| Fight over Jeff evidence may be put on hold | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
A battle over evidence seized by the FBI when it arrested Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs may soon be on hold in Nevada. In a motion filed late Friday in a Las Vegas federal court, Jeffs' defense attorney Richard Wright asks a judge to stay any upcoming hearings while a judge in Utah takes up new issues surrounding the evidence. "This motion seeks to protect confidential and privileged religious records disclosure based on the First Amendment and Religious Freedom Restoration Act," Wright said in his motion. Should the federal judge in Utah rule on the merits of the emergency motion, the Nevada case would likely be dismissed, Wright indicated in his filing. In Utah, Jeffs is facing a federal grand jury indictment on a single charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. In a motion filed last month, defense attorney Walter Bugden Jr. claimed that computers, thumb drives, recording devices and correspondence is "protected" under Jeffs' right to freedom of religion. "The government's retention of these sacred materials offends the most basic principles of the FLDS religion and violates Mr. Jeffs' rights under the First Amendment and (Religious Freedom Restoration Act)," Bugden wrote in the motion. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah is expected to respond to Bugden's claims today. Jeffs, 51, was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list until his arrest outside Las Vegas in August 2006. Inside the Cadillac Escalade he was riding in, the FBI said it found computers, hard drives, CDs, a digital camera and memory sticks, religious books, a duffle bag of letters, sunglasses, pre-paid cell phones, pre-paid credit cards and more than $57,000 in cash, among other items. Shortly after his arrest, Wright filed an emergency motion in Nevada federal court, claiming that many of the documents are protected by "cleric-communicant privilege and First Amendment." Jeffs is facing criminal charges in Utah's 5th District Court in St. George, accusing him of rape as an accomplice. Prosecutors allege he forced a 14-year-old girl into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. After a series of motions challenging the state case were denied by a judge last week, Jeffs' attorneys announced they plan to appeal the case to the Utah Supreme Court. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Monday, April 2, 2007 | |
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