Jeffs can wear civilian clothes in court appearances
 Also, lawyer added to his defense team
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
Warren Jeffs

Warren Jeffs

Captured polygamist leader Warren Jeffs will appear in court Wednesday with a sort of "dream team" of criminal defense lawyers and wearing something a little more appropriate for a man considered by thousands to be a "prophet of God."

In a series of court papers filed late Friday in St. George's 5th District Court, lawyers for Jeffs asked that the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader be allowed to wear civilian clothes in all of his court appearances. Defense lawyer Tara Isaacson said that Jeffs' jail uniform could hurt his chances for a fair trial in Washington County.

"Defense counsel has concern about how these images of Mr. Jeffs will negatively influence the potential jury pool in this case and interfere with his ability to have a fair trial," she wrote in a motion obtained by the Deseret Morning News.

If he goes to trial, Jeffs has a right to wear civilian clothes. But his right to make court appearances in anything other than a jail uniform isn't so clear.

"The potential for prejudice in this case arises from the amount of media attention surrounding the trial, and the Defendant's concern is that pretrial images of him in jail attire will prejudice potential jurors and thus, ultimately, the jury," Isaacson wrote.

To back up her claim, she attached clippings of the Deseret Morning News and other newspapers showing Jeffs' last court hearing where he appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Purgatory Jail. In the clippings, Jeffs is shown wearing green-and-white jail stripes.

The judge signed an order allowing Jeffs to be transported to the 5th District Courthouse on Wednesday and to be wearing civilian clothing.

Jeffs will be represented by at least three lawyers now — Salt Lake City-based criminal defenders Wally Bugden and Tara Isaacson and his Las Vegas lawyer, Richard Wright.

Wright filed papers in 5th District Court on Friday seeking permission to be allowed to practice law in Utah "pro hac vice," which means "for this occasion." Even though he is not certified in Utah, Wright paid a fee and obtained permission from Judge James L. Shumate to represent Jeffs along with Bugden and Isaacson.

Wright met with Jeffs shortly after he was arrested last month outside Las Vegas and while the FLDS leader has been incarcerated in the Purgatory Jail.

All three lawyers are highly regarded as aggressive criminal defenders by many of their peers and court watchers. They have represented high-profile clients before, but the former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive may be their biggest yet.

Jeffs, 50, is facing two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. As leader of the southern Utah-based FLDS Church, he is accused of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage with an older man. If convicted, Jeffs faces up to life in prison.

Across the border in Mohave County, Ariz., Jeffs is facing charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Tuesday, September 26, 2006
 
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