| Jeffs team opposes cameras | |
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By Geoffrey Fattah Deseret Morning News | |
Defense attorneys for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs have filed a motion to exclude press photography from future hearings, saying the Deseret Morning News' "unbridled invasion" of their client's communication in court will have a negative impact on Jeffs' ability to find a fair and impartial jury. In a motion filed in 5th District Court this week, Walter Bugden Jr. asked Judge James Shumate to reverse a previous order allowing photography coverage and to ban cameras in the courtroom, after the Deseret Morning News ran a front-page story about a handwritten note by Jeffs. Bugden charged that during a hearing on March 27, the newspaper "invaded the defense camp" through the use of a "telephoto lens" in capturing the text of a note that Jeffs had tried to give to the judge. In the note, it appeared Jeffs was renouncing himself as a prophet for the FLDS Church. Although it appeared Jeffs intended to give the note to the judge, his attorneys intercepted the note before that could happen. "I have not been a Prophet and am not the Prophet," the note said. Further analysis done by the Deseret Morning News also deciphered other segments of the note, in which Jeffs said he had "failed (to) lead the people of the Fundamentalist Church." "By publishing the private communication of the defendant, the Deseret News has contributed to the difficulty in finding a fair and impartial jury in this case," Bugden wrote in his motion. Bugden also requested that "media sound technicians" also be barred from the courtroom, even though audio-recording devices are already not allowed in courtrooms by statewide court rules. Deseret Morning News editor Joe Cannon said the newspaper has respected the court's decorum order. "We respect the rule," Cannon said. "We just don't think this comes anywhere near breaching the rule. This was clearly newsworthy, and it's clearly our obligation to our readers to convey the news." He said the newspaper had consulted with its attorneys and with Jeffs' attorneys before running the story. Images of the note were also corroborated with other sources who had seen the note, Cannon said. Cannon said editors met with Jeffs' co-counsel Tara Isaacson, who insisted that their conversation be off-the-record, which the newspaper respected. During that conversation, Isaacson was advised on every detail of the story. Meanwhile, the motion that Jeffs' lawyers filed this week mentions the conversation with the newspapers' editors. "To see her characterization of her account in print raises questions of her good faith in her conversation" with the newspaper, Cannon said. Deseret Morning News attorney Dave Reymann said Bugden's account of what took place in court is inaccurate. "There wasn't a telephoto lens used," Reymann said. He also took issue with Bugden's claim that the newspaper had violated attorney/client privilege. Reymann said that Jeffs intended to give the note to the judge and that attorney/client privilege would only apply if the note was intended to be passed to Jeffs' attorneys. "This was a document that Mr. Jeffs tried to present to the judge in open court," Reymann said. "The fact that this note proved to be embarrassing for the defense has no bearing on the media's obligation to let the public know what goes on in court." Jeffs, 51, is charged with felony rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list when he was arrested during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas last August. He has also been indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. That charge is pending in federal court. Since the March hearing, proceedings in the state's case against Jeffs have been postponed until further notice. Reymann said the newspaper plans to file a response to Bugden's motion later this month. Reymann said the newspaper will argue that Shumate has already found good cause to allow a pool photographer in the hearings and that there is no reason to reverse that ruling. E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Saturday, May 5, 2007 | |
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