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	Jeffs' Attorneys Ask Justices to Move His Trial They Say the Leader of the Polygamous FLDS Sect Can't Get a Fair Jury in Washington County By Brooke Adams Salt Lake Tribune [Utah] April 21, 2007 http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5720384 Attorneys for polygamist Warren S. Jeffs have asked the Utah Supreme Court to consider whether the sect leader can get a fair trial in St. George, arguing that the odds of a fair hearing in Washington County are unlikely. Jeffs' attorneys filed the interlocutory appeal Wednesday, seeking the high court's review of three decisions made by 5th District Judge James Shumate before the case proceeds. The state has until May 7 to respond. In an April 3 hearing, Shumate refused to reconsider his decision to send the case to trial, to move it out of St. George or deem a section of Utah's rape statute overly vague. Jeffs is charged with two felony counts of being an accomplice to rape for allegedly conducting a spiritual marriage in 2001 between a 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl who protested the union. The appeal notes that while Shumate refused to move the trial, he lambasted local media for engaging in an "unjustifiable drumbeat to impact this case in an inappropriate fashion that is an abuse of the nearly unfettered power of the press." The appeal argues that coverage by The Spectrum newspaper, based in St. George, has been "different in quantity and quality" from other press coverage. Shumate, the defense claims, also failed to adequately consider the "enormous negative" view of Jeffs held by many county residents, which is likely to be exacerbated by the age and vulnerability of his accuser. A survey commissioned by Jeffs' attorneys captured some of that sentiment, with respondents describing the sect leader as a "wicked man" and a "very bad man." Of those surveyed in Washington County, 52 percent said Jeffs is definitely guilty; 39 percent hold that view in Salt Lake County, the appeal says. "These comments epitomize Mr. Jeffs' standing in the community as an outsider who is subject to widespread condemnation because of his unpopular religion," the appeal states. It also says Shumate erred in deciding that Washington County was "remarkably diverse" enough to ensure a fair, impartial jury and that residents there would not be overly focused on the nature of charges against Jeffs. "This observation ignores the strong feelings that people polled in Washington County hold about underage and arranged marriages," the appeal states. Moving the trial, Jeffs' attorneys argue, is a remedial step that makes it more likely the jury "is not selected from a jury pool that may feel it is on trial for harboring the [Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] with its unique religious beliefs." Shumate also erred in deciding that the victim's purported husband - and thus Jeffs - held positions of special trust over her within the FLDS faith, attorneys claim. "To find that a husband occupies a position of authority over his wife by way of certain religious beliefs not only criminalizes the sexual acts of many married LDS couples in the state ... but also risks running afoul of the constitutionally protected freedom of religion," the appeal argues. The appeal also argues Utah's rape statute is too vague in describing what constitutes enticement. Jeffs had no way to know that marrying two people could be construed as enticement, or that encouraging them to work on their marriage would result in nonconsensual sex. Shumate found that the girl's protests were strong enough to clearly alert Jeffs that she did not want to proceed with the marriage or the sexual contact that would likely follow. Contact: brooke@sltrib.com
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