Warren Jeffs petition denied
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
 
ST. GEORGE - A petition filed by Warren Steed Jeffs in Utah Supreme Court was denied Tuesday.

Filed on April 18, the petition sought interlocutory review of three orders issued by 5th District Court Judge James Shumate denying Jeffs' motions for a change of venue, quashing the bindover and declaring unconstitutional Utah Code Ann. 76-5-406(11), which defines lack of consent for certain sex crimes against minors to include enticement.

Justice Jill N. Parrish denied the request for review.

Jeffs, 51, has been incarcerated in Purgatory Correctional Facility since he was apprehended in August outside of Las Vegas. He had been placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List in May 2006.

Jeffs faces two counts of rape as an accomplice in 5th District Court for allegedly arranging a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin against the wishes of the girl.

Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose primary tenet is polygamy, and whose majority of followers live in Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., faces similar charges in Mohave County, Ariz.

The next court date for Jeffs is July 17 when there will be a closure hearing. Jeffs' attorneys are seeking to bar the media from a pre-trial conference scheduled for July 20.

A two-week jury trial is scheduled for September.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published July 6, 2007
 
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