| 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 | |
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. The state was represented by attorney Eric Nichols, who countered that argument later in the proceedings. "The call was an appropriate judicial act," he said. One of the six witnesses called Monday was Debra Brown, who was head of the San Angelo Children's Advocacy Center at the time of the 2008 raid. Brown, who has since left the CAC, testified about a newspaper article in which Walther anticipated children needing to be removed from the ranch during the raid that provided evidence against Jeffs and other FLDS members. Brown said that the newspaper's scenario wasn't correct and that Walther had merely asked whether the CAC would be able to find sufficient space for children if there had to be a removal. "From reading, does it state that in the article she was planning to remove children?" Detoto asked. "Yes," Brown said. Witnesses also spoke of pictures of "FLDS enforcers" that were given to law enforcement around the time of custody hearings. Assistant District Attorney Claire Carter testified that the pictures were given to her by out-of-state law enforcement, and she was told by law enforcement personnel that the people in the pictures might use intimidation tactics. Phil Race, Walther's bailiff, and San Angelo attorney Tip Hargrove, who has represented the FLDS in noncriminal cases, said the pictures of the men were posted in the bailiff's office in the Tom Green County Courthouse. Hargrove said many attorneys may have seen the pictures there. Hargrove said the newspaper report caused him to question why the judge would want to remove hundreds of children. "It made me wonder what the judge knew," Hargrove said. Under questioning by Nichols, Hargrove read the article and noted that it said that Walther believed "some" children may have needed to be removed, not hundreds. Much of the evidence against Jeffs and 11 other sect members came from the raid on the Schleicher County ranch, which resulted in the removal of more than 400 children the state considered to be at risk. An appellate court later ordered the children returned. Authorities also seized documents, electronic files, photographs and other material later used as evidence in criminal charges. Walther signed the search warrants that allowed the raid. Hyde presided over the June 13 hearing in which Jeffs moved to have Walther recused, and after hearing eight witnesses denied the motion. Jeffs fired his attorney — although that attorney's motion to be removed hasn't been granted yet — and hired Detoto, who filed the motion for today's hearing. The first witness Monday was Texas Ranger Brooks Long, who was a tactical leader of the April 2008 raid. Detoto asked him about details in the warrant affidavit, such as the mention of guard towers at the YFZ Ranch, and asked him whether the mention of the towers was necessary. Referring to a newspaper account indicating that Walther had been put under guard, Detoto asked Long whether Walther had been threatened by the FLDS. Long said the threats were not specific to the FLDS, and he expressed disagreement with characterizing the events of April 2008 as a raid. Detoto asked whether it was unusual for a judge to receive periodic updates on the progress of execution of a search warrant. Long said it had happened before in Texas, during the Branch Davidian and Republic of Texas standoffs, but he added that he did not intend to compare those events to the YFZ Ranch warrant execution. The state argued that the updates were necessary because during the raid, FLDS attorneys were filing motions to challenge the warrants. Stephanie Goodman, former attorney for two FLDS members, said that while the raid was occurring, an attorney meeting with Walther recommended reading the books "Under the Banner of Heaven" and "Escape" to become better acquainted with the FLDS culture. Referring to Walther, Goodman said, "She didn't say, 'Don't read those books.' " Goodman believed the books were bent against the FLDS. She also said she believed Walther's mannerisms and attitudes during the criminal trials demonstrated bias against the defense, citing a time in sentencing when Walther left too soon after the jury announced its sentence, and a time Walther was aghast at insinuations against the character of a witness. The hearing was in session from 9 a.m. to midafternoon. Both sides presented summations to conclude the hearing. "Recusal is used to delay or create chaos in these proceedings," Nichols said in his summation. Hyde said he would fax his decision to the parties. Jeffs is scheduled for a final pretrial hearing Wednesday in Tom Green County where a venue may be decided. | |
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gosanangelo.com Originally published July 18, 2011 | |
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