| Testimonies will be allowed Two former FLDS members will be allowed to testify in Jeffs' trial | |||||
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By Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com | |||||
ST. GEORGE - Fifth District Court Judge James L. Shumate ruled Monday that two former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints may give limited testimony during the jury trial of Warren Steed Jeffs. Jeffs, 51, the leader of the FLDS church, which practices polygamy as one of its tenets, is scheduled for a jury trial next month on two counts of rape as an accomplice for allegedly arranging a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. Following the hearing, Shumate ruled that the two former members - Richard Holm and Jethro Barlow - may testify about Jeffs' position of authority in the church, but not about how his leadership differed from former leaders because it is not relevant to the charges against him. Shumate said because of Jeffs' standing in the community, he was an important person in the life of the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe IV, therefore, the testimony of Holm and Barlow about Jeffs' role in the community was relevant to the case. Doe testified in previous hearings that she pleaded with Jeffs that she did not want to get married and, later, have intimate relations with her husband. Doe was married to her cousin in 2001 when Jeffs took over leadership of the church from his ailing father. Questions posed to Holm and Barlow focused on the timeframe from 1998 to 2001 when church leadership went from Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeffs' father, to Jeffs himself following his father's stoke and failing health. Both men testified that Warren Jeffs controlled the lives of his followers so completely that he even instructed men on when and why sexual relations would take place. Holm said Warren Jeffs would give public statements about intimacy that he found graphic and shocking. "Warren Jeffs told us sexual conduct could only take place to bring forth children and to study to make sure it was the right conditions (for a woman to get pregnant)," Holm said. Barlow said there was also to be no intimate contact if your wife was pregnant or nursing, prior to marriage or if a man lost his priesthood. Barlow testified that following Rulon Jeffs' stroke, his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the church declined and when calling for an appointment with the prophet, members would meet with Warren Jeffs instead. Barlow also said Jeffs not only arranged and solemnized marriages but dissolved them as well. Holm talked about how during work meetings, Sam Barlow, a former member of the Mohave County (Arizona) Sheriff's Office, talked about marriages to underage girls and that changes in the law were attempts by the legislatures of Arizona and Utah to tie the hands of the prophet and "impede the Lord's work." During Barlow's testimony, a court bailiff asked a Jeffs' follower seated in the courtroom to stop responding to the testimony by smirking and smiling. Following the hearing, both the defense and prosecuting attorneys commented that they were pleased with Shumate's decision. Meanwhile, outside a SWAT team watched over the courthouse from the parking lot of the St. George Police Department, as it has for Jeffs' previous court appearances. A car that drove past the courthouse several times was stopped before the driver was let go with a traffic warning. Craig Harding, public information officer for the St. George Police Department, said during the court hearings, officers are standing watch outside the courthouse looking for anything and anybody that appears suspicious or out of the ordinary. Final details, including the 75 questions that will be given to prospective jurors, will be completed this week. Three hundred potential jurors will fill out the questionnaire at the Dixie Center on Sept. 7. On Sept. 10, jurors will be summoned to the courthouse in groups of 50. Shumate said he and attorneys from both sides will question potential jurors individually in his chambers "until a jury is seated or we run out of jurors and go to another county." Shumate remarked that this is the first time he has allowed attorneys to question potential jurors. Jeffs' jury trial is scheduled to continue until Sept. 21. | |||||
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published August 21, 2007 | |||||
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