Jeffs' evaluation sought by media
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
 
ST. GEORGE - Attorneys for media agencies have filed a memorandum addressing questions raised by 5th District Judge James Shumate in the state's case against Warren Steed Jeffs.

David C. Reymann, with the Salt Lake law firm of Parr Waddoups Brown Gee & Loveless which is representing the media agencies, said the memorandum states that HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, does not apply to judicial proceedings, and the Washington County Attorney's Office, which also filed a memorandum, agrees.

"Once documents get filed with the court, they become public and don't have the same protection. They become the public's right to access," Reymann said. Jeffs, 51, has been charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice for allegedly arranging a marriage between a 15-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

Jeffs has been incarcerated at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane since his arrest last August.

In addition to HIPAA, the attorneys have asked Shumate to unseal all of the documents currently under seal, including a report of a Competence to Proceed Evaluation from Associated Behavior Consultants dated April 6, which was filed on May 9.

Other sealed documents were filed in the court on Feb. 9, a transcript of the proceeding of a telephonic motion for confidential and privileged physician contact, and documents filed April 3, which included a petition and an order, both filed under seal.

Jeffs last appeared in court on March 27 on three motion hearings, including a motion to change venue, a motion to quash the bindover and a motion declaring Utah Code 76-5-406(11) as unconstitutionally vague.

During the daylong court proceedings, Jeffs appeared very weak and frail and at the end of the proceedings asked if he could approach the bench. Shumate instructed Jeffs to speak with his attorneys.

Following the March 27 motion hearings, Salt Lake attorney Walter Bugden, in answering media questions about Jeffs' physical condition, acknowledged that his client was frail.

Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap declined to comment on the recent court filings.

Reymann said until the May 9 filing, there was speculation that the sealed documents pertained to Jeffs' competency.

Utah Code 77-15, Inquiry into Sanity of Defendant, section 5, 2 (b) states that the defendant shall be examined by at least two mental health experts not involved in the current treatment of the defendant.

Reymann said he hasn't seen what Jeffs' attorneys, Tara Isaacson, Walter Bugden and Richard Wright, have filed and doesn't know what kind of argument they will present to the case.

"Does HIPAA apply to court records? The simple answer is no," Reymann said.

A hearing has been scheduled for May 25 and although Reymann said he's not sure what will happen on that day said the attorneys for media agencies are prepared to ask Shumate to unseal the documents.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published May 12, 2007
 
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