Jeffs' jury selection continues
 County attorney files to admit statement on under-age marriage
 
The Spectrum
 
ST. GEORGE – The jury selection process is continuing at 5th District Court this morning as 15 potential jurors are scheduled for their voir dire appearances.

As of Tuesday evening, 20 of the 28 qualified jurors Judge James L. Shumate wants for a pool had been selected.

The pool of 28 will be narrowed down to eight jurors and four alternates in the trial against Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Warren Steed Jeffs.

Jeffs, 51, will go on trial for two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in arranging a marriage between a 14-year old girl and her 19-year old cousin.

The girl, identified as Jane Doe IV said in the preliminary hearing in November that April 17, 2001, the day she was married in a spiritual marriage conducted by Jeffs was "the darkest time in her entire life."

In other court news, the Washington County Attorney’s Office filed a memorandum in opposition to motion in limine to exclude statements regarding prosecution.

The memorandum says that the state opposed the defendant's motion to exclude certain statements made by the defense because they are admission of a party opponent that constitute evidence of Jeffs' mental state with respect to the performance of underage marriages.

The performance of an underage marriage is a key piece of evidence in the state’s case.

According to the memorandum, Jeffs made the following statements to a group of men that were recorded and transcribed:

"The Lord revealed to me that in 2003, a secret combination was in place between the apostates everywhere, many of them, and the government officials, and also traitors and half-hearted men, false brethren amount the priesthood people. And that conspiracy involved the passing of these laws, to call us criminal by performing marriages, so-called "under-age" marriages..."

"...The Lord showed me they were going to take away our lands and houses. He showed me that it was the intention of our enemies to pull me and many people into court and turn traitor by bearing witness in court of my father’s doings and my doings, concerning the celestial law of marriage, the judging of the people, bringing God into question and what He does amount His priesthood people and on His priesthood lands in His celestial law. And I say to you brethren, no person, no court, no government, no people on the face of the whole Earth has the right or authority to bring God into question what He has His prophets do in the celestial law among his priesthood people on His consecrated lands."
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published September 12, 2007
 
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