Is Jeffs case moving to Utah?
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
Warren Jeffs

Warren Jeffs

The battle over evidence seized when the FBI arrested Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs may now be moving to Utah.

In court papers filed in a Las Vegas federal court last week, Jeffs' attorney, Richard Wright, suggested moving the entire case out of Nevada.

"If the District of Utah assumes jurisdiction over the issues pertaining to the seized religious records, the parties contemplate dismissing the instant case by stipulation," Wright wrote.

The FBI's investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church is based in Utah and Arizona.

Wright acknowledged that a deal was struck shortly after Jeffs was arrested to seal the seized evidence. The agreement allows lawyers for the government and for the FLDS leader to review the evidence and decide what should remain confidential. Any further disputes would then be settled in court.

Jeffs' lawyer claims that some of the evidence — which includes ledgers, letters, papers and computers — constitutes "privileged" communications between the FLDS leader and his followers. Wright contends the evidence is protected by Jeffs' First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

Jeffs was arrested last August in a traffic stop after officers pulled over his red Cadillac Escalade outside Las Vegas. Inside the vehicle, police said they found cash, wigs, masks, computers, a GPS, police scanner and other items that may have helped the FLDS leader elude capture. Jeffs had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list since May.

Jeffs is facing criminal charges in Utah and Arizona, accusing him of forcing teenage girls into marriages with older men. Federal prosecutors also have a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution against Jeffs and have said he remains the subject of an ongoing investigation.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Wednesday, February 7, 2007
 
Back