| Jeffs hires 2 attorneys And judge postpones his preliminary hearing | |||||
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By Ben Winslow and Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News | |||||
ST. GEORGE — Captured polygamist leader Warren Jeffs now has a pair of high-profile criminal defense lawyers and a postponed preliminary hearing. During a brief court appearance here, Judge James Shumate announced that Salt Lake City-based attorneys Wally Bugden and Tara Isaacson had been hired to represent Jeffs. Isaacson notified the judge just 15 minutes before the hearing. "Is that your understanding, sir?" Shumate asked Jeffs. "Yes. She and Wally Bugden both," he replied. The Fundamentalist LDS Church leader appeared in court via closed circuit TV, sitting alone at a table inside a hearing room at the Purgatory Jail, about 17 miles from the 5th District courthouse. The new defense attorneys requested that a Sept. 19 preliminary hearing be postponed. Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap said the continuance was by "mutual agreement." Shumate asked Jeffs if he agreed to the delay. "Yes, if that gives the attorneys enough time," Jeffs said. Shumate scheduled a status hearing for Sept. 27, where he will address bail and set a new date for a preliminary hearing. Jeffs will be required to attend the hearing, "live, here in the courtroom, not by video," the judge said. Jeffs remains in the Purgatory Jail, where he is kept in a cell 23 hours a day. "He's nice and quiet," said Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith. Jeffs is allowed to make phone calls and receive visitors. The Washington County Sheriff's Office on Monday denied a request by the Deseret Morning News under the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) to view the jail's visitor logs. The FLDS Church leader has met with Wright and another lawyer since being booked into the Purgatory Jail on Sept. 5. Bugden and Isaacson's law firm said the pair would have no comment Monday. "I just can't comment to you guys right now," Bugden told the Deseret Morning News when contacted last week about him representing Jeffs. Bugden and Isaacson have represented numerous high-profile clients including Dr. Robert Weitzel, acquitted of killing five elderly patients with morphine overdoses; former Utah Jazz basketball player Olden Polynice, accused of impersonating a police officer; former "Brady Bunch" child star Michael Paul Lookinland, accused of DUI; and ex-Salt Lake County auditor Craig Sorenson, convicted in the so-called "guzzlegate" scandal. Isaacson filed a motion for discovery in 5th District Court on Monday seeking copies of evidence, including witness lists, reports, books and other items relating to the case. Jeffs' Nevada lawyer, Richard Wright, has filed a motion in Las Vegas' federal court demanding the return of "sacred" papers between the FLDS leader and his followers. When Jeffs was arrested last month, the FBI seized several computers, documents, letters and ledgers that contained the names of people who had provided money and shelter to him. A federal judge was supposed to have heard arguments on the issue last week. However, no decision has been made. The FBI's office in Phoenix said Monday it was still looking into who may have harbored Jeffs, who was on the agency's Ten Most Wanted list. "We are continuing the investigation, and such information will be made available to the U.S. Attorney's Office," FBI Special Agent Deborah McCarley told the Deseret Morning News. Jeffs was on the run for several years until he was arrested last month during a traffic stop on I-15 outside Las Vegas. Inside his car, police said they also found $54,000 in cash, wigs, cell phones, a GPS device and police scanners. Jeffs, 50, is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage with an older man. When the girl objected, Jeffs is accused of threatening the girl with her "salvation." If convicted, Jeffs faces up to life in prison. Across the border in Mohave County, Ariz., Jeffs is charged with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com; nperkins@desnews.com | |||||
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deseretnews.com Originally published Tuesday, September 12, 2006 | |||||
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