 400 children, and over the past year several FLDS members have been convicted of sexual assault on underage girls. And last week the story advanced even further, with the arrival of Warren Jeffs, the man many members of the 10,000-member sect still regard as the "prophet." The president of the FLDS from 2002 until his conviction in 2007 for arranging marriages between adult men in his church and young girls, as well as other charges, Jeffs for a time was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. His appearance at the Tom Green County Courthouse on Wednesday was surprising only in its suddenness. It had been known since his conviction in Utah was overturned earlier this year, and after his attempts to fight extradition to Texas were unsuccessful, that he would come here to stand trial for his own alleged "celestial marriage" to a young girl. Jeffs is being held in Big Lake, 65 miles west of San Angelo, surely a surreal arrangement both for him and for his jailers. It puts the Reagan County community in the national media spotlight perhaps unlike any time since Santa Rita No. 1 began gushing oil nearby nearly 90 years ago. Read more | |
| FLDS: Question of counsel to be addressed at Jeffs' hearing | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 7, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Legal representation for Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, may be the main issue to be decided today at a pretrial hearing scheduled to start at 9 a.m. in the Tom Green County courthouse. Jeffs faces charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. All three charges are first-degree felonies, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Jeffs was being held without bond in the Reagan County Jail in Big Lake. Staff of the 51st District Court clerk's office said today's hearing may bear more resemblance to a second appearance than to a hearing because nothing had been filed as of Tuesday to indicate Jeffs has an attorney. Jeffs' first appearance was an arraignment Dec. 1, the day after he arrived in Texas after being extradited from Utah. According to extradition laws, Texas has 120 days to finish prosecuting Jeffs, said Mary Ann Gonzalez, deputy clerk for Schleicher County. It took the state considerable time and legal effort to get Jeffs into a Texas court. This summer Arizona, to speed the extradition process, dropped four charges alleging that Jeffs had been an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor, and then Utah's 2007 conviction against Jeffs for accomplice to rape was overturned after the state supreme court ruled that the judge had given inappropriate legal instructions to a jury. Jeffs fought the extradition, saying that he had the right to a speedy trial in Utah, but governors signed extradition orders, and the Utah courts upheld them. When Jeffs was arraigned Dec. 1, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther gave a schedule to Jeffs that she asked him to sign as an acknowledgment that he had been given the document in open court. Jeffs said he did not feel good about signing something without his attorney present, so he took it with him without signing it. Read more | |
| Polygamist sect leader Jeffs due in Texas court | |
| Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due back in a West Texas courtroom for his first pretrial hearing since being transferred from Utah. | |
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By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press Nation & World Seattle Times Originally published Wednesday, December 8, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due back in a West Texas courtroom for his first pretrial hearing since being transferred from Utah. Jeffs was scheduled to appear Wednesday in the San Angelo courtroom of state District Judge Barbara Walther. She has presided over the criminal cases stemming from the 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion ranch in nearby Eldorado. Jeffs is charged with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault. The 55-year-old was extradited to Texas last week and is being held without bail. Issues at the hearing could include the possibility of moving the case to a new venue. A court clerk said that as of Tuesday afternoon, Jeffs had not filed any motions since arriving in Texas. | |
| Jeffs' search for counsel continues | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 8, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The search for counsel continues for Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jeffs appeared in a pretrial hearing this morning in the company of Richard Wright, an attorney out of Las Vegas who has worked with Jeffs before, but who cannot represent Jeffs in Texas. "I would ask permission to continue addressing" Jeffs' need for an attorney, Wright said. "Absolutely Mr. Wright," said 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, who has presided over all of the criminal trials of FLDS members resulting from indictments out of Schleicher County. Wright said his client was waiving his right to "a speedy trial" so that Texas attorneys could have more time to prepare for a trial, specifically arguing that because Jeffs was extradited, the provision that says Jeffs must finish prosecution for charges within 120 days does not apply. "It has made it more difficult getting counsel with a trial date five or six weeks from now," Wright said. The date for the first trial, the one for aggravated sexual assault, is set for Jan. 24. Walther said she had no intention of changing the dates of the trials until Jeffs has an attorney ready to represent him for the trials. "Until he has counsel, these dates are set," Walther said. "I will not change these dates." The dates for the other trials are Feb. 21 for sexual assault and March 14 for bigamy. Walther argued that the indictments that came out in 2008 and the extradition process that began in June should have given Jeffs enough time to find an attorney in Texas. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs has trouble finding lawyer in Texas | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press KSL 5 TV Originally published December 8th, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- A West Texas court on Wednesday refused to rule on a request by polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs to delay his sexual assault trial so he could have more time to find an in-state attorney. The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asked that his Jan. 24 trial date be pushed back, but District Judge Barbara Walther said Jeffs had been given plenty of advance warning that his trial was approaching. Jeffs made headlines nationwide after a 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, a remote town south of San Angelo, where authorities seized more than 400 children and placed them in state custody. Officials suspect the girls were being sexually abused and that the boys were being raised to be sexual predators. Most of the children were eventually returned to their families, but seven men in the sect who see Jeffs as their spiritual leader were charged and eventually convicted of child sexual assault and abuse. Jeffs was convicted in Utah in a case stemming from the marriage of an underage girl to her cousin, but that conviction was overturned in 2007. Jeffs was extradited to Texas from Utah a week ago, and authorities here have charged him with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault. He is being held without bail and is expected to face the sexual assault charge first. The other charges will be addressed in subsequent trials. Jeffs, who was indicted more than two years ago, has so far been represented by Richard Wright, a prominent Las Vegas attorney. Wright told the court Wednesday that he has represented Jeffs for four years in Utah and Arizona, but that he can't in Texas. Wright said he has been helping locate a new lawyer but that many have declined because the trial is scheduled to start in only about six weeks. He said he has tried to reassure them that the trial would be pushed back by at least two weeks. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Polygamist leader Jeffs faces January bigamy trial | |
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By Ismael Istrada AC360° Producer CNN Originally broadcast December 8, 2010 | |
| San Angelo, Texas (CNN) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who calls himself a prophet, asked a judge on Wednesday to delay his bigamy trial so he can find a Texas lawyer. Jeffs, 55, leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the FLDS. The charges -- bigamy and sexual assault -- stem from an alleged spiritual marriage to a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs' Nevada-based attorney, Richard Wright, sought to delay the trial, which is to begin January 24. But Judge Barbara Walther denied that request, saying the church leader has long known about the charges in Texas and had plenty of time to seek counsel. Jeffs was handcuffed and his ankles were shackled as he was led into the three-story Tom Green County Court building. He was extradited last week from Utah. Prosecutors filed the charges two years ago, after authorities raided the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and removed more than 400 children. At the time, authorities said they feared the children were sexually abused. Most of the children were returned to their families at the ranch, but some of the men were charged with sexual abuse. Seven of 12 suspects connected to the ranch have been convicted of sexually assaulting children, according to the Texas Attorney General's Office. Summons demanding that several men appear in court are taped to the white gates of the ranch, where video and audio surveillance equipment records who enters and leaves. Outside the gates, FLDS member Bill Shapley, 71, said he firmly believes that Jeffs is a prophet and is being wrongly persecuted. "I've known him for many years," Shapley said. "I've never seen a flaw in him." Shapely, who says he has several wives, justified marriage to underage girls; he said a girl's emotional maturity matters more than her age. "God doesn't look at age as a criteria," he said. Read more | |
| Focus on polygamy | |
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Ventura County Star - Camarillo, CA Originally published December 13, 2010 | |
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Re: your Dec. 3 article, "Sect leader faces unbeaten team of prosecutors":
What is with all this obsession with the lunatic fringe? I thought the other Star newspaper covered that beat. As a real Latter-day Saint, I cannot see how Warren Jeffs and his Texas splinter group rate three half-page columns, plus a color photo in The Star. If you want to talk about Mormons, why not discuss the fact that our growth hasn't yet plateaued in the 120 years since we gave up polygamy? During this Christmas season, why not address something substantive like our premier publication, "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ?" This is the world's greatest literary anomaly and is primarily responsible for our being one of the nation's fastest growing churches. We have always stated that this testament belongs right alongside the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and yet The Star dodges it as if it had come out of a Chernobyl reactor. I know we're not popular in some circles, but I guarantee this type of article would rate three full-page columns and provide far more depth than the nutty Mr. Jeffs and his so-called fundamentalists ever did. - Joaquin Hernandez III, Thousand Oaks | |
| FLDS: Jeffs still without an attorney | |
| Sect leader says he'll have one next week | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 15, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning FLDS, still has not found an attorney to defend him against felony charges in Texas, although he spoke directly to the judge in a pretrial hearing to let her know he should have an attorney by next week. Jeffs is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy, all first-degree felonies punishable by five to 99 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Jeffs appeared in the Tom Green County courthouse Wednesday morning for a five-minute pretrial hearing. Richard Wright, a lawyer from Nevada who has worked before with Jeffs, has been helping him since Dec. 8 to find an attorney. Jeffs was extradited to Texas from Utah on Nov. 30. "I should have a decision next week," Jeffs told 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, speaking in a soft, strained voice and addressing the judge directly because she had sent Wright to the gallery. "Mr. Wright, has your application for temporary admission to the bar been approved yet?" Walther asked the lawyer. Wright said it had not, and Walther sent him to the gallery and from then on addressed Jeffs directly. Walther scheduled the next pretrial for Dec. 29. "Will the court arraign the defendant then?" said Eric Nichols, the prosecutor with the office of the Attorney General of Texas. Walther said the court would do so at that time. Read more | |
| Jeffs still without attorney as Texas trial nears | |
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By Associated Press KTAR - News/Talk 92.3 - Phoenix, AZ Originally published December 15, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is still without a Texas attorney with only weeks until his scheduled trial on charges of aggravated sexual assault. Jeffs on Wednesday told state District Judge Barbara Walther he "should have a decision" on a lawyer by next week. Richard Wright, a prominent Las Vegas attorney who has represented Jeffs in Arizona and Utah, was at the hearing but not allowed to participate because he is unlicensed in Texas. Wright said he expects Jeffs to have a lawyer by the end of the month. Wright has told the court that many Texas attorneys have declined to take the case with the Jan. 24 trial date so close. Jeffs is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headquartered in the Arizona-Utah border towns of Colorado City and Hildale. He was extradited in early December to Texas, where he faces charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges for incidents involving underage girls at the church's FYZ Ranch which was raided by authorities in April 2008. Jeffs was convicted in Utah in 2007 of two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in the marriage of a 14-year-old girl. The Utah Supreme Court overturned those convictions last July and ordered a new trial. Jeffs had faced similar charges in Mohave County, Ariz., but those charges were dismissed in June when authorities said the allegede victims no longer wanted to proceed with prosecution. | |
| Jeffs to declare plea at hearing | |
| Accused may also say if he's chosen counsel | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 28, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Guilty, not guilty, no contest; Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, may choose one of those options today at 9 a.m. during a pretrial hearing in San Angelo. The charges against Jeffs include aggravated sexual assault and bigamy. Jeffs may also reveal whether or not he has chosen legal counsel. "We'll hear who will represent Jeffs, said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Peggy Williams, the district clerk for Schleicher County, the county that issued the indictments against Jeffs, said Tuesday her office hasn't received anything indicating that Jeffs has chosen an attorney. "Nothing has been filed," Williams said Monday. Jeffs has undergone three pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas from Utah. He has operated under the legal counsel of an attorney who has helped him before: Richard Wright of Nevada. Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther, the judge who has overseen all the criminal trials of FLDS men stemming from Schleicher County indictments, has made Wright sit in the gallery after his request to be allowed temporary admission to the Texas bar did not go through. She then addressed Jeffs directly in the previous pretrial. Jeffs said he would have an attorney ready in advance of Wednesday's pretrial. "I'll have one by next week," Jeffs said two weeks ago. Wright said Jeffs has had difficulty getting an attorney because the trial is scheduled to commence relatively soon. Jeff's faces three charges, for which he will be tried separately. The first trial, on the charge of aggravated sexual assault, is scheduled for Jan. 24. Read more | |
| Polygamist sect leader due back in Texas court | |
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Associated Press Yahoo! News Originally published December 29, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due in court for his final pretrial hearing with still no word on whether he has a Texas attorney. A pretrial hearing in the aggravated sexual assault case against Jeffs is set for Wednesday morning. The 55-year-old is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 24 but says he's had trouble finding in-state representation. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also is charged with felony bigamy and assault, with trials on those charges to come later. The case stems from the 2008 raid of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, where authorities seized over 400 children. Most were eventually returned to their families, but seven men in the sect have been convicted on child sexual abuse charges. See photo | |
| Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs due back in Texas court | |
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Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due in court for his final pretrial hearing with still no word on whether he has a Texas attorney. A pretrial hearing in the aggravated sexual assault case against Jeffs is set for Wednesday morning. The 55-year-old is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 24 but says he's had trouble finding in-state representation. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also is charged with felony bigamy and assault, with trials on those charges to come later. The case stems from the 2008 raid of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, where authorities seized over 400 children. Most were eventually returned to their families, but seven men in the sect have been convicted on child sexual abuse charges. See mug shot | |
| Warren Jeffs pleads not guilty in Texas | |
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Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published December 29, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs stood mute during an arraignment on bigamy and sexual assault charges and a West Texas court has entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. The 55-year-old is scheduled to stand trial for aggravated sexual assault Jan. 24 and said during a pretrial hearing Wednesday that he intends to hire a Texas attorney but has yet to formally do so. Separate trials on other charges will come later. Jeffs sat and said nothing as prosecutors read charges that he had sex with a girl younger than 17. He was ordered to stand and simply glanced down as charges alleging sex with a girl younger than 15 and bigamy were read. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. | |
| Warren Jeffs, still lacking lawyer, enters not-guilty pleas | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 29, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf by the state Wednesday as he stood silently in a Tom Green County courtroom. Jeffs stood alone at his table. Almost a month into his extradition to Texas and less than a month away from his trial, Jeffs has not found an attorney. Jeffs is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. His next court date is Jan. 5. | |
| KXAN - December 29, 2010 Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was in a Texas courtroom Wednesday. | |
| Not-guilty pleas entered for Jeffs | |
| He should have lawyer in week, he says | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published December 29, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf by the state Wednesday as he stood silently in a Tom Green County courtroom. Jeffs stood alone at the defense table. Almost a month into his extradition to Texas and less than a month from his trial date, Jeffs has not found an attorney. Jeffs said he should have an attorney within a week. "You told me that in November," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said. Jeffs was extradited to Texas Nov. 30. His first pretrial happened the next day on Dec. 1. Walther said that if Jeffs did not have an attorney soon, the court would appoint him one. "You do not need an attorney appointed, is that correct?" Walther said. "Yes," Jeffs replied. Jeffs said he had finished interviewing potential attorneys and hadn't chosen one because of "circumstance beyond my control," because of his being in prison. "The court, in the interest of justice, will appoint one for you," if Jeffs can't get counsel, Walther said. Even without counsel, the state, represented by Eric Nichols, said it was prepared to hear Jeffs' pleas with regard to his charges. Jeffs is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. "We are prepared to proceed with the arraignment," Nichols said. Nichols said he spoke with Richard Wright, a Nevada attorney who has been helping Jeffs with legal counsel, but who cannot represent Jeffs in Texas. On Dec. 15, Walther asked Wright if his temporary admission to the bar had gone through, and Wright said it had not. It is unclear whether Wright ever filed an application. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader pleads not guilty in Texas | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published December 29, 2010 | |
| (CNN) -- A judge in San Angelo, Texas, on Wednesday entered pleas of not guilty on behalf of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, who is scheduled to go on trial next month on bigamy and sexual assault charges. Jeffs, who calls himself a prophet, spoke sparingly at his arraignment, but he told the judge he expects to have an attorney by a January 5 hearing, court officials said. Jeffs, 55, leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the FLDS. The charges stem from an alleged spiritual marriage to a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs' Nevada-based attorney, Richard Wright, earlier sought to delay the trial, which is to begin January 24. But Judge Barbara Walther denied that request, saying the church leader has long known about the charges in Texas and had plenty of time to seek counsel. No defense attorney attended Wednesday's arraignment. The sect leader was extradited several weeks ago from Utah and faces charges in Tom Green County. Prosecutors filed the charges two years ago, after authorities raided the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and removed more than 400 children. At the time, authorities said they feared the children were sexually abused. Most of the children were returned to their families at the ranch, but some men were charged with sexual abuse. FLDS member Bill Shapley, 71, said he firmly believes that Jeffs is a prophet and is being wrongly persecuted. "I've known him for many years," Shapley said. "I've never seen a flaw in him." Read more | |
| Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs pleads not guilty in Texas | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs remained mute during a Wednesday arraignment on bigamy and child sex abuse charges, forcing the West Texas court to enter not guilty pleas on his behalf. The 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sat and said nothing as prosecutors read a sexual assault charge accusing him of having sex with a girl younger than 17. He was then ordered to stand down as cases accusing him of aggravated sexual assault of a girl younger than 15 and bigamy were read. District Judge Barbara Walther instructed Jeffs that his silence forced the court to enter not guilty pleas for him. The charges against Jeffs stem from a 2008 raid of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, a remote community south of San Angelo. Authorities seized 439 children and placed them in state custody on suspicion that the girls were being sexually abused and the boys were being raised to be sexual predators. Most of the children were eventually returned to their families, but seven men in the sect who see Jeffs as their spiritual leader were charged and eventually convicted of child sexual assault and abuse. On Wednesday, Jeffs wore glasses, orange jail pants and a gray sweat shirt and sat by himself at the defense table. He has been unable to hire a Texas attorney in the nearly 30 days since he was extradited from Utah, where he was convicted on accomplice rape charges a ruling that was later overturned. Jeffs told Walther that he wanted to find his own attorney in Texas, rather than have one appointed by the court. He said he has identified the firm he wants to represent him and that they were still hammering out the details. "I haven't made a final contact that they (the law firm) agreed to represent me," Jeffs told Walther when pressed on whether he would have representation by his next scheduled court appearance on Jan. 5. "It's beyond my control." Read more | |
| FLDS: Jeffs back in court today | |
| FLDS leader expected to name counsel | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 4, 2011 | |
| Warren Jeffs, the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, will appear in a Tom Green County court today for a pretrial hearing on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. During the past four pretrial hearings over more than a month, Jeffs has said he will get his own representation, each time announcing that he should have representation within a week. The "expectation is he will provide information about who will represent him," said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the office of the attorney general of Texas, about today's pretrial. Tom Green County court staff said they did not know whether Jeffs has found counsel. Richard Wright, a Nevada attorney who has represented Jeffs in the past, said Jeffs has had difficulty getting an attorney because the trial is scheduled relatively soon. Jeffs faces three charges, for which three separate trials will be held. Jan. 24 is the date for the first trial, for aggravated sexual assault, Feb. 21 is the date for the sexual assault charge trial, and March 14 is the date for the bigamy charge trial. All the charges are first-degree felonies, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and fines up to $10,000. Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther has said the state must finish prosecuting Jeffs for all three charges within 120 days of his arrival because of extradition laws. Jeffs was moved from Utah to Texas on Nov. 30. During the last pretrial, Jeffs was arraigned before the court. The prosecution read the indictments to Jeffs, and when Walther asked how he pleaded, Jeffs said nothing. Walther had told Jeffs that if he said nothing, the court would enter pleas of not guilty, which is what Walther did for each charge. Wright was allowed to stand in front of the bar at one pretrial but was instructed to sit in the gallery after Walther asked if he had received temporary admission into the Texas bar, and he said no. Read more | |
| Jeffs back in Texas court Wednesday | |
| To stand trial for sexual assault charges | |
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News: Crime KXAN 36 Austin Originally published Wednesday, 05 Jan 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due to appear in court for his fifth pretrial hearing with still no word on whether he has a Texas attorney. The hearing was set for Wednesday. Jeffs is scheduled to stand trial for aggravated sexual assault Jan. 24 but said he has had trouble finding in-state representation so close to its start. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was arraigned last week on charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault, with trials on the other charges to come later. The case stems from the 2008 raid of the Yearning For Zion Ranch, where authorities seized more than 400 children. Most were eventually returned to their families, but seven men in the sect were convicted on child sexual abuse charges. See photo | |
| Austin attorney takes Warren Jeffs case | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 5, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now has legal representation. Gerry Morris, an Austin attorney, entered an appearance for Jeffs at a pretrial hearing Wednesday on the condition that new trial dates be considered. "The court will be glad to work with you," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said. Walther had set the dates for Jeffs cases within 120 days to be in accordance with extradition laws. Eric Nichols, the lead prosecutor in the case, read an indictment before the court. "It was a reindictment of the two cases pending," Nichols said. In the reindictment, the aggravated sexual assault charge and the sexual assault charge Jeffs previously faced were converted to two counts of sexual assault under the same charge, Nichols said. The first count, sexual assault of a child under 14 years old, is a first-degree felony and the second count, against a child under 17 years old, is a second-degree felony, Nichols said. Nichols said that having both counts under one indictment allows the state to try both allegations in one trial. Jeffs previously faced three trials. He now faces two, one on the sexual assault allegations and another on a charge of first-degree felony bigamy. The court is scheduled to reconvene at 4 p.m. See photos | |
| Texas attorney seeks to delay Warren Jeffs' trial | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was re-arraigned Wednesday on sexual assault charges, and his new attorney asked the West Texas court to delay Jeffs' upcoming trial to give him time to prepare. Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, did not speak and had the court enter not guilty pleas on his behalf as he was re-indicted and re-arraigned on charges of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault. Prosecutors say Jeffs had sex with two children, one under age 14 and the other under age 17. Jeffs' new attorney, Gerry Morris of Austin, asked San Angelo district court Judge Barbara Walther for more time to prepare a defense, telling her "I've only just been hired to the case and haven't looked at the materials." Jeffs, 55, had been scheduled to go to trial Jan. 24 on the aggravated sexual assault charges, with a separate trial for sexual assault and one for felony bigamy to come later. Jeffs was extradited from Utah on Nov. 30 and Walther had said extradition rules compelled her court to try him on all counts within 120 days of his arrival in Texas. But she told Morris she would consider motions waving those rules and met with him and prosecutors to set new dates, which she planned to announce later Wednesday. State prosecutor Eric Nichols said the revised indictments would allow Jeffs to be tried jointly on both sexual assault and aggravated sexual charges, with a separate trial for felony bigamy still to come. Jeffs, who is being held without bond, smiled at three male followers who stood when he was brought into the courtroom. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs fires his new attorney | |
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WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published January 05, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has fired his attorney mere hours after hiring him, saying he'd like more time to find appropriate counsel. Austin attorney Gerry Morris told San Angelo district court Judge Barbara Walther during a pre-trial hearing Wednesday morning that he was representing Jeffs and asked the judge to delay the start of Jeffs sexual assault trial. But Jeffs told Walther during an afternoon portion of the hearing that he was discharging Morris. He did not explain why. Prosecutors have accused Jeffs of sexually assaulting two underage girls and of bigamy. Walther on Wednesday delayed the start of Jeffs' trial on the sexual assault charges until Feb. 21. | |
| Judge appoints attorney to Jeffs case | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 5, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, had legal representation. Then he fired his legal representation. Then he had legal representation appointed to him. Fifty-first District Court Judge Barbara Walther appointed Fred Brigman, a San Angelo attorney, to Jeffs case after Jeffs discharged his counsel during a pretrial hearing Wednesday. Jeffs asked the judge to give him more time in an unprepared speech during which he cautiously pronounced every word and spent time looking slightly down from Walther's bench as he spoke. "I just ask you to allow me a little more time in finding counsel that suits the needs I have," Jeffs said. "I will seek hastily help from those who understand my needs. I'm not attempting to hinder in anyway the proceedings, only accomplishing what is needed to attain representation more suitable, not having full contact wherein I can interview on that can perform what I need. ... Therefore I ask the court to not set the trial date until I have the counsel of my choosing. ... I request that there be an order of a simple one or two week extension of time to determine their full qualifications and abilities. I humbly ask the court for the sake of defense and justice served." Before he made his address, the prosecution, headed by Eric Nichols, asked for the court to appoint an attorney to Jeffs and to set the date for the trial to cover both aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault for Feb. 21. "I think the court's concerns on the time limit are well founded," Nichols said. Nichols referred to a 120-day period that Walther has said she believes applies to Jeffs as a deadline for prosecuting Jeffs since he was extradited to Texas from Utah. Gerry Morris, an Austin attorney, had entered an appearance for Jeffs at a pretrial hearing Wednesday morning on the condition that new trial dates be considered. "The court will be glad to work with you," Walther said. Jeffs refused to sign the waiver of the 120-day prosecution, Walther said from the bench when the court reconvened at 5 p.m., having broken before noon. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs fires his new attorney | |
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By Will Weissert AP writer KSL 5 TV Originally published January 5, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs fired his attorney Wednesday just hours after hiring him, prompting a West Texas judge to delay a trial on sexual assault charges after Jeffs said he would need more time to find a lawyer who "suits my needs." Gerry Morris, a prominent Austin-based lawyer, told district court Judge Barbara Walther during a morning pretrial hearing that he would represent Jeffs as long as a trial on sexual assault charges set to begin Jan. 21 was pushed back to give him time to prepare. But in a subsequent late-afternoon hearing, Morris said Jeffs had "discharged" him. He did not elaborate and said after the hearing that he could not comment. Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is accused of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. Prosecutors say Jeffs had sex with two children, one under age 14 and the other under age 17, and re-arraigned Jeffs during the earlier hearing so that all counts of sexual assault could be heard in a single trial -- with a separate trial to be held in the bigamy case After Morris said he would not represent Jeffs, Walther turned to the defendant and said "Mr. Jeffs, what do you propose to do?" After a long pause, state prosecutor Eric Nichols stood up and said Jeffs was using an apparent "strategy for more time" but that he had been unwilling even to sign a waiver that would have allowed prosecutors to delay the start of his first trial. Nichols then proposed that the trial for aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault be pushed back until Feb. 21 and that the bigamy case remain slated to start March 14. The 55-year-old Jeffs stared into space, then addressed the court slowly and deliberately for several minutes. "I just ask you," Jeffs said, before pausing at length, "to allow me a little more time in finding counsel that suits the needs I have, as I will proceed hastily with help from those who understand my needs." Jeffs continued that he was "not attempting to hinder, in any way, the proceedings, only requesting an additional opportunity to accomplish what is needed in determining representation more suitable." He added: "I request the court that I not be in a position of using representation not able to fully defend or understand my needs . . . I feel like the hastening of this would be detrimental to my defense, not knowing all aspects of the government's evidence and knowing I may need more time to prepare for a full defense, I need sufficient help from those who understand my needs." Read more | |
| Polygamist leader promptly fires new attorney | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published January 6, 2011 | |
| (CNN) -- Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs got a Texas-based attorney Wednesday during a pretrial hearing in San Angelo, Texas, but the lawyer was fired within hours. Before he was dismissed, attorney Gerry Morris told the court he has a conflict with the scheduled January 24 start date. Jeffs' Nevada-based attorney, Richard Wright, had also sought to delay the trial. But Judge Barbara Walther at first denied that request, saying the church leader has long-known about the charges in Texas and had plenty of time to seek counsel. Jeffs asked Walther for more time to find appropriate counsel, and the next pretrial hearing was scheduled for January 31 with the trial set to begin February 21. Walther appointed attorney Fred Brigman to advise Jeffs in the meantime. Jeffs also was reindicted on charges of sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault on Wednesday, combining the charges against him so they can be tried simultaneously. Jeffs, 55, leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the FLDS. The charges stem from an alleged "spiritual" marriage to a 12-year-old girl. The sect leader was extradited from Utah and faces charges in Tom Green County. Prosecutors filed the charges two years ago, after authorities raided the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and removed more than 400 children. At the time, authorities said they feared the children had been sexually abused. Most of the children were returned to their families at the ranch, but some men were charged with sexual abuse. Read more | |
| The Vent | |
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The Spectrum Originally published January 8, 2011 | |
| It looks like Warren Jeffs is finding ways to top Brian David Mitchell's record of delaying justice for eight years. | |
| Jeffs' pre-trial hearing scheduled for today | |
| Leader of breakaway church accused of sex assault, bigamy | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 30, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing today as his trial date for sexual assault is less than a month from now. Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and bigamy. "Pretrial motions will be heard beginning at 9 a.m. in preparation for trial scheduled for Feb. 21," said Jerry Strickland, spokesman for the state attorney general's office. The venue of the trial has not been determined. Jeffs has undergone five pretrial hearings since November, when he arrived to Texas. During those hearings, Jeffs searched for legal counsel, each week saying that he would have counsel the next week. Jeffs said his confinement in the Big Lake Jail prohibited him from adequately searching. During his most recent pretrial hearing Jan. 5, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther appointed Jeffs legal counsel after he dismissed counsel who made his first appearance for Jeffs on the same day. Before then, Jeffs had been getting legal help from a Nevada attorney. After dismissing his counsel, Jeffs gave a long, impromptu speech about his special needsand pleaded with the judge to let him keep looking for an attorney. Walther appointed Fred Brigman, a San Angelo attorney, to Jeffs' case. Walther has said Jeffs had ample time to search for legal counsel while he was in Utah awaiting the results of an extradition process. Jeffs had been fighting the extradition in Utah. His attorneys in Utah said he had a constitutional right to be retried since his conviction there was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs is back in court for sex assault case | |
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Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published January 31, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is expected back in court in West Texas after firing his attorney during his last appearance. Jeffs is scheduled to be in court Monday for what would be his sixth pretrial appearance since being extradited to Texas in November. During his last appearance, Jeffs fired his attorney and state District Judge Barbara Walther appointed new counsel. Texas prosecutors have accused the 55-year-old Jeffs of trying to stall his Feb. 21 trial on charges of aggravated sexual assault. The trial has already been pushed back once. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Prosecutors say Jeffs had sex with two children at the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado that state authorities raided in 2008. | |
| Jeffs' trial dates pushed back | |
| New lawyer doubts he'll be ready by then | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published January 31, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Attorneys and trial dates shifted again in preparation for the trial of Warren Jeffs, the head of the FLDS. Jeff Kearney, an attorney from Fort Worth, said at a pretrial hearing Monday in Tom Green County Court he would replace Jeffs' previous court-appointed attorney, Fred Brigman of San Angelo. "Welcome aboard," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, the presiding judge, said to Kearney. Brigman said that although he was appointed, Jeffs found his own attorney after firing another attorney earlier in the month. "Jeffs retained his own counsel," Brigman said as to why he was relieved. The trial on two counts of sexual assault of a child one for assault a child younger than 14 and one for a child younger than 17 was rescheduled from Feb. 21 to July 25, and a trial on charges of felony bigamy was rescheduled from March 14 to Oct. 3. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sanctions polygamous marriages, and Jeffs is among a dozen members of the sect who have been charged under allegations they married underage girls while married to other women. Kearney objected to the scheduling, arguing that he hadn't had enough time to gauge how long preparations would take, especially given how much material there is to go through. "I've heard it described as voluminous. I've heard it described as awesome," Kearney said. He said that he had heard that the evidence filled a space that would cover most of the courtroom he was in but that he hadn't had time to inspect it. "I was employed this morning," Kearney said. Read more | |
| Trial for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs postponed again | |
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By Paul J. Weber Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs won't stand trial in Texas until at least July after hiring a new lawyer, who argued Monday that the "awesome" amount of evidence in the criminal case is too voluminous to prepare a defense anytime soon. A judge agreed and postponed Jeffs' trial on charges of having sex with two children at the Yearning for Zion ranch for a second time. The trial was moved from February to July 25, and Jeffs' new attorney cautioned that he may ultimately request an even later date. State prosecutors requested that Jeffs stand trial before the end of the year. Jeffs, 55, arrived in a West Texas courtroom with prominent Fort Worth, Texas, attorney Jeff Kearney, who told state District Judge Barbara Walther about others describing to him boxes of evidence that, if stacked floor to ceiling, could practically fill the courtroom. Walther, sounding understanding, told Kearney that she believed there were some 13 terabytes of evidence also stored digitally. "I've had things described to me that make me think this is an awesome task," Kearney said. Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is accused of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and bigamy. Prosecutors say Jeffs had sex with two children, one under age 14 and the other under age 17. Since being extradited to Texas in November, Jeffs has appeared in court with four different attorneys and had his trial date pushed back twice. During his previous court appearance earlier this month, he fired his last attorney after only a few hours. Read more | |
| Jeffs' attorney, trial dates changed | |
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U.S. News United Press International Originally published January 31, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Legal counsel changed again along with the Texas trial dates for Warren Jeffs, accused of sexual assault on a child and bigamy, his new attorney said. Fort Worth attorney Jeff Kearney replaced Fred Brigman, a San Angelo lawyer previously appointed Jan. 5 by Judge Barbara Walther. "Jeffs retained his own counsel," Brigman said on why he left the case. Before Brigman was assigned to the case, a Nevada attorney was assisting Jeffs, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported Monday. Jeff's trial on two counts of sexual assault of a child -- one younger than 17-years-old and one 14-years-old -- was rescheduled from Feb. 21 to July 25 with the bigamy trial reset from March 14 to Oct. 3. Kearney objected to the court the new trial dates didn't leave him enough time to gauge how much preparation for the trial he would need considering how much material there was. "I've heard it described as voluminous. I've heard it described as awesome," Kearney said. "I was employed this morning." Walther said there would be an opportunity to file for continuances if needed, the newspaper said. | |
| Jeffs forebodes disaster if he is not freed | |
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By Dave Hawkins Special to the Standard-Times San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published March 2, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs was seemingly feeble and frail when transferred from the Mohave County jail after charges in Arizona were dismissed last summer. But the 55-year-old polygamous church sect prophet appears to be gaining strength in his jail cell in Texas, where he's flexing his muscle while awaiting trial on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Jeffs is using a jail telephone and a calling card to excommunicate his "sinful" followers in Arizona and Utah and whatever other means necessary to communicate directly with the Lord. A document sent to President Barak Obama, members of Congress and other government officials asserts that Jeffs is the servant and messenger of the Lord. Arizona Congressman Trent Franks represents the district encompassing Colorado City, an enclave of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Franks' spokesman, Ben Carnes, confirmed that the document was received at Franks' office at the nation's Capitol. The people of the United States and others on Earth are warned of a "holocaust" of judgment and loss of life if Jeffs is not set free. The threat of calamity is spelled out in the Feb. 5 document titled "A Warning to the Nation" and "A Petition to the President of the United States of America." Officers of the Jeffs-led FLDS church based in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., sign the copyrighted document as witnesses to the word of the Lord delivered through Jeffs. Most of the nine pages are written in first person, purportedly by the Lord, though sometimes it appears the messages are authored in first person by Jeffs. The document indicates that the Lord wants Jeffs released from jail. The Lord also demands that government-confiscated property be returned to FLDS members in Utah and Arizona. The Lord demands that persecution of FLDS members and their plural marriage lifestyle come to a halt. Failure to do so will bring loss of life through earthquakes and storms, the document states. Let this nation know I am with my people, and shall sweep the wicked from the face of the Land of America," it states. Read more | |
| Prophet in the Pen: How a small-town jail is dealing with a religious icon | |
| The arrival of Warren Jeffs the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints has led to new policies at the Reagan County Sheriff's office | |
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Corrections In Focus with Carol McKinley Correctional Management Article By Carol McKinley CorrectionsOne - San Francisco, CA Originally published March 8, 2011 | |
| Warren Jeffs hasn't let the walls of a jail cell stop him from delivering sermons to his faithful every Sunday. "He buys calling cards from the commissary and any call he makes, he pays for," says Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner. Garner says the prison records Jeffs' calls in case they need them later. Jeffs is what you might call a "celebrity" inmate, awaiting trial for marrying and having sex with a 12 year old girl and for bigamy. Insiders say he has as many as 80 wives. A self-proclaimed Prophet, Jeffs has put tiny Big Lake, Texas on the speed dial of dozens of reporters. Jeffs is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, a polygamous sect. In 2004, hundreds of FLDS members migrated to Texas from a religious enclave on the border of Arizona and Utah, an area is commonly known as Short Creek. It has been since that move to Texas that many FLDS leaders got in trouble for taking underaged brides. Jeffs is being housed in Big Lake Jail as a favor to the Texas Rangers. His trial will be held this summer in San Angelo, Texas at the Tom Green County Courthouse, which is 70 miles up the road. This means every time there is a hearing in Jeffs' case, Garner's deputies must escort Jeffs in a patrol vehicle in cuffs, leg irons and a belly chain. "I've got a serial killer who is accused of committing fifty murders in my jail right now, so Jeffs isn't the only high-profile prisoner. I did sit him (Jeffs) down when he first got here and told him he had to play by the rules," Garner said. Big Lake, Texas has a population of 3000 people, but the jail is just ten years old and considered state-of-the-art. Garner admits one thing at Big Lake jail has changed since Jeffs got there: the mail room is overflowing with letters to Jeffs from his admirers. Thousands of hand-written messages have come through the facility since early December, when the church leader first arrived. Garner laughs, "The number is so high, it's unbelievable. Some have money in them. And they come from all over!" Corrections staff reads all of the correspondence coming in and going out. Read more | |
| Jeffs has pretrial hearing today | |
| Sect member files challenge to his leadership | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published March 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs has had an active time in jail, from which he will emerge today for a pretrial appearance at 10 a.m. in the Tom Green County Courthouse. Jeffs is scheduled to be tried in July on allegations of bigamy and sexual assault. The purpose of today's pretrial hearing was not known. The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recently has sent threatening prophecies to President Barack Obama, excommunicated prominent FLDS members and attempted to reclaim his position as head of the FLDS church as a corporation. At the same time, one of his flock has filed a challenge to his leadership in Utah. "I, the undersigned, William Edson Jessop, have been called as the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and by virtue of such calling am the corporation sole," said a church member in documents submitted to the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code. The forms Jessop filed ask the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code for him to be listed president of the FLDS church. They also ask for the removal of Jeffs, whose application to be made the sole president of the church reached the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code on Feb. 15. Jennifer Bolton, a public information officer with the Utah Department of Commerce, said Jessop delivered the filing in person Monday. "At this point there is no action for us to take," Bolton said. "We receive all filings in good faith. The person who makes the filing, they sign under penalty of perjury. There is nothing further for us to do at this point." According to documents submitted in Washington County, Utah, in July 2007, Jeffs said he was not the prophet and said the FLDS should look to Jessop for guidance. "I am not the prophet. I never was the prophet, and I have been deceived by the powers of evil and Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since Father's passing, since the passing of my father," Jeffs told an FLDS member while in prison, according to the documents. Read more | |
| Jeffs' court demeanor a contrast to his control over followers | |
| Docility seen as contrast with status in church | |
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By Dave Hawkins Special to the Standard-Times San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published March 29, 2011 | |
| KINGMAN, Ariz. Polygamous church sect prophet Warren Jeffs left an impression of detached docility on those who observed his previous legal proceedings outside Texas, an impression that contrasts sharply to his reported actions from within his Big Lake jail cell since he was moved, actions that have included a purge of the church ranks, sharp reassertion of his leadership, and a threatening letter to President Barack Obama. "Creepy" and "pathetic" are words some Arizona observers used to describe the man who faces trial in San Angelo this summer on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Jeffs' demeanor in Tom Green County court during several pretrial appearances has been quiet and deferential. Jeffs, 55, made more than a dozen appearances in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman before witness reluctance and other issues saw charges against him dismissed last June. The leader of the Northern Arizona-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints usually had about a dozen followers attend his hearings, half of them women dressed in customary plain, light-colored full length dresses who radiated beaming smiles of adoration when he entered the courtroom under heavy guard. "It's apparent that they pretty much think he walks on water," said Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith. "He's the man. He's the prophet." Kingman defense attorney Sandra Carr was not involved in the Jeffs case, but she also noted the spell Jeffs cast upon his female followers. Lined in a row some four feet behind the defense table, they would rise as Jeffs approached to take his seat by his attorneys. "He would make eye contact with them one by one and he would smile and blink at each one. It was an affectionate exchange," Carr recalled. "They totally adored him. The men seemed to revere him as well." Some referred to the Jeffs gallery as the "Serenity Club." Carr viewed the 6-foot, 3-inch, 150-pound Jeffs as puzzlingly frail. "He just looked so skinny and pathetic, and it was just really odd that somebody with his build and demeanor would have so much control," Carr said. Read more | |
| Webcast: FLDS Leader Headed to Court | |
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Reported by: Maxine Ridling and John Nolan KRBC Abilene, Texas Originally broadcast Wednesday, March 30 2011 | |
| Today, the FLDS church leader will return to a San Angelo court room for another pre-trial hearing. Warren Jeffs is awaiting trial on charges of bigamy and sexual assault of a child. He's also been implicated in a child smuggling scheme between the US and Canada, which could result in additional charges against him. Jeffs recently sent a petition to President Obama on behalf of the Lord, demanding he be released before God "sweeps the wicked from the face of the land of America." | |
| Witness list to be sealed until Jeffs trial begins | |
| Judge seals witness list for Jeffs case | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published March 30, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs stumbled forward in the courtroom in chains, wearing a gray sweater and an orange jumpsuit. Two followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood as he entered the courtroom. Jeffs, leader of the polygamist sect, was in 51st District Court on Wednesday morning for the sixth pretrial hearing held for him since his extradition to Texas in November 2010. At Wednesday's hearing, which lasted less than 30 minutes, the court set dates for the final pretrial, deadlines for submitting motions, and it sustained the trial dates of July 25 for the count of sexual assault of a child and Oct. 3 for felony bigamy. Jeffs' attorney, Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth, asked for more time to prepare his client's defense. "The discovery is voluminous," Kearney said, referring to the documentation and other material waiting to be examined before trial. Kearney said he has four felony trials between now and May and wouldn't have any time between them to work on Jeffs' case. He asked that the final pretrial be rescheduled from late May to June 16, and 51st District Court Judge Barbara Walther agreed. All motions are to be submitted June 1, except for a motion to suppress evidence, which Walther said could be filed on July 1. Eric Nichols, the lead prosecutor on the case, gave the defense the option of having the witness list for the case and the list of extraneous offenses sealed from the public. "The state is prepared to make more disclosure," Nichols said. Kearney accepted the offer, and both documents have been sealed to the public. Previous trials have allowed for witness lists and extraneous offenses to be filed without being sealed. "These items can be sealed in certain circumstances," 51st District Attorney Stephen Lupton said. "They are not always sealed, but the law does allow for the sealing." Read more | |
| Abbott Open Records Letter Ruling OR2011 | |
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT oag.state.tx.us Originally published April 26, 2011 | |
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April 26, 2011
Mr. Clint T. Griffin Kosub & Griffin, LLP P.O. Box 460 Eldorado, Texas 76936 OR2011-05692 Dear Mr. Griffin: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 415505. The Reagan County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff"), which you represent, received four requests for information pertaining to audio recordings of telephone conversations involving a named inmate in a specified jail. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, you question whether the first request for information constitutes a valid open records request under the Act. You explain the request at issue was submitted by e-mail sent to the sheriff. Section 552.301(c) of the Government Code provides, "[f]or purposes of this subchapter, a written request includes a request made in writing that is sent to the officer for public information . . . by electronic mail[.]" Gov't Code § 552.301(c). Further, you assert the sheriff does not have an officer for public information. Section 552.201(b) of the Government Code provides, "[e]ach elected county officer is the officer for public information and the custodian, as defined by section 201.003, Local Government Code, of the information created or received by that county officer's office." Id. § 552.201(b). Thus, the sheriff, an elected county officer, is the officer for public information and custodian of information created or received by the sheriff. Further, a written request sent to the sheriff by electronic mail constitutes a written request for information under the Act. Accordingly, we find the request at issue constitutes a valid request for information under the Act and we will consider your argument against disclosure of the submitted information. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs moved to another West Texas jail | |
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The Associated Press ABC 13 KTRK-TV - Houston, Texas Originally broadcast Friday, April 29, 2011 | |
| DALLAS, TX -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been moved to a jail closer to the West Texas courthouse where his case will be tried. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran says Jeffs has always been under his jurisdiction but was being housed in a larger jail in a nearby county. Doran would not comment on why Jeffs was transferred to Schleicher County last week. He said the 55-year-old has been cooperative and had a few visitors since the move. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is awaiting trials in San Angelo on charges of bigamy and sexual assault stemming from alleged relationships with underage girls. Jeffs is being held without bail. He was extradited from Utah to Texas at the end of last year. | |
| Jeffs moves, awaits trial | |
| Church head transferred to Schleicher Co. | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published April 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs has moved closer to his own. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been transferred from the Reagan County Jail to the jail in Schleicher County, where the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch is located. "He is here now," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said Friday. Jeffs, charged with sexual assault of a child and bigamy, was moved April 20, having been at the Reagan County jail since late November. Doran did not comment on why Jeffs was transferred. "I'm sure that there were a lot of factors that came up, but it came time for a change, sharing the burden and responsibility," Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner said, noting that Schleicher County made the decision to transfer Jeffs. Jeffs' trial dates are set July 25 for the count of sexual assault of a child and Oct. 3 for felony bigamy. He will be the eighth of 12 men to be prosecuted as a result of evidence collected on a raid at the YFZ Ranch. The raid was based on a call received from a woman claiming to have suffered abuse at the ranch. Defense attorneys in previous cases of FLDS members have argued to the jury that the call was a hoax, and the prosecution and law enforcement have not countered that idea. Jeffs' stay in Reagan County was uneventful, Garner said. The only change Garner's office expected to see after Jeffs' removal is a decrease in the amount of mail it must process and check, Garner said. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader Jeffs seeks judge's recusal | |
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The Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published June 13, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Attorneys for polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs are asking for removal of the judge in his upcoming trial. The legal team for the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints alleges that the body language of state District Judge Barbara Walther influenced jurors in past trials of sect members. Witnesses called during a hearing Monday in San Angelo included attorneys for those sect members, who have been convicted of such crimes as sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Some contend Walther rolled her eyes and otherwise gestured frustration with the defense. State District Judge John Hyde of Midland is presiding over the Monday hearing. Jeffs' oft-delayed trial is to begin July 25, but a hearing Tuesday will determine whether it's delayed further. | |
| Recusal in Jeffs trial sought | |
| Defense questions judge's body language | |
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By Matthew Waller Scripps Newspapers San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published June 13, 2011 | |
| A state district judge will decide today whether 51st District Judge Barbara Walther will be recused from the upcoming trial of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs' attorneys made the request during a hearing Monday at the Tom Green Courthouse, with state District Judge John Hyde of Midland presiding. Hyde said he will issue his ruling at 10 a.m. today, the same time that Walther is scheduled to hear pretrial motions in the Jeffs case. Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, is scheduled to be tried on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy in July. "In this case we have an extrajudicial event," Reagan Wynn, one of Jeffs' attorneys, said about law enforcement testimony that a truck pulled out dangerously close to Walther as she traveled to Eldorado during the first of a series of FLDS member criminal trials. Law officers said they speculated that the driver might have been an FLDS member, and because of increased security, the defense said that the judge should be recused, as have other judges who have had attempts made on their lives. Arguing for the state, Eric Nichols said the increase in security was done by others, and not at Walther's direction. "Judge Walther wasn't making those decisions," Nichols said. Jeff Kearney, Jeffs' attorney, who called more than a dozen witnesses for the hearing, also asked witness attorneys about the security around the courthouse. They described how there were at times more than 30 law enforcement personnel on hand during trials in Schleicher County. Under questioning by Nichols, attorneys said the building that hosts FLDS member trials in Schleicher County was not built as a courthouse. They acknowledged that there was no X-ray machine as there is at the Tom Green County Courthouse, so extra deputies helped search bags. Read more | |
| Judge not removed from polygamist leader's case | |
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Associated Press Forbes Originally published June 14, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas -- A West Texas court has denied a defense motion to remove a judge from the trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. Lawyers for the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had argued that state District Judge Barbara Walther exhibited body language that biased jurors during trials of other sect members. But presiding District Judge John Hyde of Midland rejected the request Tuesday. In a subsequent hearing, the defense asked to delay the start of the trial now set for July 25. Hyde has yet to rule on that motion or a change-of-venue request. Jeffs faces sexual assault of a child and bigamy charges but only retained a lawyer in late January, and his legal team seeks more time to prepare. | |
| Judge Walther To Stay | |
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KLST News KLST-TV - San Angelo, Texas Originally broadcast June 14, 2011 | |
| District judge Barbara Walther will stay on as the judge for FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs' upcoming trail. This morning, Judge John Hyde of Midland denied the defense's motion to remove Judge Walther -- after hearing testimony from several witnesses during yesterday's hearing. One witness testified that Judge Walther made her opinion of the trial known through facial expressions -- like rolling her eyes. Today Judge Walther was back in the courtroom -- presiding over Jeffs pre-trial hearing. Jeffs is charged with bigamy... And sexual assault of a child in connection with underage marriages at the YFZ ranch in Schleicher County. His trial is scheduled to begin July 25th. | |
| Court to rule on trial date for polygamist leader Jeffs | |
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The Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published June 14, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is due in court to determine if his oft-delayed trial will begin July 25, as scheduled. The Texas attorney general's office says it hopes a judge decides Tuesday that the case will proceed as planned. Jeffs' attorney Jeff Kearney wants more time to prepare. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints appeared at a Monday hearing in San Angelo as his lawyer pressed to remove state District Judge Barbara Walther from his case. He alleged Walther's body language influenced jurors in past trials of sect members convicted of such crimes as sexual assault of a child and bigamy. A visiting judge was expected to rule on the motion against Walther before deciding if the trial date will stand. | |
| FLDS: Jeffs trial is July 25 in San Angelo | |
| Motion to recuse Judge Walther denied | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published June 14, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas After months of delays, the trial of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs is set for July 25 in San Angelo. State District Judge Barbara Walther ruled Tuesday that the trial would be moved from Schleicher County over the objection of defense attorneys, who indicated they will request at a hearing next month that the trial be held outside of Walther's 51st Judicial District. San Angelo "is the hotbed of all the publicity," said Jeff Kearney, one of Jeffs' attorneys. Walther's decision came after state District Judge John Hyde of Midland denied a motion to recuse the judge from Jeffs' trial on charges of sexual assault of a child. Jeffs' attorneys made the request during a hearing Monday at the Tom Green Courthouse. Hyde issued his ruling Tuesday morning, allowing plans for Walther to hear pretrial motions in the case to proceed. "This is an unrealistic expectation," Kearney said about the July 25 date. Kearney said he had millions of pages of documents to review, more than 700 alleged bad acts to contend with, 139 witnesses, 13 expert witnesses, 800 probable trial exhibits from the prosecution and a trial that may take four weeks. He asked for 120 days to prepare further, saying that he had met with Jeffs five times in four and a half months. Jeffs has had six pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas in November, and he has had three attorneys, not including legal help from a Nevada attorney. Read more | |
| Judge in polygamist Warren Jeffs' child sex trial staying, despite complaint about her body language | |
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By Barry Leibowitz CBS News Originally broadcast June 15, 2011 | |
| (CBS/AP) SAN ANGELO, Texas - The judge in the child sex assault and bigamy trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs will be staying on the case, despite his lawyers' complaint about the judge's body language. A district judge in West Texas Tuesday denied a motion from Jeff's defense team to remove presiding judge Barbara Walther on the grounds that her body language biased jurors during trials of other sect members. In a subsequent hearing, the defense for Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, asked to delay the start of the trial now set for July 25. There's been no ruling on that motion or a change-of-venue request. Complete coverage of Warren Jeffs on Crimesider See photo | |
| Warren Jeffs' trial to begin July 25 | |
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The Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published June 15, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The oft-delayed, first criminal case against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was set to begin July 25, after a Texas court on Tuesday rejected defense motions for more time and to remove the judge presiding over it. Prosecutors allege the 55-year-old jailed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had sex with two girls, one under age 14 and the other under age 17, at the Yearning for Zion ranch in remote Eldorado, Texas. Jeffs was extradited from Utah in November, and was originally scheduled to stand trial in January. But state District Judge Barbara Walther moved the case back, first to February and then to late July. Jeffs' legal team had sought still more time to prepare, but Walther ruled the trial should go forward as scheduled. A separate bigamy trial against him has been scheduled for Oct. 3. On Monday, the defense asked that Walther be recused from the case, arguing that her gestures and other body language had unfairly influenced the jury in the criminal trials of other sect members all of whom were convicted. Temporarily presiding District Judge John Hyde of Midland ruled that Walther wouldn't be recused, however. Walther then retook the bench to let the scheduled trial date stand. Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general's office, said the judge also upheld her own motion for a change of venue keeping the case at the courthouse in the city of San Angelo and Tom Green County instead of Schleicher County, which encompasses El Dorado. Jeffs' attorneys said they will contest the change of venue for the sexual assault of a child case in a hearing the week of July 18. Read more | |
| Life After Casey Anthony Verdict: What Will HLN Cover Next | |
| "I don't worry that this was our moment and now it's gone," says HLN executive Scot Safon, adding that the network will turn its attention to Conrad Murray and polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. | |
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Marisa Guthrie The Hollywood Reporter - Los Angeles, California Originally published July 5, 2011 | |
| Now that the Casey Anthony trial has ended with a stunning not guilty verdict in the death of two-year-old Caylee Anthony, HLN is strategizing ways to keep the ratings flame burning. "There are always stories to be told," said Scot Safon, executive vp of HLN. "So I don't worry that this was our moment and now it's gone. I think we have lots of stories to tell." HLN's Nancy Grace has arguably been the most prominent voice during the trial, railing against Casey Anthony and acting as a crusader for two-year-old Caylee. Grace has been covering the story on her primetime show since mid-2008, before Caylee Anthony's remains were discovered in December 2008. Grace coined the derisive term "tot mom" for Casey Anthony. And she has been featured across the television spectrum including on ABC News as an expert on what many have dubbed the trial of the century. But other HLN anchors and correspondents have also gained valuable exposure during the trial including correspondents Ryan Smith and Vinnie Politan and anchor Jane Valez-Mitchell. Outside the Orlando courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, crowds gathered with signs urging justice for Caylee Anthony. Some spectators had "Team Vinnie" and "Team Ryan" signs while both men posed for snapshots with their fans. They were even presented with babies to hold, said someone who was there. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs fires another lawyer | |
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By Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 7, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has fired another defense attorney, less than three weeks before his trial begins. Prominent Fort Worth attorney Jeff Kearney will be replaced by Emily Munoz Detoto of Houston. Kearney filed a motion Thursday asking that he be withdrawn from the case after a Jeffs representative called, asking for his termination. The court in remote Schleicher County, Texas, where Jeffs is being held without bail, hasn't yet ruled on the motion. Jeffs retained Munoz Detoto, as then co-counsel last week. Jeffs dismissed well-known Austin attorney Gerry Morris in January, mere hours after hiring him. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints goes to trial July 25 on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He faces a separate bigamy trial. See photo | |
| Warren Jeffs takes another shot at removing Walther | |
| Church's leader also lets an attorney go | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 7, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs, the head of the polygamy-endorsing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has hired one attorney and fired another in the process of taking a second try at recusing Judge Barbara Walther, who is set to preside over his upcoming trial. Jeffs removed his lead attorney, Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth. Kearney filed a motion to withdraw as an attorney Thursday afternoon. Jeffs has gone through several attorneys since arriving in Texas after being extradited from Utah, firing counsel that he retained the same day and replacing a court-appointed attorney, all after about a month of saying he could not find an attorney. A motion filed July 1 by his new attorney, Emily Detoto of Houston, calls for the removal of Walther. Detoto said she was contacted last week by her new client and wrote the motion with input from Jeffs, who is scheduled to go to trial on charges of sexual assault of a child on July 25. Jeffs is being held without bail in the Schleicher County Jail, where he was moved after spending several months in the Reagan County Jail awaiting trial following his extradition in November. Schleicher County staff said no hearing has been set for the motion, and the state has not filed a reply to the defense's motion. There are "crucial facts and/or pertinent questions that are left un-answered as to Judge Walthers' ability to sit as a neutral and detached jurist," the new motion states. The motion misspells the judge's last name often throughout. Read more | |
| Polygamist Sect Leader Jeffs Fires Another Lawyer | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Thursday, July 7, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has fired another top Texas attorney, shaking up his defense team less than three weeks before the scheduled start of his trial on charges that could land him in prison for life. Fort Worth attorney Jeff Kearney filed a motion to withdraw Thursday, meaning he will be replaced by Houston-based Emily Munoz Detoto, who Jeffs quietly retained last week. Kearney said by phone that he remains the attorney of record, but only because the court closed for the day before it could act on his motion. Running through lawyers in rapid-fire fashion appears to be a pretrial strategy for Jeffs, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The 55-year-old faces charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, which carries a maximum penalty of 99 years to life; sexual assault of a child, which carries a maximum 20 years in prison; and bigamy, also punishable by up to a life sentence. The charges stem from an April 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in the village of Eldorado, where authorities alleging that underage girls were being forced into polygamous marriages temporary removed more than 400 children living there. The Yearning for Zion ranch raid left a dozen men in the church facing charges that included sexual assault and bigamy. Seven have been prosecuted since last year, and all were convicted. U.S. District Judge Barbara Walther has presided over each of the trials. Read more | |
| Prophet Fires Attorney...Again | |
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By Jordan Smith Newsdesk The Austin Chronicle Originally published July 8, 2011 | |
| With a little more than two weeks until the expected start of his trial on sexual assault charges, Warren Jeffs, the polygamist prophet of the Mormon breakaway sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has again fired the lead attorney hired to represent him. Jeffs' trial, on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child (which could net him a life sentence) and sexual assault of a child (punishable by up to 20 years in the pen), has canned well-known North Texas attorney Jeff Kearney who he hired in late January a move that prompted Judge Barbara Walther to postpone Jeffs' trial date from mid-February to July 25 in San Angelo. Now, with that date imminent, Jeffs on July 6 had a representative inform Kearney by phone that he too would be terminated. Jeffs has apparently retained Houston attorney Emily Munoz Detoto to take over, reports the Houston Chronicle. (Jeffs is also facing a charge of bigamy, and was slated to be tried separately on that charge in October.) Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs changes attorneys / What's he up to? | |
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Reported by: Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 News Originally broadcast July 8, 2011 | |
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Warren Jeffs is set to go to trial in Texas for raping little girls in just over two weeks. The outcome of that trial could decide if he is ever again a free man. And yet, the leader of the largest polygamist group in North America is again changing his legal defense team.
This is the 3rd time Jeffs has fired attorneys since arriving in Texas. So what's he up to? Is he trying to get another delay? It worked once before. A shuffle of attorneys at the beginning of the year got the trial pushed back 5-months.. Who's Out/ Who's In Fired is Jeff Kearney, a top notch defense attorney out of Fort Worth with 29-years of experience. Hired is Emily Munoz Detoto of Houston. Check out Detoto's website by clicking here. Her list of recent cases includes a murder, a couple drug charges and several DWI's (Texans prefer Driving While Intoxicated). There is really nothing in her bio that puts her in the same league as Kearney. Read more | |
| Polygamist sect leader again wants judge removed | |
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By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published July 18, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is again asking for removal of the judge overseeing his trial. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is due in court Monday in San Angelo. He sought to remove state District Judge Barbara Walther last month, but failed. Jeffs then switched attorneys, and new counsel Emily Detoto will try again. Jeffs is to go on trial July 25 on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child from a 2008 raid on a remote church retreat for which Walther signed the search warrant. Detoto argued that could bias her. Detoto also argues that Walther may not be impartial since authorities warned her in the past that Jeffs supporters, so-called "church enforcers," may try to harm her. | |
| Warren Jeffs again seeks judge's removal | |
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Written by WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 18, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - The first of six witnesses has testified at a hearing where polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is seeking the removal of the judge overseeing his trial. The hearing Monday in San Angelo is the second attempt by the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to replace state District Judge Barbara Walther. Jeffs claims Walther is biased because she signed the search warrant for a 2008 raid of a West Texas retreat where authorities believed underage girls were being forced into polygamous marriages. Leslie Brooks Long of the Texas Rangers testified that Walther received updates during the raid, but said that wasn't unusual. Long was asked to read newspaper articles detailing that Jeffs supporters were targeting Walther, another basis for defense claims of bias. See photo | |
| Warren Jeffs again seeks judge's removal | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Monday, July 18, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The defense team for polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who claims the judge overseeing his upcoming trial is biased, solicited testimony Monday from court officials in an attempt to show she took an unusual interest in the case and received extra security for fear she could be targeted because of it. It's the second time the 55-year-old Jeffs, ecclesiastical head of a radical LDS offshoot known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has sought to replace Texas District Judge Barbara Walther. He is scheduled for trial July 25 in Walther's court on sexual assault charges that could land him in prison for life. They stem from an April 2008 raid on the church's Yearning for Zion compound outside the town of Eldorado, south of San Angelo, where Jeffs is set to be tried. Authorities who claimed underage girls were being forced into polygamous marriages temporarily removed more than 400 children living at the compound, and the story made headlines nationwide when women from the compound were seen in frontier-style dresses and 19th century hairdos. The raid left Jeffs and 11 others facing charges that included sexual assault and bigamy. Seven have been prosecuted since last year, and all were convicted in cases overseen by Walther who signed the original search warrant that prompted the raid. Jeffs attorney Emily Munoz Detoto said Monday that Walther received calls while the raid was going on about how many children were being removed from the compound. The judge then called child protective services to ensure they had the manpower to handle so many cases. Read more | |
| Judge to announce Tuesday whether Walther will stay in Jeffs' trial | |
| Defense makes second attempt to have district judge recused | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 18, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A visiting district court judge will rule today on whether Warren Jeffs, ecclesiastical head of a polygamy-endorsing religious sect, succeeded in his efforts to remove 51st District Judge Barbara Walther from his pending trial on charges of sexual assault of a child. A pretrial hearing Monday was Jeffs' second try at removing Walther from his case. The defense called six witnesses. The defense wanted Walther to testify Monday, but the hearing judge, state District Judge John Hyde of Midland, allowed the prosecution to quash the subpoena, because he believed the circumstances of the case were not extreme enough. "I don't see how the judge could wear two hats," said Emily Detoto, Jeffs' Houston attorney, arguing that Walther's objectivity would have been affected if she had felt threatened by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to which Jeffs belongs. Newspaper reports that Walther had been assigned guards by law enforcement were entered into evidence early in Monday's proceedings, and Detoto argued that made her both a judge and a potential victim. The defense also argued that Walther received phone call updates about the status of the execution of search warrants during the April 2008 raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch, and that she made a phone call anticipating that children would need to be removed from the ranch. Those calls, which the defense termed extrajudicial information, showed bias, Detoto argued. "There was a tenor of prejudice and bias against Jeffs and the FLDS," she said. Read more | |
| Jeffs' recusal request denied, Walther to preside at trial | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 19, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A visiting judge from Midland denied motions to recuse 51st District Judge Barbara Walther from the trial of Warren Jeffs, according to court documents submitted today. Jeffs, 55, is the head of the polygamy-endorsing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, and his trial is scheduled for July 25. He also is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 3 on a felony bigamy charge. He has a pretrial hearing Wednesday that will concern the venue of the trial, which is currently set for San Angelo. | |
| Motion to remove judge in Warren Jeffs' trial is denied | |
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By David Fitzpatrick CNN Special Investigations CNN Originally broadcast July 19, 2011 | |
| (CNN) -- A last minute motion by polgyamist leader Warren Jeffs to remove a Texas judge assigned to hear sexual assault charges against him was denied Tuesday by a different Texas judge. According to an opinion written by Judge John G. Hyde of Midland, Texas, Jeffs' attempt -- his second since being jailed in Texas -- to remove Judge Barbara Walther was denied. "Ultimately, Judge Walther's actions should not be measured by a yardstick of perfection, but by a standard of procedural fair play," wrote Hyde. Attorneys for Jeffs had argued that Walther's receipt of two documents from state officials were "prejudicial extra judicial communications." But Hyde rejected those claims, saying the case made by Jeffs' lawyers "rests on innuendo and supposition." Jeffs has been charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy stemming from a 2008 raid by the Texas Rangers against a ranch called Yearning For Zion, a compound operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a break away sect of the mainstream Mormon Church. Authorities removed 400 children whom they feared had been sexually abused. While some of the men at the ranch were charged with sexual abuse, most of the children were later returned to their families. One final motion hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in San Angelo, Texas before the scheduled start of the sexual assault trial on Monday. Jeffs is expected to go on trial to face the bigamy charge at a later date. | |
| Warren Jeffs' request to remove Texas judge denied again | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 19, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO A visiting judge on Tuesday denied polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' second attempt to remove the West Texas judge overseeing his upcoming sexual assault trial, this time because of alleged bias after she made calls to inquire about progress in the case and accepted extra police protection because of threats associated with it. Judge John Hyde of Midland listened to more than five hours of testimony on Jeffs' motion to recuse District Judge Barbara Walther during a hearing Monday but wrote a day later that much of it rested "on innuendo and supposition." He cited previous court decisions in finding that "impartiality is not gullibility." Jeffs, 55, is ecclesiastical head of the Utah-based Fundamentalist LDS Church that believes polygamy is the key to heaven. He is scheduled to go to trial next week on two counts of sexual assault of a child that are punishable by up to life in prison. They stem from an April 2008 raid on the church's sprawling Yearning for Zion ranch outside remote Eldorado, south of San Angelo, where Jeffs will be tried. Authorities who believed underage girls were being forced into polygamous marriages temporarily removed more than 400 children living at the compound, and the story made headlines nationwide when women there were seen in frontier-style dresses and 19th century hairdos. The raid left Jeffs and 11 others facing charges that included sexual assault and bigamy. Seven have been prosecuted since last year, and all were convicted in cases overseen by Walther who signed the original search warrant that prompted the raid. Hyde also denied Jeffs' first motion to remove Walther on June 13, when his defense team claimed the judge's body language affected jurors during earlier trials of FLDS members. Read more | |
| Jeffs' recusal request denied | |
| Walther to preside at trial of church head | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 19, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs will face the same judge who presided over the trials of his fellow polygamist sect members when he goes on trial Monday. A visiting judge from Midland denied Jeffs' motions to recuse 51st District Judge Barbara Walther from his trial in a decision issued Tuesday. Jeffs, 55, the head of the polygamy-endorsing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, and his trial on those charges is scheduled to begin Monday. He also is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 3 on a felony bigamy charge. Jeff's second attempt to unseat Walther was heard Monday in a pretrial hearing that lasted over five hours and involved testimony from several witnesses. The decision came Tuesday morning. "The Defendant's allegations in the second motion to recuse Judge Walther are found to be without merit," state District Judge John Hyde of Midland stated in his order. Hyde already ruled on a motion to recuse Walther on June 13 and decided against it. Jeffs has tried to fire his lead counsel and hired Houston-based Emily Detoto for purposes of a second attempt at recusal. Hyde's most recent order states that the defendant's presentation at the Monday hearing focused on two factual issues: Walther's communication with the former head of the Tom Green County Court Appointed Special Advocate program and being shown pictures of "FLDS enforcers" as they were characterized during the hearing. Read more | |
| Read Judge John Hyde's Order Denying Amended Motions to Recuse Trial Judge filed in the Texas 51st Judicial District Court on July 19, 2011 | |
| Jeffs to have venue hearing | |
| Sect leader wants to move outside district | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 19, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The leader of a polygamy sanctioning religious sect is set to have a venue hearing today regarding his trial set for Monday on charges of sexual assault of a child. Attorneys for Warren Jeffs, 55, the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, have tried to move the venue away from Tom Green County, where the trial is set for July 25. He also has a felony bigamy trial scheduled for Oct. 3. The default venue location was Schleicher County, but 51st District Judge Barbara Walther opted to change the venue to Tom Green. Jeffs' attorneys have said they want the trial to be moved to a county outside of Walther's district because of pretrial publicity they believe is adverse for their client. Jeffs has gone through several attorneys, firing one hours after retaining him, and getting rid of another, a court-appointed attorney, after retaining Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth, whom he also fired. He retained another attorney, Houston-based Emily Detoto, to try to recuse Walther after the first recusal attempt failed. Detoto said she has no intention of representing Jeffs for the trial. Two other attorneys, brothers Robert and Gary Udashen of Dallas, have been hired to represent Jeffs for a suppression of evidence hearing, but they have filed a motion saying that they do not want to be responsible for being his lead counsel either. Read more | |
| Polygamist Leader Faces Final Hearing Before Trial Set To Begin | |
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Abilene News KTXS Abilene Originally broadcast July 20, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is due in court for a final hearing before his trial on two counts of sexual assault of a child. Jeffs is scheduled to go on trial July 25 on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child from a 2008 raid on a remote Texas church retreat where authorities believed underage girls were being forced into polygamous marriages. He is to appear at a court hearing in San Angelo Wednesday afternoon. At the hearing, he might challenge a change of venue that moved the case from remote Eldorado to San Angelo, about 45 miles north. Prosecutors have accused Jeffs of stalling his trial by running through a series of attorneys. If convicted, the 55-year-old Jeffs could face 99 years to life in prison. | |
| Jeffs' attorneys told to stay on case | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 20, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A pretrial hearing for Warren Jeffs will continue today to settle the date and location of his pending criminal trial. On Wednesday, 51st Distict Judge Barbara Walther ordered that all the lawyers who the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has retained rising stars and veterans from Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth remain as counsel, even as some said at Wednesday's hearing that they wanted out of the case. At least six attorneys affiliated with Jeffs' defense were in the courtroom. Jeffs is scheduled to go to jury trial Monday, accused of two counts of sexual assault of a child. Attorney Deric Walpole of McKinney offered to replace Jeffs' most recent lead attorney, Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth, who wanted to withdraw, saying Jeffs did not want him to have anything to do with the case. Jeffs said through Walpole that he does not even want Kearney to help Walpole get up to speed. "He has made it abundantly clear that he does not want me" as an attorney, Kearney told Walther. Walpole said that if allowed to represent Jeffs, he would ask for continuance and a change of venue, as Kearney said he would have done. At first, Walpole said that with Kearney's help he could be prepared in about 90 days. Then Jeffs whispered to Walpole in a mumble audible through the courtroom, and Walpole said he had been forbidden to use Kearney's help, so he would instead need 180 days to prepare. Read more | |
| Texas judge won't delay polygamist leader's trial | |
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San Antonio Express-News Originally published July 20, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) The latest new lawyer for polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs won't get more time to prepare for trial after a West Texas judge told him Wednesday to be ready in five days to defend his client on child sex assault charges. District Judge Barbara Walther also ordered attorneys previously hired by Jeffs to be ready for trial to begin Monday, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported. Walther even refused to excuse one lawyer who filed a motion to withdraw from the case after Jeffs fired him earlier this month, according to the Texas attorney general's office. Jeffs, 55, is ecclesiastical head of a radical Mormon offshoot known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which believes polygamy is the key to heaven. He has run through a string of lawyers ahead of his trial on charges that could land him in prison for life. Prosecutors have accused Jeffs of playing musical chairs with his lawyers to delay the case. Jeffs appeared during the final pre-trial hearing Wednesday with attorney Deric Walpole of McKinney. Walpole offered to replace Jeffs' most recent attorney, Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth, the Standard-Times reported. After representing Jeffs since January, Kearney filed a motion to withdraw July 7, saying Jeffs had asked for his dismissal. Jeffs asked that Kearney not even help Walpole prepare for the case. Walpole asked for permission to represent Jeffs at trial, but said that given the circumstances, he would need at least six months to prepare. But the judge refused to delay the case any further, and instead ordered Jeffs' past lawyers to be ready to represent him. The hearing is scheduled to continue Thursday. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office is handling the case against Jeffs. It noted Wednesday that Walpole's appearance means no fewer than seven attorneys have appeared as "counsels of record" for Jeffs. Read more | |
| Eldorado Success Newspaper Warren Jeffs' Legal Team | |
| Judge won't delay Warren Jeffs trial | |
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Associated Press The Arizona Republic Originally published July 21, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - A judge has ordered all of the attorneys retained recently by polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs to be ready to represent him when his sexual-assault trial begins Monday. Jeffs was in court Wednesday with his latest attorney, Deric Walpole, who asked Judge Barbara Walther for permission to represent Jeffs. But Walpole said he could take the case only if it were delayed six months. Walther wouldn't delay the trial and ordered all past lawyers Jeffs has retained be ready to represent him. Walope wanted to replace Jeffs' Fort Worth-based attorney, who asked to be excused July 7 at Jeffs' request. Jeffs also fired an Austin attorney in January. Lawyers from Houston and Dallas have also represented him, briefly. Prosecutors have accused Jeffs of playing musical chairs with his lawyers to delay the case. Texas authorities have charged the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with felony bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault. Jeffs' sect, which has been in conflict with the mainstream Mormon Church, has held sway in remote communities along the Arizona-Utah line and has offshoots in Texas and Canada. The Texas charges stem from a 2008 raid of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Officials seized more than 400 children and placed them in state custody on suspicion that underage girls were being sexually abused and that boys were being raised to be sexual predators. Jeffs was extradited from Utah, where he was convicted in a case stemming from the marriage of an underage girl to her cousin. That conviction was overturned in 2007. Seven church members tried so far in Texas have all been convicted in cases overseen by Walther. | |
| Polygamist leader finally set for trial in Texas | |
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KETK 56 Tyler Originally broadcast Thursday, July 21, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is set to go to trial on sexual assault charges after a final pretrial hearing in West Texas ended with no further delays. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has appeared in a San Angelo court with seven attorneys since December. Most asked for additional time to prepare. But prosecutors said Jeffs was changing lawyers as a stall tactic. The conclusion of Thursday's proceedings will allow jury selection to begin Monday. Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child and will also be tried for bigamy in October. The charges stem from a 2008 police raid on a church ranch amid suspicions of teenage girls forced into polygamist marriages. See photo | |
| Jeffs' trial set to begin Monday | |
| Just 280 of 700 potential jurors are available | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 21, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas With 700 people summoned for a jury selection process that may take three days, the trial for Warren Jeffs, the head of a polygamy-sanctioning religious sect, is set for Monday morning. Jeffs ended his last pretrial hearing Thursday, with 9 a.m. Monday set for the beginning of the trial, when potential jurors are to appear at the Tom Green County District Courthouse. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child. On Thursday, attorneys offered several documents having to do with a hearing on the suppression of evidence that is to occur during jury selection, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said. Those documents were sealed. "How do we do a trial if it's all sealed?" Walther asked. Eric Nichols, representing the state, said the suppression hearing could still be in open court, but he alluded to a federal search warrant and probable cause affidavit that needed to be kept out of public sight. The evidence against members of the FLDS has come largely from an April 2008 raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in Schleicher County. The raid came as a result of law enforcement searching for a woman who called claiming she was being abused at the ranch. Read more | |
| Wichita Falls residents look forward to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs trial Monday | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Examiner.com Originally published July 21, 2011 | |
| Wichita Falls law enforcement personnel who participated in the dramatic raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints polygamist compound a few years ago eagerly look forward to the trial of leader Warren Jeffs next week. Wichita Falls Child Protective Services workers, Department of Public Safety troopers and other members of law enforcement trekked from this North Texas city of 105,000 to the polygamist stronghold near San Angelo to rescue children and collect evidence in the glare of the nation's news media spotlight. One Wichita Falls resident said it will be good to see justice done in connection with Warren Jeffs who reportedly inherited more than twenty wives, allegedly without their consent. Some reports allege the 56 year old Jeffs forced underaged girls to marry him. Jeffs will stand trial beginning this Monday on two charges of sexual assault. He made international news when he was named to the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List. The defiant leader of the sect has done everything imaginable to delay his day of reckoning. His tactics have included fighting extradition from Utah to Texas, seeking to have the judge recused on several occasions and firing lawyers. Judge Barbara Walther has stood strong and withstood at least two attempts by Jeffs to have her removed from the case. Jeffs evidently has not been pleased with previous trials of his fellow FLDS members over which Judge Walther presided which resulted in convictions and prison sentences. One polygamist received a 75-year sentence. Read more | |
| Greg Abbott's determination leads to Warren Jeffs' polygamy trial Monday | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Examiner.com Originally published July 23, 2011 | |
| The determination of Wichita Falls, Texas native Greg Abbott has led to the trial of polygamy prophet Warren Jeffs Monday. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was quoted in Time Magazine as pledging to prosecute the FLDS polygamists in West Texas to the full extent of the law. Under Abbott's strong leadership evidence gathered in a 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion polygamist compound resulted in the indictment of leader Jeffs and several of his FLDS followers. Abbott's office has co-operated with local prosecutors from Schleicher and Tom Green counties in working on the cases. The Time Magazine article of 2008 said Abbott made his pledge to prosecute the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints polygamists after reviewing the evidence obtained by Texas law enforcement authorities in April of 2008. Wichita Falls Department of Public Safety troopers and Child Protective Services officials participated in the raid along with Texas Rangers and other law enforcement officials from all across the Lone Star State. Evidence collected in the dramatic raid will reportedly be presented to the jury which will be selected Monday in San Angelo, Texas. Headline News, the television network which recently covered the Casey Anthony trial, will also be on hand to cover the Warren Jeffs trial. Photographs seized during the April 2008 raid were released at a child custody hearing on May 23, 2008. Indictments accuse Jeffs of marrying and sexually assaulting girls ranging in age from 12 to 14. Jeffs was 52 years of age at the time the indictment alleges he committed the offenses. Read more | |
| Jeffs' trial set Monday | |
| Allegations of sexual assault began in 2006 | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 23, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Steed Jeffs was no stranger to Texas before he was named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 2006. He was well-known to hundreds of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamous sect living on the Yearning for Zion Ranch about 45 miles south of San Angelo. It was in Schleicher County, prosecutors allege, that Jeffs sexually assaulted two girls younger than 14 and 17, according to a grand jury indictment. Those allegations, five years later, have put him in front of 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, who has sentenced seven of his fellow sect members to prison on similar charges. The trial begins Monday morning in Courtroom A of the Tom Green County Courthouse with jury selection, which is expected to take three days. "The state is ready to proceed to trial," said Lauren Beam, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General's Office. It may be a different story for the defense. As recently as Friday, Jeffs' latest attorney, hired days before, asked for more time to prepare. At pretrial hearings last week, attorneys asked to remove Walther and expressed intentions to try to move the trial away from San Angelo. Motions to remove the presiding judge were denied. A venue hearing may be held depending on whether a jury can be seated. A motion to suppress evidence, the material gathered in the state's historic raid on the YFZ Ranch in April 2008, was sealed by Walther and will be heard during the jury-selection process. Read more | |
| Decorated lawyers on Jeffs defense team | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 23, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A host of high-powered attorneys from across Texas have been kept for Warren Jeffs' counsel, whether they want to be or not. The head of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has attorneys from Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and McKinney helping him for his Monday trial, in which he is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child. Deric Walpole is the lead counsel for Jeffs. He is a lawyer out of McKinney, part of the firm Luce, Norhouse and Walpole. He was once voted "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by the Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, according to his law office. He has been listed as a Texas rising star for the past four years by "Super Lawyers" magazine. He began representing Jeffs about three business days before the trial was scheduled to begin, submitting motions and paperwork at the last minute. Jeff Kearney of the firm Kearney Wynn in Fort Worth was preparing to be lead counsel before Walpole. Reagan Wynn of the same firm was serving as co-counsel. Kearney has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America and in a who's who lawyer publication and has practiced law for 29 years, according to his law firm. Kearney had been representing Jeffs for more than five months before Jeffs tried to fire him, and Kearney filed to be removed from the case on July 7. Judge Barbara Walther, of the 51st District, who is presiding over the Jeffs trial, denied that motion, although Kearney has been instructed by Jeffs not to represent him. Walpole once asked for more time to prepare for trial and said he could be ready in 90 days with Kearney's help, but Jeffs told his new attorney not to get Kearney's help. Kearney said he could explain his falling out with Jeffs to Walther in private, but Jeffs said through Walpole that he didn't want Kearney saying anything about it. Read more | |
| Prosecutor highly regarded | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 23, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Throughout the prosecutions of seven men, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the attorneys for the defense have changed, and the venue has changed, but between the bar and the judge's bench, the lead prosecutor remained the same. Eric Nichols, the special prosecutor for the Texas attorney general, has kept a steely eye and his poised, shaved head directed toward the defense. His speech is methodical through most of his examinations of witnesses in trials, occasionally flaring angrily in final arguments. Occasionally he smiles bemusedly at arguments from the defense. "It was one of the best jobs I ever had," Nichols said about working for the attorney general before returning to private practice. He continues the prosecution of members of the FLDS with the trial of Warren Jeffs, the head of the polygamy-endorsing sect, whose trial regarding sexual assault of a child begins Monday in the Tom Green County Courthouse. Nichols declined to comment about his career as an attorney to be sensitive to the proceedings. The University of Virginia graduate and graduate of the University of Texas School of Law has been named a "super lawyer" by Texas Monthly magazine. Read more | |
| FLDS TRIALS: Security plans in place for Jeffs trial | |
| County, city formulate solution for traffic concerns | |
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By Jennifer Rios San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 24, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Law enforcement's lips are sealed concerning courthouse security for high-profile inmate Warren Jeffs. Agencies organizing security measures won't say how many extra officers will be on hand for Jeffs' trial, but assure the public they're prepared. "Business will be conducted as usual here," said David Jones, Tom Green County chief deputy. Jeffs, leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, will be escorted from his jail cell this morning to begin what his attorneys are saying could be a monthlong trial. After months of court hearings, motion filings and switching defense counsel, Jeffs will be tried on two counts of sexual assault of a child. While 51st District Judge Barbara Walther's bailiff is charged with keeping peace in the courtroom, local law enforcement agencies will monitor the blocks surrounding the courthouse. Jones and Sheriff Truman Richey said they will handle traffic concerns differently from when the Tom Green County District Courthouse hosted a child-custody hearing for more than 400 children following an April 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado. The sheriff's office opened its east parking lot Monday to media organizations a solution to a problem they encountered in 2008 when satellite vans lined the street in front of the courthouse. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader's trial starts today | |
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Written by WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas His followers call him a prophet who is God's spokesman on Earth. Prosecutors say he's a bigamist who sexually assaulted two underage girls he duped into "spiritual marriages." Whether he's a holy man or a criminal, it's hard to find many people who don't have an opinion on Warren Jeffs in this remote, cotton-growing corner of West Texas oil and gas country. That will be the key challenge when jury selection begins today in the case of the 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of the Mormon church that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and should be protected under U.S. religious freedoms. "I would imagine that they would want to transfer it to the moon where you might have a chance that no one would have heard of it," said Patrick Metze, a criminal law professor at Texas Tech University. Jeffs is charged with sexual assault of one child and aggravated sexual assault of another. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted and will be tried separately on bigamy charges in October. The accusations stem from an April 2008 police raid on a church compound known as Yearning For Zion outside the town of Eldorado, about 45 miles south of San Angelo. Authorities who believed girls were being forced into polygamous marriages removed more than 400 children living at the compound, and TV images of women wearing frontier-style dresses and 19th century hairdos were shown across the country. Read more | |
| Polygamy Power Play | |
| Warren Jeffs, the cult leader with some 100 wives, goes on trial today, charged with bedding girls as young as 12. Carol McKinley on the turf war already engulfing the sect's compound. | |
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Carol McKinley The Daily Beast - New York, NY Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| Months ago, Warren Jeffs, leader of America's best-known polygamy cult, prophesized that God would free him from his west Texas prison cell, prompting his followers to build him a mansion as big as a Holiday Inn in anticipation of his triumphant return home to his 100 or so "wives." But the jail walls never crumbled, and so Jeffs, handcuffed and surrounded by Texas Rangers, will march into court today, to stand trial in a case that could keep him in prison - and his new home empty - for the rest of this life. "It's been a long road," one of his brothers tells THE DAILY BEAST. Fearful of Jeffs since he kicked him out of the cult, he requested anonymity. "I want justice served. And I'm anxious for the outcome." The 55-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) - a polygamous offshoot disavowed by the actual Mormon church - is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, based on taking two young girls into "celestial marriage" (a church marriage that isn't legally enacted, to avoid running afoul, technically, of polygamy laws). One of them was just 12, say prosecutors, and the other under 17. (Investigators say at least 19 of his wives were underage.) Read more | |
| Jeffs delay denied; jury selection begins in Texas | |
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By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press Forbes Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Jury selection has begun in the child sexual assault trial of a polygamist leader in West Texas after a judge denied his attorney's request for a delay. The attorney for Warren Jeffs asked for a three-month delay, saying he hasn't had enough time to prepare since taking over last week in the case of the 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Attorney Deric Walpole told state District Judge Barbara Walther it would be a "great injustice" to start the trial now. Prosecutors say the frequent changes in attorneys are Jeffs' stall tactics. Walther denied the motion. She says 120 potential jurors were brought in Monday morning, and 120 more are expected in the afternoon. Authorities say Jeffs forced underage girls into polygamous marriages. | |
| Jury selection under way in Warren Jeffs sexual assault trial | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
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(CNN) -- Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs began in Texas on Monday, nearly a week after his motion to remove a judge assigned to the case was denied. District Judge Barbara Walther told the pool of potential jurors the trial could last two to three weeks. Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy stemming from a 2008 raid on a ranch operated by his church. Authorities raided the Yearning for Zion ranch near Eldorado, Texas, and removed 400 children who they feared had been sexually abused. Some of the men at the ranch were charged with sexual abuse and most of the children were later returned to their families. The ranch is operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot sect of the mainstream Mormon Church. Jeffs' motion to remove the judge assigned to hear the sexual assault charges against him was denied Tuesday by a different Texas judge. He is expected to go on trial to face the bigamy charge at a later date. The FLDS splintered from the Mormon Church more than a century ago when Mormons renounced the practice of polygamy. Jeffs' church is believed to have about 10,000 followers.
In Session's Beth Karas contributed to this report. See photo | |
| Warren Jeffs arrives at courthouse INSESSION|Added on July 25, 2011 | |
| Jury selection begins in polygamist leader's Texas trial | |
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By Jim Forsyth Reuters Originally published Mon Jul 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - (Reuters) - Jury selection got underway in a Texas ranching community on Monday for the child sexual abuse trial of Warren Steed Jeffs, leader of a breakaway polygamist Mormon sect. Jeffs, 55, is charged with sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child for entering into spiritual 'marriages' with two girls, ages 12 and 14, at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. Jeffs is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church and is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls. The sect, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers, also teaches that for a man to be among the select in heaven, he must have at least three wives. The trial stems from Jeffs' "ecclesiastical" or "spiritual" marriages to two girls at the West Texas ranch he set up when he took control of the sect after his father, longtime FLDS "Prophet" and insurance salesman Rulon Jeffs, died. They were not licensed civil marriages, due to the girls' ages and the fact that at the time Jeffs was already married. Jeffs also faces charges of bigamy, a felony in Texas, but won't face trial on those counts until this fall. After decades on the Utah-Arizona border, Jeffs in 2003 expanded into Texas at the ranch seen as a new headquarters for his church, which he saw expanding across North America from outposts including in Canada. The current trial stems from the persistence of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who pursued reports that ended in a headline-grabbing raid on Jeffs' compound three years ago. Abbott personally attended the first day of jury selection. Read more | |
| Jury refinement begins in Jeffs trial | |
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By Michael Kelly, Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - A potential jury panel is being whittled down after being briefed in basic juror qualifications in the trial of Warren Jeffs, which began Monday morning in Courtroom A of the Tom Green County Courthouse. Jeffs is the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child. Forty-two potential jurors out of about 140 were excused in the morning. Another set of about 140 jurors were expected to report after a lunch break called just after noon. "Welcome to your courthouse," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said as the room filled shortly after 9 a.m. Walther explained basic qualifications for jurors, such as the age limit and citizenship requirements. After hearing that jurors needed to be of sound mind and moral character, one woman stood and said she serving probation for injuring an elderly person. She was later excused. Before leaving for the afternoon, the potential jurors left in the pool filled out questionnaires from the defense modified by the court. They were instructed to return Tuesday morning. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was in attendance, entering the courtroom just after 9 a.m. Getting the crowd of onlookers, media staff and prospective jurors through the security chute at the courthouse took about 30 minutes after the courthouse doors opened at 8:30 a.m. Seating room remained after everyone had made their way in. Jeffs sat at the defense table in suit and tie instead of usual orange jumpsuit. His lead attorney, Deric Walpole was at the table, and also in the courthouse were defense attorneys Emily Detoto, Jeff Kearney and Reagan Wynn. Read more | |
| Defense: Polygamist Leaders' Rights Were Violated | |
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By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press ABC News Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas July 25, 2011 (AP) - The first hint of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' defense strategy came Monday when his attorney said his right to freedom of religion was trampled by Texas prosecutors, who claim he sexually assaulted two underage girls after manipulating them into "spiritual marriages." Jury selection began Monday in the case of the 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The church's 10,000 members see Jeffs as a prophet who speaks for God on Earth. About 280 potential jurors showed up, but around 60 were released because of scheduling conflicts and other routine issues. Those remaining filled out a form with 17 questions. It did not mention Jeffs' church but asked potential jurors to list TV shows they regularly watch and whether they or a close relative had been the victim of a sexual crime. The proceedings only got started, however, after District Judge Barbara Walther rejected a request for a three-month delay from Jeffs' latest attorney, Deric Walpole. He said he had spent 18 to 22 hours a day on the case since being hired last week but it wasn't enough time to prepare. He said it would be a "great injustice" to start the trial Monday. "I've done everything I can to get ready," Walpole said. "I'm not asking for a lot given the gravity of this case." Jeffs, backed by an FLDS land trust worth more than $110 million, has had seven attorneys appear on his behalf in recent months. Prosecutors say his frequent switching of counsel is a delay tactic. In turning down Walpole's request, Walther said one reason he has had so much work to do in so little time is that Jeffs not only fired his previous attorney but asked Walpole not to consult him - an order that was beyond the court's control. While stating his case, Walpole gave the first public hint of Jeffs' planned defense, saying "my client's right to practice religion as he sees fit is in jeopardy." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs' sexual assault trial in Texas under way | |
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By Sam Penrod KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - The trial for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is under way in Texas, where is he is accused of having sex with two teenage girls. Unlike the Utah case, where Jeffs was tried on charges that he was an accomplice to rape for performing an underage marriage, the Texas case accuses him of committing the sexual assault himself. One of the alleged victims was 14 at the time, the other just 12 years old. Warren Jeffs arrived to the courthouse wearing a business suit, and without the handcuffs and shackles he is typically seen in. Texas Rangers escorted him inside to help in his own defense. Outside, more than 100 prospective jurors lined up on the courthouse steps. The leader of the polygamist sect is being prosecuted by the Texas Attorney General's Office. The attorney general himself, Greg Abbott, was in the courtroom Monday. He insists Jeffs is being prosecuted like any suspected criminal. "The only thing different is that Warren Jeffs is trying to delay this," Abbot said. Jury selection was the main goal of Monday's proceedings. About 280 potential jurors showed up, but around 60 were released because of scheduling conflicts and other routine issues. Those remaining filled out a form with 17 questions. It did not mention Jeffs' church but asked potential jurors to list TV shows they regularly watch and whether they or a close relative had been the victim of a sexual crime. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Stage two of jury seating to start in Jeffs trial | |
| Abbott, in court, agrees with judge | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 25, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The defense and prosecution today will open up with questions for potential jurors who have undergone basic screening in the trial of Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, 55, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is on trial in San Angelo on two counts of sexual assault of a child. Jury selection began Monday in the Tom Green County Courthouse, and the court heard another plea for more time from the defense. Jeffs' lead attorney, hired last week, sought a continuance, which 51st District Judge Barbara Walther denied. "Given the gravity of this case, consider a request for 180 days to file the appropriate motions," Deric Walpole said. "If this case proceeds, a terrible injustice will be done." Walpole, who also sought and was denied a continuance in a pretrial motion Friday, said additional time is required in part so he can file further pleadings, which he said might include motions about Jeffs' First Amendment religious liberties being violated. The FLDS practices polygamy. Walpole said that he has been working 18 to 20 hours a day to get ready since he took on the case July 20 but that he needed more time. Walpole is the most recent in a series of attorneys to represent Jeffs, whose trial has been set back a number of times as he fired lawyers and sought new representation. The prosecution argued that there had been too many delays. Read more | |
| Second day of jury selection begins in Jeffs trial | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Jury selection entered its second day Tuesday in the trial of Warren Jeffs, the head and prophet of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who is accused of two counts of child sexual assault. More than 200 prospective jurors were to report to the Tom Green County courthouse at 9 a.m., the remnant of approximately 280 called Monday. Jurors who were not immediately disqualified Monday were given questionnaires to complete. They will be examined Tuesday by defense and prosecution in part on their answers. The goal is to reduce the jurors to a 12-member panel with two alternates. Jeffs' trial is expected to take a month. He was represented Monday by Deric Walpole, but several attorneys he has attempted to fire were also in the courtroom. At a pretrial hearing Friday, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther told the attorneys they will remain available for representation and denied a motion by Walpole, who was engaged by Jeffs only days before, to delay the trial for 180 days. Walpole requested a continuance on Monday, and Walther denied that motion, too. Read more | |
| Church leader's child sex trial begins - | |
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Kyle, In Session Field Producer In Session CNN Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
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San Angelo, Texas - A jury of 10 women and 2 men, along with one male and one female alternate, was picked just before 9 p.m. ET Tuesday. The court hasn't sworn in the jury. Tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET, the defense will argue a motion to suppress evidence. This will likely involve testimony by several witnesses and could be lengthy. Opening statements will follow the suppression hearing and any other matters. The judge denied In Session's request to allow cameras in the courtroom, but In Session's producers and correspondents are in the courtroom to bring you all the details.
Day one of jury selection for Texas v. Warren Jeffs got underway on Monday with a total jury pool of 263 that was processed in two halves during a morning and an afternoon session. After first establishing basic qualifications such as age, county residency and English proficiency, Judge Barbara Walther explained that the trial was expected to last two to three weeks and informed the jury of possible factors that could disqualify them. At this point, individuals from the pool were invited to approach the bench to explain whatever hardships they believed prevented them from being a juror. Read more | |
| More than 100 would-be jurors already decided on Warren Jeffs | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Ten women and two men were selected to sit on the jury in the sexual assault trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs late Tuesday, after more than 100 potential jurors were excused for admitting they'd previously heard enough about his background to no longer presume him innocent. An initial pool of 207 was on-hand for the second day of jury selection in the case of the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The 55-year-old Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child. If convicted, the maximum sentence for both is 119 years to life in prison. He will have a separate trial for bigamy in October. Eric Nichols, a special prosecutor for the Texas attorney general's office, asked those assembled if they'd heard enough about Jeffs previously to affect his guilt or innocence in their minds. Eighty-three people raised blue cards stamped with their juror numbers. After a brief recess which was made a bit more uncomfortable because of a water main break that affected water pressure in the courthouse defense attorney Deric Walpole referenced those who indicated they had already made up their minds about Jeffs. "Y'all, that's getting off to a bad start," he said. "Which is fine, as long as you're identified." Walpole then asked if anyone no longer presumed his client innocent. "If you don't, raise your cards," he said. "Get 'em up high. Don't be shy." That drew an objection from Nichols, but the number of cards raised eventually increased to 101. By contrast, when Walpole asked how many people had read or seen nothing about the Jeffs case, about 60 people raised their cards. The defense labored the point because it has already said it plans to file for a change of venue out of the oil and gas town of San Angelo though it has yet to file the motion. Read more | |
| Jury seated for Jeffs' Texas trial | |
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By Sam Penrod KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast July 26, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A Texas judge has selected a jury for the sexual assault trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. A jury of 10 women and two men was selected Tuesday evening after a very long day in court. It was an exhausting process to narrow down the jury pool from nearly 300 people. A total of 207 prospective jurors returned to the courthouse Tuesday, to undergo questioning about their backgrounds and whether they could be impartial should they be seated on the jury. By late afternoon, more than half of those potential jurors had been excused. As of 5 p.m., just 87 remained; and the final selection of 12 was made at around 8 p.m. Jeffs escorted by several officers and again dressed in a suit and tie, and not wearing restraints is accused of sexually assaulting and marrying a 14-year-old girl along with a 12-year-old girl at the Yearning for Zion Ranch, just outside of the small town of Eldorado, Texas. Judge Barbara Walther is working from such a large jury pool because of all of the publicity involving this case in this region of Texas. Jurors were asked questions about their religious views and if they can abide by the law involving a jury trial. From the questions being asked of prospective jurors, we got a glimpse of the prosecution's case against Jeffs. For instance, the jury pool was asked if they could convict someone of a sex crime without DNA evidence. Also, an explanation was given about the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| 14 picked for jury during Jeffs' trial | |
| Suppression hearing on evidence set | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Now that a jury has been selected but not yet sworn in, a suppression hearing to decide whether evidence will be admitted in the trial of Warren Jeffs will begin this afternoon. On Tuesday, 120 prospective jurors were excused en masse for reasons such as an inability to presume that Jeffs leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is innocent or to sentence him to probation if he is found guilty. The court was then left with 87 people from whom to pick 14 jurors in Jeffs' trial on charges of child sexual assault. The jurors were selected by about 8 p.m. Tuesday, with 10 women and two men as jurors and one man and one woman as alternates. The individual questioning went swiftly after attorneys agreed to use polls done earlier in the day to determine who would be disqualified. In a hearing away from the potential jurors in another courtroom, the state anticipated that it would, in the punishment phase of the trial, bring up Jeffs "presiding in hundreds of bigamous marriages," special Prosecutor Eric Nichols said. The court will hold a suppression hearing at 1 p.m. today. The defense gave its constant plea that it was not ready. The defense has planned to file a change of venue motion but has not done so. The state said it would be prepared if the defense files the motion. "We're ready for anything," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. Four to five witnesses may be involved for the defense, two from out of state, Nichols said. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs seeks to control polygamist sect from jail | |
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By David Fitzpatrick CNN Originally broadcast July 26, 2011 | |
| El Dorado, Texas (CNN) Fundamentalist Mormon leader Warren Jeffs has been held in a tiny jail in this west Texas town for roughly three years. According to his jailers, he has spent his time doing one thing above all else: talking on the phone. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told CNN that in one month, Jeffs has spent roughly $3,000 on phone cards. And while Jeffs was recently held in another Texas jail roughly 50 miles away, he spent close to $10,000 in phone cards in three months. Reagan County Sheriff James Garner, who oversees that jail, told CNN that no inmate there has ever spent that much money on phone cards. Authorities say Jeffs has received money from loyal followers and that he uses much of it to buy phone time to deliver lengthy sermons to acolytes in Texas, Utah and Arizona. Some Jeffs experts say the calls are proof that he's running his church from behind bars. And officially, Jeffs still leads the breakaway sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), which firmly believes in polygamy. Leaders of the mainstream Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have repeatedly disavowed Jeffs and say his group of roughly 10,000 followers in no way represents their religion. The official LDS church banned polygamy more than a century ago. Jury selection for Jeff's sexual assault trial began in Texas on Monday. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy. Jeffs has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs jury selected for FLDS polygamy trial | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Examiner.com Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
| Greg Abbott, Wichita Falls native, was on hand again Tuesday as the final 12 jurors were selected but not sworn in for the trial of the century for FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. The national news media representatives were all present as 10 men and two women were selected by approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday. Swarmed over by news media representatives as he left the courthouse, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott declined to comment on whether or not the two alleged victims of America's most famous alleged polygamist would testify. A suppression hearing will begin about 1 p.m. Wednesday to determine if evidence seized by Wichita Falls and other law enforcement authorities across the state would be allowed into evidence in front of the 12 jurors. Judge Barbara Walther will make that crucial decision about evidence which was seized during a raid of the Yearning for Zion FLDS Compound in April of 2008. Members of the Wichita Falls Child Protective Services office participated in taking custody of more than 400 children during the dramatic raid. While he was tight-lipped when asked whether Jeffs fathered children with either of his two victims, Abbott did vow that the prosecution would be ready for anything they encountered during the pre-trial hearings and subsequent jury trial. Read more | |
| Producer of 'Banking on Heaven' FLDS, Warren Jeffs film, speaks to In Session | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner Examiner.com Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
| On July 26, 2011, Laurie Allen, the producer of the documentary film "Banking on Heaven" spoke live with In Session. In Session is covering the Warren Jeffs trial during their programming which airs each weekday from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. Jeffs faces two sexual abuse charges stemming from the revelation he had married two child brides. The film "Banking on Heaven" interviews several escapees from the polygamist group including Warren Jeffs sister, Elaine Jeffs. Laurie Allen also spoke with Dr. Drew Pinsky on his program that aired on Monday, July 25, 2011. Laurie Allen spoke about how she escaped from the Lebaron polygamous sect when she lived in Central America. She was sixteen-years-old at the time. Allen described her escape as follows, "Well, I actually jumped out the second-story window on to a flat bed truckload of pigs. One of my uncles had kidnapped me, and we were living in Central America. He was kind of like Jeffs. He was an outlaw, and you know, running from the law. And so, it was quite an ordeal escaping From Central America when I was 16 and not knowing where I had a single relative on the outside. "When I finally got a job as a live-in nanny, basically, in Florida, they paid for my flight to the United States. And when I got here, it took me nine months to find a relative on the outside as I didn't know where anybody was." Read more | |
| Listen to FLDS cult leader Warren Jeffs discuss plural marriages | |
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Charisse Van Horn Cults Examiner Examiner.com Originally published July 26, 2011 | |
| Though Warren Jeffs has been behind bars doesn't mean that his hold over the FLDS cult has lessened. On July 25, 2011, investigative reporter Michael Watkiss spoke on HLN's Dr. Drew to discuss the stronghold that Jeffs has over his 10,000 plus community. Warren Jeffs has been accused of physical abuses, sexual abuse involving minors, arranging marriages between underage brides and older men and practicing bigamy. He is currently facing two counts of sexual abuse on a minor stemming from relationships he held with two child brides, one who was 12-years-old. He is currently facing trial in Texas stemming from the 2008 raid at the FLDS compound Yearning for Zion. Michael Watkiss explained why he believed Jeffs had previously denounced his role as prophet and leader of the cult. "I think Warren Jeffs has gone through his ups and downs while he's been behind bars, but make no mistake about it. He is very much the leader of this community that's at least 10,000 people strong. They continue to have ties to him, give him great amounts of money. They will follow him unquestioning. And, Mr. Jeffs is still the guy in the driver's seat of the FLDS community. "And it's a community whose long track record -- for someone like me who`s been covering this as long as I have, the frustration is the rest of the media starts taking note when we have a big even like this. But these guys have been marrying underage girls for generations. And, we've been trying to tell these stories. And it seems that only when we have an explosion of a raid -- this story did not start with the raid on the YFC ranch. It's not going to end with the prosecution of Warren Jeffs. Read more | |
| Attorneys to argue about evidence in Warren Jeffs sexual assault trial | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally broadcast July 27, 2011 | |
| San Angelo, Texas (CNN) -- Attorneys are scheduled to be in court Wednesday to argue a motion to suppress evidence, a day after jury selection in the sexual assault trial of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. It's unclear when the jury of 10 women and two men will hear opening statements. The jury selection Tuesday followed a full day of questioning. At one point, nearly half of 207 potential jurors raised their hands when asked by defense attorney Deric Walpole "if you do not presume my client to be innocent." Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy stemming from a 2008 raid on a ranch operated by his church. Authorities raided the Yearning for Zion ranch near Eldorado, Texas, and removed 400 children who they feared had been sexually abused. Some of the men at the ranch were charged with sexual abuse and most of the children were later returned to their families. The ranch is operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot sect of the mainstream Mormon Church. Walpole said he needs more time to present a defense, but Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the defense has had sufficient time to prepare. District Judge Barbara Walther told the pool of potential jurors Monday that the trial could last two to three weeks. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs' Former Accuser Says Evidence In Polygamy Trial Will 'Shock The World' | |
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By KATIE KINDELAN Good Morning America ABC News Originally broadcast July 27, 2011 | |
| A Texas judge will hear opening motions today in the trial of Warren Jeffs, just as the woman who was the first to bring charges against the polygamist sect leader comes forward to say this trial will open the world's eyes to the insular, polygamist world of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), the offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that Jeffs leads. "It will shock the world, the evidence that comes out," Elissa Wall said today on "Good Morning America." Wall was one of the first of Jeffs' followers to pursue criminal charges against him when, as a 14-year-old, she said Jeffs, 55, forced her to marry her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen Steed. "Warren Jeffs was a principal in my school and he also cultured a lot of the views of the religion I grew up in," Wall, now in her early 20s and married with two children, said today on "GMA." After leaving the FLDS, she pursued criminal charges against Steed for sexual assault and against Jeffs for being an accomplice to rape. Jeffs was convicted on those charges in 2007 but the conviction was overturned by an appellate court on a technicality. "I was able to get out but it was a struggle," Wall said of her experience with Jeffs, a story chronicled in her book, "Stolen Innocence." "Many people don't understand the people within these closed communities can't just walk out of them. It takes a choice." In the current trial, Jeffs faces charges he sexually assaulted two underage girls, ages 17 and 12, whom he later married. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. He faces a separate trial on a bigamy charge in October. "This is an opportunity for people to see firsthand the actual crimes that Warren Jeffs himself has committed," Wall said on "GMA." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs' trial ready to move forward | |
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By Mike Watkiss AZFamily azfamily.com Originally broadcast July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas It's a go in west Texas. After two long and grueling days of jury selection in the sweltering town of San Angelo, a jury has been impaneled to hear the sexual-assault case against polygamous prophet Warren Steed Jeffs. At about 8 p.m. Tuesday, weary lawyers -- prosecutors and defense attorneys -- emerged from the old courthouse here in Tom Green County, among them Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott who told reporters that two men and 10 women had been selected as jurors in this case that has captured international attention. Two alternates one man and woman -- also made the cut. The announcement came after a quicker-than-expected selection process that was pushed along by no-nonsense Judge Barbara Walther. Walther, clearly irritated by what many perceive as delays and stalling efforts on the part of Jeffs, has forcefully kept lawyers in the case on point during the last couple of days with the end result a jury now ready to go. One interesting moment Tuesday morning, when the jury pool still numbered more than 200 people, came when lawyers asked the men and women packed into Walther's courtroom whether they could start the high-profile trial with the presumption that Jeffs is innocent as the law requires. Nearly half the hands in the courtroom shot up in the air, indicating that they could not start the trial with that necessary mindset. Those people undoubtedly were among the group given the boot. Read more | |
| Jury set but Warren Jeffs' case yet to start | |
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Written by WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A jury has been selected, but the trial of polygamist religious sect leader Warren Jeffs won't have opening statements without at least one more hearing. The defense has filed a motion to suppress evidence. A hearing on that is expected Wednesday afternoon. Jeffs' attorneys also say they will file for a change of venue out of San Angelo, Texas, but have yet to do so. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy is the key to heaven. He faces two counts of sexual assault of a child. If convicted, Jeffs could face maximum sentences of 119 years to life in prison. Jeffs' church has a compound in Eldorado, south of San Angelo. | |
| Third day of Jeffs trial opens with hearing (photo gallery) | |
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Michael Kelly/Scripps Texas Newspapers Abilene Reporter-News - Abilene, Texas Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The trial of Warren Jeffs entered its third day with a hearing regarding suppression of evidence. Some exhibits for the hearing, which began at 1 p.m. Wednesday before 51st District Judge Barbara Walther in the Tom Green Courthouse, had been sealed pending jury selection. A jury was chosen but not sworn in Tuesday evening, the second day of the trial. Jeffs, leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, faces first- and second-degree felony charges related to allegations that he participated in multiple marriages with underage girls while he was in Texas in 2005 and 2006. The trial is expected to last three weeks or more. Jeffs faces as much as 119 years in prison if he is convicted and gets the maximum sentence on both counts to run consecutively. Deric Walpole is the lead attorney for the defense, and special prosecutor Eric Nichols is the lead attorney for the state. | |
| See the Abilene Reporter-News Photo Gallery of days one and two in the Warren Jeffs Texas trial | |
| Jeffs' lawyers seek suppression of evidence | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press ABC 4 Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - Lawyers for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs are arguing authorities recklessly omitted key facts when obtaining a search warrant that led to charges against him. Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, faces two counts of sexual assault of a child. He was charged after a 2008 police raid on a church compound in Texas. The raid was based on a call alleging child abuse that turned out to be a hoax. In seeking suppression of evidence, lawyers for Jeffs said Wednesday that police deliberately misled the judge who signed the warrant by failing to mention indications that the call for help was false. State District Judge Barbara Walther signed the original warrant and is presiding over Jeffs' trial. She didn't immediately rule. | |
| Opening Statements Set for Thursday in Jeffs Trial | |
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by Will Weissert Associated Press KCSG TV Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| (San Angelo, TX) - A judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to the defense of polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs, refusing to suppress evidence police seized during a 2008 raid on his sect's West Texas compound. District Judge Barbara Walther's decision means a small mountain of documents - including marriage and birth records - can be presented to the jury during Jeffs' trial. It also means opening statements in the case are set for Thursday morning, after one more suppression hearing. This time, Jeffs' attorneys are asking that evidence seized during the 2006 traffic stop in Nevada when Jeffs was arrested also be suppressed. Walther said she would hear arguments on that for about an hour, then told both sides to be ready with opening statements. Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, faces two counts of sexual assault of a child. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of up to 119 years to life in prison. The April 2008 raid on the FLDS ranch outside of tiny Eldorado, Texas, made headlines nationwide. Walther signed the search warrant that prompted it. The raid was based on a call to a domestic abuse shelter that turned out to be a hoax, however. Jeffs' attorneys had argued that police had suspicions information provided by the caller was spurious, and yet didn't mention them to Walther to ensure she'd approve the warrant. After about an hour hearing, an additional 30 minutes of deliberating, Walther ruled turned down the defense request. | |
| Jeffs trial being watched closely from afar | |
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By Dave Hawkins Special to the Standard-Times San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| KINGMAN, Ariz. His far-flung, loyal followers are said to be anxious as the courtroom proceedings get under way in San Angelo. Hundreds of miles from the Longhorn State in the communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., great uncertainty prevails about the trial and what its outcome will mean for the future of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints led by Warren Jeffs, 55, who is looking at prison time up to 119 years if things go against him. "It definitely seems to be more tense," said Sam Brower, a private investigator and author whose work has focused on Jeffs and the FLDS for the last seven years. Referring to the atmosphere in the twin communities where about 6,500 people, most of them FLDS followers, live, Brower said, "Actually, I don't know that I've ever seen it this tense before." Jeffs has relayed communications to his followers there, Brower said, that assert he might somehow prevail in Texas, having previously won dismissal in Arizona and conviction reversal in Utah in criminal prosecutions centered on allegations that he arranged "celestial unions" between underage girls and adult men. "I'm hearing that Warren has said that he's going to be delivered before the trial. That's what he's telling his people," Brower said, conceding it's not clear what "delivered" means. Isaac Wyler believes he still has the pulse of the FLDS faithful, even though Jeffs personally excommunicated him from the church years ago. Wyler said day to day life in Colorado City and Hildale will be disrupted by congregational concern for Jeffs' fate in Texas. "The thing that I seem to be gathering is, they don't think he's going to get a fair trial," Wyler said. "They're going to be praying and fasting. Warren's going to have them fasting and praying probably sometimes for days at a time." Read more | |
| Judge thwarts Jeffs again, allows evidence | |
| Stage set for opening statements in trial today | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Proceedings are blazing by in the trial of Warren Jeffs, with 51st District Judge Barbara Walther ruling Wednesday against an evidence challenge from the defense and telling attorneys to be ready for opening statements today. Jeffs' attorneys sought to prevent the evidence obtained in the April 2008 raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Yearning for Zion Ranch from being admitted in the trial. Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child, much of the prosecution's case being based on trailer loads of documents, electronic files and other material seized in the raid. "We would like to call witnesses," said Robert Udashen, a Dallas attorney retained by Jeffs to argue the motion to suppress evidence. His brother Gary Udashen also is representing Jeffs in that regard. Walther didn't allow the attorneys to bring in witnesses for Wednesday's hearing, although a Nevada state trooper and an FBI agent may come at 9 a.m. today to testify about whether the evidence from the car stop that resulted in Jeffs' arrested can be admitted. Attorneys submitted massive amounts of paperwork from previous hearings on evidence suppression. Walther has already ruled in previous hearings, one of which lasted several days, that the search warrants she signed were valid and the evidence is admissible. Read more | |
| Opening Statements Set for Thursday in Jeffs Trial | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press San Antonio Express-News Originally published July 27, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) A judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to the defense of polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs, refusing to suppress evidence police seized during a 2008 raid on his sect's remote West Texas compound. District Judge Barbara Walther's decision clears the way for a small mountain of documents including marriage and birth records, and thousands of pages of Jeffs' own writing in personal journals to be presented to the jury during Jeffs' sexual assault trial. Jurors also may be able to see DNA evidence collected from children living on the compound. Opening statements in the case are now set for Thursday morning, after one more suppression hearing. This time, Jeffs' attorneys are seeking the suppression of evidence recovered when Jeffs was arrested, after a 2006 traffic stop along a highway outside Apex, Nevada. Walther said she would hear arguments on that for about an hour before the jury is seated, then wanted both sides to be ready with opening statements. Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with sexually assaulting two underage girls. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 119 years to life in prison. He also is scheduled to go to trial on a separate bigamy charge in October. Jeffs' sect is a radical offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. It has more than 10,000 members nationwide, and his high-powered defense team which has included seven attorneys is being financed by an FLDS land trust believed to be worth more than $110 million. Read more | |
| FLDS leader Warren Jeffs on trial, accused of sexually assaulting two girls | |
| Opening statements are expected Thursday in the trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. Defense lawyers have suggested they may argue that his actions are consistent with his sincerely held religious beliefs. | |
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By Warren Richey The Christian Science Monitor - Boston, Massachusetts Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| Opening statements are expected Thursday in the trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who is accused of marrying and sexually assaulting two teenage girls. One of the girls was under the age of 17, and the other was younger than 14, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say the marriages were invalid and that resulting sexual contact was child molestation. If convicted, Mr. Jeffs could be sentenced to life in prison. He also faces trial in October for bigamy. Defense lawyers have suggested they may argue that Jeffs's actions are consistent with his sincerely held religious beliefs. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, but laws against bigamy and protecting children have been upheld against constitutional challenges. The current trial in the west Texas town of San Angelo is expected to last a month. The prosecution stems from evidence collected during an April 2008 law-enforcement raid on the group's Yearning for Zion compound near Eldorado, Texas. More than 400 children were taken into custody and questioned after what turned out to be a hoax phone call to a domestic-abuse shelter. Authorities also seized a large number of documents, including marriage and birth records. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs fires attorneys, wants to represent himself | |
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WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs has dismissed his team of attorneys and asked to represent himself at his sexual assault trial in Texas. Jeffs told state District Judge Barbara Walther during Thursday's hearing that he needs some time to find some other attorney who can help him file legal briefs. Walther asked Jeffs a few questions before adjourning to consider his request. Jeffs is charged with sexually assaulting two underage girls and could face life in prison if convicted. He is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, which is not affiliated with the Mormon church and which believes in polygamy. See photo | |
| Judge says polygamist leader can represent himself | |
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By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press AP via Yahoo! News Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs dismissed his high-powered defense team and began representing himself Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to delay the start of his sexual assault trial. With opening statements set to begin, the 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said he had spent extensive time training his lawyers, but they weren't able to present "a pure defense." He then pleaded for more time to prepare the case by himself. Jeffs burned through seven attorneys in six months and prosecutors had complained his frequent switching of counsel was a delay tactic. But special prosecutor Eric Nichols, representing the Texas attorney general's office, said he'd be willing to stop the trial until Monday if Jeffs represented himself. State District Judge Barbara Walther allowed Jeffs to become his own lawyer but refused to delay the case even as Jeffs sat alone at the defense table, rising every few minutes to mumble about how not delaying it would be a grave injustice. The judge barreled onward, hearing a pretrial motion Jeffs' lawyers had previously filed seeking to suppress evidence from when Jeffs was arrested after a 2006 traffic stop in Nevada. "Is the defense ready to proceed?" she asked. Jeffs sat and stared into space, with his lawyers sitting behind him in the public gallery. Finally, attorney Emily Munoz Detoto said "That's you, Mr. Jeffs. And stand up when you address the judge!" Read more | |
| Representing self, Warren Jeffs sits silent rather than present case | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| San Angelo, Texas (CNN) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs sat silent in a Texas court Thursday afternoon, declining to give an opening statement in his sexual assault trial hours after winning the right to defend himself. Hours earlier, Jeffs delivered an impassioned 30-minute speech, saying "true justice cannot be served" if he does not act as his own attorney. Judge Barbara Walther granted the request -- but did not push back the start of opening arguments from Thursday afternoon, as the defendant had hoped. Jeffs is charged in Texas with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy stemming from a 2008 raid on a ranch operated by his church, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is expected to be tried later on the bigamy charge. When his sexual assault trial resumed Thursday afternoon, Walther again urged Jeffs -- who was sitting between two empty chairs, with a notebook and pen in front of him -- to use his defense team. After about 30 seconds of silence, he said, "I object to proceedings continuing" and then declined to elaborate. Prosecutors then gave their opening arguments, telling jurors that they would hear an audiotape documenting the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. They also promised to present DNA evidence proving that Jeffs fathered a baby girl with a 14-year-old girl. Afterward, the judge and others waited for Jeffs to give his own opening statement. Instead, for about a minute, he remained silent, with his head down, as the jurors looked back and forth between the defendant and judge. Read more | |
| Judge grants Jeffs' request to represent himself | |
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By Will Weissert Associated Press KSL 5 TV Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - A Texas prosecutor told jurors Thursday he would present an audio recording of Warren Jeffs raping a 12-year-old girl and DNA evidence showing he also impregnated a 15-year-old, providing the first hint of the state's case against the polygamist sect leader. Opening statements came shortly after the 55-year-old Jeffs fired his high-powered defense team and asked District Judge Barbara Walther to be allowed to represent himself, while also imploring for more time to prepare his defense. She agreed he was competent enough to be his own attorney but refused to delay the proceedings. Jeffs stared into space as special prosecutor Eric Nichols alleged he had assaulted the two girls in 2005 and 2006 at a remote sect compound in West Texas. The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had entered into "spiritual or celestial marriages" with the girls, Nichols said. Jeffs declined to give an opening statement and remained seated and mute while Nichols presented the prosecution's case. He didn't take notes or seem to pay attention as the prosecution called its first five witnesses - all law enforcement officials who described obtaining DNA evidence from Jeffs and the alleged victims. "You've sat here now for an hour and not said a word," Walther said at one point, then added his continued ignoring of the proceedings could have "a very bad result." His surreal silence was in sharp contrast to how Jeffs began the day, addressing Walther slowly and deliberately for 25 minutes and saying that though he had spent extensive time training his lawyers, they weren't able to present "a pure defense." But he also maintained that he could only represent himself if Walther delayed the case. Read more | |
Video Courtesy of KSL.com | |
| Polygamist leader to represent self in sex assault case | |
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By Jim Forsyth Reuters Originally published Thu, 28 Jul, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs threw his child sexual assault trial into disarray on Thursday when he fired his defense lawyers and demanded the right to represent himself, which the judge then granted. "It's not as easy as it looks on TV, Mr. Jeffs," State District Judge Barbara Walther told him. "You're on your own." Jeffs, the leader of a breakaway Mormon sect, is charged with child sexual assault and aggravated child sexual assault in connection with his "spiritual marriages" to a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in remote west Texas. Jeffs, 55, is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church and is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls. The sect, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America, also teaches that for a man to be among the select in heaven, he must have at least three wives. Jeffs, who founded the ranch in 2003 as an outpost for his church after decades on the Utah-Arizona border, refused to enter a plea on his own behalf on Thursday, so the court recorded a "not guilty" plea and recessed until opening arguments were scheduled later in the day. "My counsel doesn't have the full understanding of the facts and are unable to assist in my defense," Jeffs told the court in a slow, halting voice as he explained his move to fire his counsel. "I have trained my defense, but they were unable to do what I said. I am presenting the need for true justice to be presented, and for the truth to come out." Read more | |
| Polygamist Religious Leader Fires His Lawyers | |
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All Things Considered National Public Radio Originally broadcast July 28, 2011 | |
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Michele Norris speaks with NPR's Wade Goodwyn, who is in San Angelo, Texas, for the opening of the trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Just as opening statements were about to begin, Jeffs fired his lawyer, and he told the judge he wants to defend himself.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host: To San Angelo, Texas now, where it's been a dramatic day in the trial of Warren Jeffs. He's the leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And he's accused of sexually assaulting two girls, one was just 12 years old at the time. Today, as opening arguments were scheduled to begin, Jeffs abruptly fired his defense team. He told the judge he wants to represent himself. NPR's Wade Goodwyn joins us now from San Angelo. And, Wade, tell us more about what happened today. It sounds like Jeffs' decisions took the court and everyone else by surprise. WADE GOODWYN: I think it did. You know, we expected to start by hearing a defense motion to suppress evidence that was seized in the initial arrest of Warren Jeffs. But for the first 30 minutes there was no court at all. And then when the judge came in, Barbara Walther, she had this strange look on her face. And then defense attorney Deric Walpole stood up and told the judge he'd been fired, and in fact all his defense attorneys had been fired because he was determined to represent himself. SIEGEL: And how did the judge respond to that? Read more | |
| Judge Denies Warren Jeffs' Request; Trial Moves Forward | |
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By KATIE KINDELAN and GIANNA TOBONI (@GiannaToboniABC) ABC News Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| The judge overseeing the sexual assault trial of polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs today denied his request to dismiss his legal team, and warned the accused sex offender of the consequences of dumping his legal team. Judge Barbara Walther called a brief recess after Jeffs made his request in court this morning as opening statements in the much-anticipated trial were about to begin. "I have released all my counsel," Jeffs said in the San Angelo, Texas, courtroom where the trial is being held. "I desire to represent myself." Walther returned to the bench to warn Jeffs of the consequences of not having a talented and trained legal team. Jeffs agreed and maintained his decision, but asked for more time to prepare. The judge denied this request. Jeffs has switched attorneys frequently since his arrest, totaling a roster of seven attorneys who have appeared on his behalf in recent months and leading to a six-month delay to the start of his trial. Jeffs will now represent himself, but Judge Walther ruled to not allow Jeffs' counsel to withdraw. His defense attorneys are to remain "available," meaning that one attorney will have to remain present in court each day as "standby counsel." The attorney, however, will not be able to provide advice or counsel to Jeffs unless he asks. The attorney shakeup today from Jeffs prompted yet another delay in the trial just as the court prepared to begin opening today statements after a final hearing for a motion by Jeffs' attorney to suppress evidence seized by authorities during his 2006 arrest at a traffic stop on a Nevada highway. Read more | |
| State: Audio recording of Jeffs assault part of evidence | |
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By Kiah Collier, Michael Kelly, Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas An audio recording of Warren Jeffs in the act of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl will be among items of evidence presented to the jury, special prosecutor Eric Nichols said today in his opening statement in Jeffs' trial on sexual assault charges. Nichols detailed for the 10-woman, 2-man Tom Green County jury Thursday afternoon the case the state will make against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet and leader, listing descriptions of evidence that will include documents, photographs and other materials seized from the YFZ Ranch, where the state alleges Jeffs sexually assaulted two underage girls in 2005 and 2006. He stands accused of two counts of sexual assault of a child. The audio tape was cleared for admission as evidence this morning. It was taken during a traffic stop in Nevada in 2006 when Jeffs was arrested after being a fugitive on the FBI 10 Mosted Wanted Fugitive list for months. Also found in the vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade SUV, were disguises and several thousand dollars in cash. The jury was sworn at about 12:40 p.m. today before the court took a lunch break. When the court reconvened, Jeffs sat alone at the defense table at least officially. He was granted leave by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther this morning to fire his lawyers and represent himself. However, Walthers said she wants at least one of the half-dozen attorneys who were in Jeffs' defense team to remain during the trial in case he changes his mind. Deric Walpole, who was Jeffs' lead counsel, and Emily Detoto, co-council, said they will remain as "Jeff's shadow." "It's my intent to remain in the courtroom and be ready to go at a moment's notice," Walpole told reporters after the lunch break was called. Jeffs will be arraigned and opening statements given when the court reconvenes at 2:30 p.m. Read more | |
| FLDS TRIALS: Jeffs, representing himself, is silent as case is built against him | |
| Prosecutors say they have audio recording of assault | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs stood alone, and he stood silently. The leader and spiritual head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints didn't say a word after 51st District Judge Barbara Walther asked him how he pleaded to the two charges of sexual assault of a child, so the court entered not guilty pleas for him. All of his counsel was gone because he had fired all seven of them at the beginning of the day and asked to represent himself. They now serve as standby counsel, and although Jeffs is defending himself, he said nothing when the jury was sworn in Thursday afternoon. Special prosecutor Eric Nichols made his opening arguments, saying the state will use as evidence an audio recording they say is of Jeffs committing sexual assault on a 12-year-old girl, and use DNA evidence that Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl. When it came to Jeffs' turn for opening arguments, he said nothing again. "This is a predicament of your own making," Walther later said, referring to Jeffs waiving many of his rights, such as cross-examination of witnesses and objections to entry of evidence, with silence. Jeffs took 25 minutes to deliver a protracted speech asking to represent himself. "My release of counsel has been with great thought. I stand before the court for true justice to be served, for truth to be presented in a way that entails the knowledge thereof," Jeffs said. It was the beginning of his fourth day of the trial. He spoke as if giving a dictation, taking time to pronounce each word or phrase, pausing for several seconds, and then moving on, but his overall message was clear: he asked for more time. "It is not my intention to grandstand," Jeffs told Walther. Read more | |
| FLDS TRIALS: Self-representation carries many risks | |
| Some often opt to rehire attorney | |
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San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 28, 2011 | |
| The Warren Jeffs trial took an interesting, if not entirely unexpected, turn on Thursday when the 55-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints fired his seasoned defense team and asked for permission to represent himself. Before granting the request, 51st District Court Judge Barbara Walther, as she is required to do by law, warned Jeffs of the risks involved and personally discouraged it, saying she had never seen a defendant successfully self-represent in her 30 years of licensed law practice. "You have a right to represent yourself," Walther said to Jeffs. "You need to understand the substantial risk you are assuming." Jeffs told Walther he had made the decision to self-represent "only recently." Jeffs' former attorneys declined to say whether they were privy to his plans, but that they fully support his decision to represent himself because it is his legal right as long as he does so knowingly and intelligently. Law also requires that it be done before the jury is sworn in, which was the case. "It's absolutely his right, it's his choice and I support it," said Deric Walpole, Jeffs' former lead counsel. "It's always preferable to have an experienced counsel at the defense table, but it's not necessary and it can be done or the law wouldn't allow for it." After granting Jeff's request, Walther said she wanted the seven attorneys who had been representing him to act as standby counsel and at least one of them to remain in the court room at all times in case he reconsiders what she described as an "unwise decision." Walpole, who stayed in the courtroom for the duration of Thursday's trial, said he would stick around and "be ready to go at a moment's notice." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs: Alone For The Defense | |
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by Wade Goodwyn National Public Radio Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| At the end of court yesterday, Warren Jeffs stood all by himself at the defense table, head bowed, motionless as everyone swirled around him. The morning began with him firing his defense lawyers and announcing he would represent himself. It was a particularly cruel blow for Deric Walpole, Jeffs' lead defense lawyer, who'd been working 20-hour days to get ready for this moment only to have Jeffs pull the rug out from under him. Jeffs is head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a radical offshoot of Mormonism that believes polygamy is the key to eternal life. He's been playing musical chairs with his lawyers for months now, hiring and firing them, then asking the court for more time so his new lawyers could get up to speed, only to fire them again and ask for even more time. Judge Barbara Walther had had enough; there would be no more delays despite Warren Jeffs' pleas for more time. If Jeffs couldn't get what he wanted then he would pout and sit silent. Representing himself meant having no representation at all - no cross-examination of witnesses, no objections to evidence of testimony. Jeffs sat at the defense table all by himself, silent, hunched over, staring into his lap. Read more | |
| Texas Trial Of Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Begins | |
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by Wade Goodwyn Morning Edition National Public Radio Originally broadcast July 29, 2011 | |
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In the Texas trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, the suspect fired his lawyer and told the judge in the case that he wants to defend himself. The proceedings went forward Thursday, with plenty of dramatic moments.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, host: In Texas, the trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs got off to a dramatic start yesterday. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is charged with sexually assaulting two girls - one was 12 years old at the time. NPR's Wade Goodwyn was in the courtroom in San Angelo. WADE GOODWYN: The drama began the minute the Judge Barbara Walther walked into her courtroom yesterday morning, 30 minutes late. She had a strange look on her face, indecipherable. Within seconds everyone understood why. Warren Jeffs lead counsel, Deric Walpole, stood up and announced to the world that he and every other defense lawyer had been fired by Warren Jeffs, who insisted that he was going to represent himself. The revelation sent reporters in the courtroom heading for the exits. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs Remains Mute as Sex Trial Begins | |
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By ANDREA CANNING (@andreacanGMA), KATIE KINDELAN and GIANNA TOBONI (@GiannaToboniABC) Good Morning America ABC News Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| The sexual assault trial against Warren Jeffs got off to an unusual start after the polygamist religious leader fired his entire defense team and then began a silent-treatment defense of his own, declining to make an opening statement, issue a plea or question witnesses. The prosecutors trying Jeffs on charges he sexually assaulted two children, moved quickly forward yesterday on the trial's first day, calling five witnesses and giving insight into their case. "You will hear and see evidence that as a result of sexual activity a child was conceived, and from the DNA evidence you will be able to determine that Warren Steed Jeffs is the father of this child," Assistant Texas Attorney General Eric Nichols told the jury in the San Angelo, Texas, courtroom where the trial is being held. The prosecution also told jurors they have an audio tape of a sexual encounter between the 55-year-old Jeffs and a 12-year-old girl, and DNA evidence showing he impregnated a 15-year-old girl. Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, allegedly for sexually assaulting two underage girls in his sect and forcing them both into a "spiritual marriage." The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. He faces a separate trial on a bigamy charge in October. Jeffs' more than 10,000 followers across North America see him as a prophet who serves as God's spokesman on earth. The sect Jeffs leads broke off from the mainstream Mormon Church 72 years ago. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs trial moves quickly as defense sits silent | |
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WILL WEISSERT Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs' sexual assault trial got off to a frenzied start, largely because the polygamist sect leader insisted on representing himself, then sat mute and seemingly oblivious to everything going on in court around him. Without any objections from Jeffs, who declined to make an opening statement, prosecutors moved at breakneck speed Thursday on the trial's first day, calling five witnesses. They also told jurors they have an audio recording of the 55-year-old defendant raping a 12-year-old girl and DNA evidence showing he impregnated a 15-year-old. Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy is the key to exaltation in heaven. Followers see him as a prophet who can speak for God on Earth. His surreal, silent-treatment defense began after Jeffs abruptly dismissed his high-powered defense team Thursday and asked U.S. District Judge Barbara Walther that he be allowed to represent himself and to have more time to prepare his case. He addressed the court for 25 minutes, launching into long and confusing diatribes about how his attorneys could not present a "pure defense." The judge was wary, saying, "you have assembled one of the most impressive legal teams this court has ever seen and perhaps ever seen in the state of Texas ... I urge you not to follow this course of action." Read more | |
| Prosecutors to use DNA against polygamist leader | |
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By Jim Forsyth Reuters Originally published Fri Jul 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Prosecutors trying polygamist leader Warren Jeffs on child sexual assault charges plan to use the DNA of a child conceived in a union with a 14-year-old girl to convict him in a Texas court. Jeffs, the leader of a breakaway Mormon sect, is charged with child sexual assault and aggravated child sexual assault in connection with his "spiritual marriages" to two girls, ages 12 and 14, at the remote Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas. "You will hear and see evidence that as a result of sexual activity a child was conceived, and from the DNA evidence you will be able to determine that Warren Steed Jeffs is the father of this child," Assistant Texas Attorney General Eric Nichols told the jury at the start of the trial. Prosecutors said they would also present an audio tape of a sexual encounter between Jeffs, 55, and the 14-year-old that he secretly recorded. Jeffs is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church and is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls. The sect, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America, also teaches that for a man to be among the select in heaven, he must have at least three wives. Nichols also called a string of law enforcement witnesses who testified about a 2008 raid on the Texas ranch in which the two girls and more than 400 other children were taken into protective custody, and about Jeffs' 2007 arrest in Nevada. Jeffs sat silently, alone at the defense table, with his head bowed and his hands folded in his lap, in what appeared to be a position of prayer. He never spoke to question witnesses or to object to testimony. Read more | |
| Polygamist Courtroom Circus | |
| The Warren Jeffs child sex trial began with a shock: The polygamist will represent himself - with help from God. Cult insiders tell Carol McKinley about holy visions - and suicide hints. | |
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Carol McKinley The Daily Beast - New York, NY Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| Just hours before opening statements yesterday in the sex assault trial of self-proclaimed polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs, the cult leader shocked a West Texas courtroom with an announcement: he had fired his lawyers. "I desire to represent myself," he told the judge in his trademark hypnotic voice. "They are not comprehending who they are dealing with." Those who know Jeffs tell The Daily Beast that what he was trying to say is that his attorneys don't recognize he talks to God. Since he was extradited to Texas from Utah this past December, Jeffs has had a myriad of lawyers at his side poring over millions of pages of evidence against him. Yesterday's casualty, lead attorney Deric Walpole, lasted a week. The attorney before Walpole was on the case just six months, and the one before that was hired and fired on the same day. "Those attorneys weren't willing to let God run Warren's defense," explains private detective Sam Brower, "the prosecution is going to walk all over him." Brower is a private detective who has been investigating Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, for years and has written a book due out this September about his experiences with them. "Warren is definitely crazy. But he's lucid too." Read more | |
| Fifth day of Jeffs trial begins | |
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By Staff Report San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
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SAN ANGELO, Texas The prosecution continued building its case this morning against Warren Jeffs as the trial of the leader and prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints entered its fifth day. Jeffs, 55, faces up to 119 years in prison if convicted on both counts of child sexual assault brought against him. Thursday, Jeffs was given leave by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther to represent himself, but his defense team remains available in case Jeffs determines he needs a lawyer. Special prosecutor Eric Nichols methodically began laying out his case before the jury Thursday afternoon, delivering an opening address, calling witnesses and entering exhibits. Jeffs remained mute through the process, failing to deliver an opening address and entering no objections or cross examination of witnesses.
This is a breaking news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available. | |
| Jeffs continues to interrupt prosecution | |
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By Staff Report San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs continued to interrupt with objection speeches while the prosecution got through six witnesses and ended trial at 4:50 p.m. The trial will resume Monday at 9 a.m. The interruptions were so frequent that the bailiff turned off and moved away the microphone of the 55-year-old leader and prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "I, the Lord God of heaven, call upon the court to cease this prosecution against my pure, holy way. ... I shall let all peoples know of your unjust way. ... I shall send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to be humbled by sickness and death," Jeffs said, in a written statement that he said had been revealed to him by God. About an hour into the fifth day of his sexual assault trial, Warren Jeffs broke his silence when the prosecution attempted to submit as evidence a 2004 list of the names of his wives and family at the Yearning for Zion Ranch. At 10:25 a.m., Jeffs rose to object, delivering an almost hourlong speech during which he argued for the right to polygamy under religious freedom. Jeffs, who faces up to 119 years in prison if convicted on both counts of child sexual assault, said the record of a person living at the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch meant the government was trampling on his First Amendments rights. It was the first time he had spoken with the jury present. The guilt-innocence phase of the trial began Thursday afternoon after Jeffs fired his attorneys and was granted permission by the judge to represent himself. "You are now touching that which is sacred," Jeffs said, standing alone at the table, during his objection speech. "Thus on these grounds we call upon this court to render justice before sacred trust is trampled upon." Read more | |
| Jeffs no longer silent in trial | |
| Sect leader is warned after 'relaying a message' | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas The court was barely able to get Warren Jeffs to say anything when he chose to represent himself Thursday. On Friday, the court could scarcely keep him quiet. Jeffs said nothing and made no objections for about an hour into the morning proceedings Friday, the fifth day of his trial on charges of sexual assault of a child. But when the prosecution moved to admit a document sacred to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the 10,000 member, polygamy-sanctioning group that he leads, Jeffs shot up from his defense table and objected. "You are now touching that which is sacred," Jeffs said, standing alone at the defense table. "Thus on these grounds we call upon this court to render justice before sacred trust is trampled upon." It was the beginning of an impassioned speech that lasted nearly an hour. Jeffs waved his hands as he repeatedly stressed his need for more time to prepare a defense, gave a slight history of the FLDS and argued that polygamy should be protected as freedom of religion. "This must cease," he repeatedly said of the proceedings. Near the end of the day's proceedings, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther had the bailiff turn off and move away Jeffs' table microphones because of his frequent interruptions while special prosecutor Eric Nichols showed pictures of the inside of the sacred temple, blueprints with girls' names on the rooms and a vault hidden behind a secret bookcase door. Read more | |
| See Photos from Day 5 - July 29, 2011 of the Warren Jeffs Texas trial for sexual assault of 2 little girls | |
| Sect leader warns of 'death' to 'those who prosecute the church' | |
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By the CNN Wire Staff CNN Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| San Angelo, Texas (CNN) -- A Texas judge warned Warren Jeffs against calling "for the jury's destruction" shortly after the polygamous sect leader said Friday during his sexual assault trial that those who prosecuted his church would face "sickness and death." The comments that precipitated the warning to Jeffs, who has been granted the right to represent himself, occurred around midday after Judge Barbara Walther had sent the jury out of the San Angelo courtroom. "I, the Lord God of heaven, ask the courts to cease the prosecution of my holy ways," Jeffs said. "There will be a judgment against all those who prosecute the church. ... I shall let all people know of your unjust ways. I will bring sickness and death. Let this cease." Walther then told him that "if you call for the jury's destruction" while the jury -- who will decide if Jeffs is guilty on two counts of sexual assault on a child -- is present, "you will be removed from the courtroom." The defendant responded by saying, "I am not threatening. I am releasing a message." The exchange was one of several contentious ones Friday, when the one-man defense team ended his self-imposed silence by repeatedly interrupting prosecutors and launching into a diatribe on religious freedom. Jeffs' trial stems from a 2008 raid on a ranch near Eldorado, Texas, run by his church, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This trial addresses the two sexual assault counts, while Jeffs is expected to be tried later on a related bigamy charge. Several people took the stand Friday, including a doctor who conducted DNA tests on one of Jeffs' alleged sexual assault victims and her baby; a Texas child protective services agent who took part in the raid; and an FBI agent who took various items from the ranch. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader, in court outburst, says is persecuted | |
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By Jim Forsyth Reuters Originally published Fri Jul 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs interrupted his Texas child sexual assault trial on Friday, shouting that his religious rights were being violated and warning the court it was stomping on "sacred ground". "This is not a fly-by-night religious organization," Jeffs shouted in front of the startled jurors in the San Angelo courtroom, referring to the breakaway Mormon sect he leads. "You are stomping on sacred ground. You are treading on a people of peace. This religion deserves protection. The government of the United States has no right to infringe on the right of a peaceful people. The mockery must cease. This religious persecution must cease." Jeffs, who is representing himself at the trial, is charged with child sexual assault and aggravated child sexual assault in connection with his "spiritual marriages" to two girls, ages 12 and 14, at the remote Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas. Jeffs, 55, is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America. The sect is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls, and has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church. The outburst happened when Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Nichols called FBI Agent John Broadway to the stand to ask him about the so-called "Bishop's List," which details the men at the ranch and their multiple wives. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs Trial: Defends 'Spiritual' Marriage, Polygamy | |
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By Fionna Agomuoh The Christian Post - Washington DC Originally published Fri, Jul. 29 2011 | |
| Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who has been silent since his trial began last Thursday, spoke for the first time with the jury present Friday. Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault for raping two under-aged girls and fathering a child with one of the girls. Objecting to the testimony from an FBI agent about documents seized from his church's compound in 2008, Jeffs delivered a 55-minute speech arguing that the raid on the church was illegal and that charges brought upon him and other members of the FLDS were unwarranted. "You are now touching that which is sacred. Thus on these grounds we call upon this court to render justice before sacred trust is trampled upon," Jeffs said during his objection. During the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, executed after a tip that turned out to be a hoax, police witnessed several underage girls who were heavily pregnant. This led to the arrest of Jeffs as well as 11 other men of the FLDS. Thus far, seven men have been tried and convicted of sexual assault and bigamy, among other crimes, and have received sentences of between six and 75 years. Jeffs himself may receive up to 119-years in prison if convicted. In his testimony on Friday, Jeffs said there was no crime, explaining that he and both girls had a "spiritual" marriage bond. He went on to say that the FLDS must "follow the law set out for it by God." "If we do not live these laws we are damned here and hereafter. We believe in a marriage system of eternity called celestial marriage, wherein celestial means heavenly authorized, not to be intervened by government intervention," Jeffs said. Jeffs ended his speech by saying, "Amen." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs threatens court with Biblical repercussions | |
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WILL WEISSERT Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Friday, July 29, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas A polygamist sect leader defending himself against sexual assault charges broke his silence Friday with a 55-minute sermon defending plural marriages as divine and later said God would visit "sickness and death" on those involved if his trial wasn't immediately stopped. Warren Jeffs, 55, could face life in prison if he's convicted of sexually assaulting two underage girls. He has been representing himself since he fired his high-powered lawyers Thursday, but he made no opening statement and spent hours sitting alone at the defense table staring into space in silence while prosecutors made their case. On Friday, however, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist LDS Church suddenly cried "I object!" as FBI agent John Broadway testified about seizing eight desktop computers and 120 boxes and large folders of documents from the church's remote compound in West Texas in 2008. "There is sacred trust given to religious leadership not to be touched by government agencies," said Jeffs, whose sect of 10,000 members see Jeffs as a prophet who speaks for God on Earth. Jeffs then launched into a lengthy defense of polygamy, but Judge Barbara Walther eventually overruled his objection. She said court rules prohibited him from testifying while objecting but she let him go on at length because he hadn't offered an opening statement. Jeffs then said he had no choice but to read a statement from God. Walther dismissed the jury and allowed him to read it. Read more | |
| Sect Leader Warren Jeffs Defends Polygamy, Threatens Court With 'Sickness and Death' From God | |
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By CHRISTINA CARON (@cdcaron), ANDREA CANNING (@andreacanGMA), KATIE KINDELAN and GIANNA TOBONI (@GiannaToboniABC) ABC News Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs may be the one on trial, but he told court officials that if they don't stop prosecuting him on two counts of sexual assault of a child, they would face an even bigger problem -- the wrath of God. After Judge Barbara Walther overruled Jeffs' objection to the proceedings against him, Jeffs, acting as his own lawyer, said he would read what he described as a statement from God. The judge dismissed the jury from the courtroom, and then Jeffs read the statement. "I, the Lord God of heaven," Jeffs read, according to The Associated Press, "call upon the court to cease this open prosecution against my pure, holy way." If officials did not halt the proceedings., the statement said, "I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to make humbled by sickness and death." Walther said she'd remove Jeffs from the courtroom if he repeated the claim in front of jurors. The statement from God capped a day featuring a nearly hour-long outburst by Jeffs. After spending hours in silence at his trial Thursday, he suddenly cried, "I object!" in court Friday afternoon, launching into a passionate sermon defending the "tradition" of polygamy, a practice he considers the will of God. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs predicts a scourge on those who prosecute him | |
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ABC 4 News Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeff, who is now representing himself against sexual assault charges in a San Angelo courtroom told the court unless his trial is halted those involved will face quote "sickness and death." The FLDS sect leader demanded they "cease prosecution" against his quote "pure, holy way." Jurors were not present for the reading of the statement Jeffs said was from God. A recess was called after earlier antics by Jeffs. Shortly after the jurors were dismissed for lunch, Jeffs demanded he be allowed to read the statement. The statement said "I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to make humbled by sickness and death." District Judge Barbara Walther told Jeffs he could not threaten the jury. "If you call for their destruction, or in any way say that they will be injured or damaged because of their service, you will be removed from the courtroom." It was not Judge Walther's first admonishment for Jeffs Friday. Jeffs repeatedly interrupted the prosecution. Judge Walther said, "Mr. jeffs please sir, follow courtroom procedure." But courtroom procedure was far from normal as Jeffs acted as his own defense. He fired his defense team Thursday, and refused to offer opening arguments. He sat quietly until Friday when an FBI agent testified about evidence found at the FLDS compound in April of 2008. Jeffs suddenly cried out "I object." "There is a sacred trust given to religious leadership not to be touched by government agencies." The documents reportedly include the names and birthdays of Jeffs children, and wives. 55-year old jeffs is accused of sexually assaulting two underage girls. The FLDS church's 10-thousand members still see Jeffs as a prophet. Read more | |
| See Photos from Day 5 - July 29, 2011 of the Warren Jeffs Texas trial for sexual assault of 2 little girls | |
| Legal experts say Jeffs' self-defense is bound to fail | |
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By Pat Reavy Deseret News Originally published Friday, July 29, 2011 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY - Until Friday, it appeared as though Warren Jeffs' legal defense strategy in Texas was going to be putting on no defense at all. But a day after remaining silent to the point of appearing to not even pay attention to his own trial, the problem at times in court Friday was getting Jeffs to stop talking. Jeffs is on trial in San Angelo, Texas, on two counts of sexual assault of a child. In a dramatic courtroom moment Thursday, Jeffs fired his high powered defense team right before opening arguments. He asked Judge Barbara Walther if he could represent himself, and she eventually consented. During Thursday's proceedings, Jeffs sat quietly and said nothing, not once raising an objection or even offering an opening argument. He didn't take notes or seem to pay attention when the prosecution called its first five witnesses. When the judge asked if Jeffs wanted to cross-examine a witness or if he wanted to object, Jeffs wouldn't answer. That silent strategy changed Friday in more dramatic fashion when Jeffs raised an objection while the prosecution was questioning an FBI agent, and then rambled for nearly an hour. He argued that practicing polygamy should be protected under freedom of religion and religious expression. Jeffs said his church has practiced five generations of polygamy as ordered by God, a higher power than U.S. courts. Jeffs ended by saying "amen," then repeatedly interrupted a prosecutor's response. Walther ordered Jeffs to follow legal procedure, then dismissed the jury and called a recess. Legal experts in Utah who are not involved with the Jeffs' trial, say the decision by the head of the FLDS Church to represent himself is not a good one. "It's very, very foolish," said defense attorney Greg Skordas. "There's certain things you just don't do on your own. Defending yourself in a criminal case is one of them. It's certain to fail, it's absolutely certain to fail." Read more | |
| The Vent | |
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The Spectrum Originally published July 29, 2011 | |
| I'm commenting on the front page that says Warren Jeffs' rights were violated. I think he deserves to have his rights violated because he is the king of civil rights violations against women. I think they should force him to marry a 90-year-old woman. He doesn't think anyone else has rights except him. | |
| Polygamist Leader Startles Court with Outburst | |
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Malaysian Digest - Selangor, Malaysia Originally published Saturday, 30 July 2011 | |
| SAN ANTONIO: Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs interrupted his Texas child sexual assault trial on Friday, shouting that his religious rights were being violated and warning the court it was stomping on "sacred ground", reported Reuters. "This is not a fly-by-night religious organization," Jeffs shouted in front of the startled jurors in the San Angelo courtroom, referring to the breakaway Mormon sect he leads. "You are stomping on sacred ground. You are treading on a people of peace. This religion deserves protection. The government of the United States has no right to infringe on the right of a peaceful people. The mockery must cease. This religious persecution must cease." Jeffs, who is representing himself at the trial, is charged with child sexual assault and aggravated child sexual assault in connection with his "spiritual marriages" to two girls, ages 12 and 14, at the remote Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas. Jeffs, 55, is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America. The sect is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls, and has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church. According to the report, the outburst happened when Assistant US Attorney Eric Nichols called FBI Agent John Broadway to the stand to ask him about the so-called "Bishop's List," which details the men at the ranch and their multiple wives. Jeffs, who had previously sat quietly with his hands in his lap, sprang from his seat at the defense table, yelling "I object!" Read more | |
| Canadians keep close eye on polygamist's trial | |
| Assault of minors not polygamy focus of trial, though bigamy case could follow | |
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By Thane Burnett QMI Agency Toronto Sun Originally published Saturday, July 30, 2011 | |
| Polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs is now trying to get 10 more women to see things his way. They're members of the Texas jury along with two men watching over his ongoing sexual assault trial. The case against the 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and tied to the polygamist community in Bountiful, B.C. centres around charges he sexually assaulted two underage girls. One was 17 and the other 12. He reportedly went on to marry both of them. Texas Attorney General spokesman Jerry Strickland told QMI Agency the current case is not about Jeffs being a bigamist. It's about the sexual assault of children, Strickland said. Jeffs faces a potential life sentence if found guilty. What's unclear is whether he will also face a bigamy trial, with the attorney general's office not willing to speculate beyond saying it's a possibility. Jeffs' current fight comes after years of headlines; a high-profile 2008 raid on the FLDS-run Yearning for Zion ranch outside Eldorado, Texas; his placement on the FBI's most wanted list and the overturning of a 2007 conviction in Utah involving being an accomplice to rape. This will likely be the self-declared prophet's toughest fight yet. And while it's not specifically about polygamy, those on both sides of the debate and international border are watching it closely. Nick Bala, a professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., said: "This issue will have to be faced by the Americans, as it is in Canada." Read more | |
| RICK SMITH: Trial offers moments of excitement | |
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By Rick Smith San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 30, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas - When I finally got over to the Tom Green County Courthouse midmorning Friday, Warren Jeffs' trial was well under way. A prosecutor stood center stage, asking a witness about evidence seized from the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado. I felt as if I'd walked in during the middle of a movie. I would not want to be a courtroom news reporter. Trials often feel long and tedious. They're packed with all kinds of painstaking details that are easy to get wrong. Court reporters have to pay close attention to everything that happens and hand-write dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of pages of notes, depending on the length of the trial. (No recorders, laptops or cellphones allowed.) Because a real reporter was there to cover the trial, I played tourist Friday, gawking at the beautiful courtroom. (Courtroom A, upstairs, looks a little like a Greek temple with good carpet.) I checked out the jurors, a mostly younger group who seemed fixated by the prosecutor's methodical questioning of the witness. The rest of us - sitting in the courtroom's cushioned wooden pews - were a mixed bunch. Professional-looking people. Working-looking people. Retiree-looking people. I learned early on that real-life courtroom trials have little resemblance to their TV or movie cousins. They move slowly, precisely, in stops and starts. Someone's always talking, but there's very little action. Read more | |
| KIAH COLLIER: Jeffs' rambling provides courtroom theater | |
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By Kiah Collier San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 30, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas We all expected Warren Jeffs' trial to be interesting. What we didn't expect was for it to get so interesting so fast. On Thursday, the first big bomb dropped. Jeffs fired his seasoned, high-profile defense team and delivered a mostly incoherent 30-minute speech in which he asked for more time to prepare the "pure defense" he said his attorneys could not provide. Jeffs firing his attorneys was surprising, but not necessarily an unexpected move: He has fired several attorneys before, delaying the trial for about three years. As The Salt Lake Tribune has been reporting, Jeffs has been telling his followers that he would never go to trial, that the prison walls would fall down around him. Because of this and the reviling proclamation he delivered in court on Friday in which he (or rather, God) threatened the "counties of prosecutorial zeal with sickness and death" I think it's safe to say Jeffs genuinely believes he is above the law. What was unexpected, and unprecedented, about Thursday's proceedings, was how much Jeffs spoke. The 55-year-old fundamentalist Mormon leader has been in custody in various states for about five years since being apprehended in Nevada in 2006. Since then, he has been in and out of courtrooms. He has spoken, but usually only briefly and mostly in response to questions. He said more during this 30-minute plea for self-representation than he probably ever has, at least in public. The room held its breath as Jeffs rambled on, taking frequent pauses up to a minute long until the judge finally stopped him. The reporters in the room, especially the ones who have been covering Jeffs for years, were in disbelief. It was a revealing, golden moment. He spoke so slowly and paused so often, we were all able to write down what he said almost verbatim. Then Jeffs went mute. Read more | |
| Week 1 of Jeffs' trial offers unexpected | |
| He represents self with silence, then 'soliloquies' he | |
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By Matthew Waller San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 30, 2011 | |
| SAN ANGELO, Texas Warren Jeffs entered the courtroom confidently Friday afternoon, breezing through the gallery with strides that were a little wider than when he bumbled in Monday at the beginning of his trial on charges of sexual assault of a child. He entered ready to read what he as the 55-year-old spiritual head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said was a new revelation from Jesus Christ. "I, the Lord God of heaven, call upon the court to cease this prosecution against my pure, holy way. ... I shall let all peoples know of your unjust way. ... I shall send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to be humbled by sickness and death," Jeffs read aloud to 51st District Judge Barbara Walther before the jury returned. Walther warned Jeffs not to make threatening statements to the jury and brought the panel back into court. Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child that could put him in prison for 119 years. In the first week of the trial, he bounced between steady silence and oratorical loquaciousness. At first he did not object to evidence; on Friday, his objections were so frequent they interrupted the prosecutor as he tried to admit evidence. He did not, however, object to the admission of two key pieces of evidence: a supposed audio recording of Jeffs in the act of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, at a time when Jeffs was 50 years old; and the DNA evidence obtained to substantiate the state allegation that he fathered a child on a girl who was 15 at the time of conception. The state alleges that Jeffs was 49 at the time. Read more | |
| Ex-FLDS member: Warren Jeffs "partially crazy" | |
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CBS News Originally broadcast July 30, 2011 | |
| (CBS News) The trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has taken another strange turn. Jeffs stunned the courtroom by abruptly breaking his silence Friday. After sitting silently during his sexual assault trial, CBS News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman reported, Jeffs suddenly sprang out of his seat Friday to make an objection - an objection that went on for 50 minutes and ended with a threat. On "The Early Show," Elissa Wall, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Jeffs' compound, said she's not surprised by Jeffs' outburst. Wall said, "I couldn't expect anything less from such an irrational, honestly, partially crazy leader as I knew him." Wall managed to escape Jeffs' compound. She wrote a book called "Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs." Friday's outburst came just one day after he fired his legal team, choosing to go it alone. Jeffs has dismissed seven attorneys since December. Emily Munoz Detoto, one of Jeffs' former attorneys, told CBS News, "One might view this as him saying that 'This is my battle and I want to represent myself.' No one else could understand his religion, but as far as his reasoning, we can't speak to that." Seven other sect leaders have already been convicted. If Jeffs is found guilty, he faces life in prison. Wall said Jeffs' firing of his defense team is also unsurprising considering his narcissism. She said, "He really does believe he is God, and I really do think that he believes that he is better than everyone else. And even in his statements to the judge about him wanting to have a pure defense I don't know if he thinks he did anything wrong. Therefore he just wants to defend his religion and status as the god-like figure of the religion." Read more | |
| Has Warren Jeffs turned his trial into a sermon on polygamy? | |
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By Mark Sappenfield The Christian Science Monitor - Boston, Massachusetts Originally published July 30, 2011 | |
| In a single dramatic hour Friday, the course of the San Angelo, Texas, trial against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs might have changed course. With a rambling outburst that included a malediction against the prosecutors, a defense of polygamy, and direct quotes from "the Lord God," Jeffs broke his prolonged silence in the trial, then continued to interrupt proceedings throughout the rest of the day. The outbursts could merely be a continuation of Mr. Jeffs's apparent legal tactic: delay. But they also have also effectively turned the courtroom into a pulpit for the leader of the breakaway Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who is now representing himself in the proceedings. "No longer is it really a trial. He just wanted an occasion to give a sermon," Laurie Levenson, professor at the Loyola Law School, told CBS News. Jeffs is charged with sexually assaulting two underage girls. If convicted, he could receive life in prison. He has claimed that, as the head of his church, he has the constitutional right to practice his own religion, which includes polygamy. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, repudiated polygamy more than a century ago. Until 10:25 a.m. Friday, Mr. Jeffs had been spectator at his own trial. Before the trial had begun, he had fired his team of attorneys, saying they could not present "a pure defense." Then, in opening statements, he said nothing as prosecutors vowed to provide evidence that he raped a 12-year-old girl and impregnated a 15 year old. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs Threatens Court With Death Message From God | |
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By Lawrence D. Jones The Christian Post - Washington DC Originally published Sat, Jul. 30 2011 | |
| Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs broke into an hour-long speech at his sexual assault trial Friday, defending his right to practice plural marriage and threatening death upon the court for continuing his prosecution. Even after the judge in the case dismissed the jury, Jeffs continued asserting his right to practice his religion the way he saw fit. A self-proclaimed "living prophet" of God, Jeffs read what he claimed to be a message from God. "I, the Lord God of heaven, call upon the court to cease this prosecution against my pure, holy way," said Jeff. "I shall send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to be humbled by sickness and death," he added. Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, began his sermon-like address before Texas court when an FBI agent was about to read the names and birthdates of those living on the sect's El Dorado, Texas compound. The agent was testifying on evidence obtained from the compound during a raid in April 2008. "I object!" Jeffs blurted out. "There is sacred trust given to religious leadership not to be touched by government agencies." "You are stomping on sacred ground. You are treading on a people of peace. This religion deserves protection. The government of the United States has no right to infringe on the right of a peaceful people. The mockery must cease. This religious persecution must cease." Jeffs is facing charges of child sexual assault and aggravated child sexual assault for having sexual relations with two children and forcing them into "spiritual marriages." If convicted, the 55-year-old could be sentenced to life in prison. His group, a fundamentalist offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church, believes that polygamy is the will of God. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs' Behavior 'Morally indefensible': Former FLDS Spokesperson | |
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International Business Times - New York, NY Originally published July 30 2011 | |
| A former Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints spokesperson left his position earlier this year after evidence gathered from a 2008 compound raid forced him to conclude that Warren Jeffs was "morally indefensible," the Salt Lake Tribune has reported. "I don't believe that any members of the church would condone what Warren was doing in secret," Willie R. Jessop told the newspaper. "The challenge they have is coming to grips with the reality that was brought about by the raid." Jeffs, the leader and self proclaimed "prophet" of FLDS, is charged with sexually assaulting two underage girls he took as "spiritual wives." After refusing to speak for the early part of Friday's court proceedings, Jeffs abruptly launched into a threatening sermon just as as a state Child Protective Services worker was beginning to testify about one of the girls Jeffs is accused of forcing into sexual activity. Jeffs hourlong diatribe arued that polygamy -- or plural marriage, as it is referred to by Jeffs and his followers -- is a constitutional freedom, and condemned his prosecuters for exposing "sacred" records obtained in the 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch. "I will wrest your power. I shall judge you. I shall let all people's know your unjust ways," Jeffs is quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune as telling the court. "I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal that to be humbled by sickness and death." After being granted permisson Thursday to represent himself, Jeffs refused to articulate a plea, make an opening statement, or question witnesses, remaining "unresponsive" as the prosecution presented evidence against him on Friday morning. Read more | |
| Polygamist leader acts as his own attorney in trial | |
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By William M. Welch USA TODAY Originally published July 31, 2011 | |
| Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, accused of sexual assault with two underage girls he took as wives, has cast out his own defense lawyers and is asking a Texas court to follow God's words as he hears them. Jeffs, head of a breakaway Mormon group with an estimated 10,000 members, startled a San Angelo, Texas, courtroom Thursday by firing his lawyers and announcing he would defend himself against charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. "I, the Lord God of heaven, call upon the court to cease this open prosecution against my pure, holy way," Jeffs, reading from what he said was a statement from God, told Judge Barbara Walther on Friday after she sent the jury out of the room. Jeffs said if the trial continues, God told him, "I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to make h | |
