By Matthew Waller
San Angelo Standard-Times
December 28, 2010
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/dec/28/jeffs-to-declare-plea-choose-lawyer/
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| Jeffs has undergone three pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas from Utah. |
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Guilty, not guilty, no contest; Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-sanctioning Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, may choose one of those options today at 9 a.m. during a pretrial hearing in San Angelo. The charges against Jeffs include aggravated sexual assault and bigamy.
Jeffs may also reveal whether or not he has chosen legal counsel.
"We'll hear who will represent Jeffs," said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.
Peggy Williams, the district clerk for Schleicher County, the county that issued the indictments against Jeffs, said Tuesday her office hasn't received anything indicating that Jeffs has chosen an attorney.
"Nothing has been filed," Williams said Monday.
Jeffs has undergone three pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas from Utah. He has operated under the legal counsel of an attorney who has helped him before: Richard Wright of Nevada.
Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther, the judge who has overseen all the criminal trials of FLDS men stemming from Schleicher County indictments, has made Wright sit in the gallery after his request to be allowed temporary admission to the Texas bar did not go through.
She then addressed Jeffs directly in the previous pretrial. Jeffs said he would have an attorney ready in advance of Wednesday's pretrial.
"I'll have one by next week," Jeffs said two weeks ago.
Wright said Jeffs has had difficulty getting an attorney because the trial is scheduled to commence relatively soon. Jeff's faces three charges, for which he will be tried separately.
The first trial, on the charge of aggravated sexual assault, is scheduled for Jan. 24.
The trial on the charge of sexual assault is scheduled for Feb. 21, and the charge of felony bigamy is scheduled for March 14.
Walther said she believes that because Jeffs was extradited from Utah, the state must finish prosecuting Jeffs within 120 days of his arrival.
Wright has said Jeffs will waive his constitutional right to a "speedy trial" so his attorney can have time to prepare.
The extradition has been long in coming. Arizona had been holding Jeffs on four charges alleging Jeffs had been an accomplice to sexual misconduct with a minor. Arizona dropped the charges to speed the extradition process to Texas.
Then Utah's supreme court overturned the 2007 conviction against Jeffs for accomplice to rape after the court ruled the judge hadn't given appropriate legal instructions to a jury.
Jeffs' attorneys in Utah wanted the case retried before any extradition to Texas, since the governor had already signed an extradition order, but Utah's supreme court said the extradition order was valid.
Jeffs is one of 12 men indicted based on evidenced obtained from a state raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008, a raid based on a hoax phone call from a woman claiming sexual abuse on the ranch. Law enforcement personnel took more than 400 children from the ranch, but an appellate court had them returned.
Boxes of paper and electronic documents were seized in the raid and formed the base of evidence being used to prosecute the men.
Jeffs is the eighth of 12 to undergo prosecution.
Sentences issued to date have ranged from six to 75 years in prison.Jeffs has undergone three pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas from Utah. He has operated under the legal counsel of an attorney who has helped him before: Richard Wright of Nevada.
Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther, the judge who has overseen all the criminal trials of FLDS men stemming from Schleicher County indictments, has made Wright sit in the gallery after his request to be allowed temporary admission to the Texas bar did not go through.
She then addressed Jeffs directly in the previous pretrial. Jeffs said he would have an attorney ready in advance of today's pretrial.
"I'll have one by next week," Jeffs said two weeks ago.
Wright said Jeffs has had difficulty getting an attorney because the trial is scheduled to happen relatively soon. Jeffs faces three charges, for which he will be tried separately.
The first trial, on the charge of aggravated sexual assault, is scheduled for Jan. 24.
The trial on the charge of sexual assault is scheduled for Feb. 21, and on the charge of felony bigamy is scheduled for March 14.
Walther said she believes that because Jeffs was extradited from Utah, the state must finish prosecuting Jeffs within 120 days of his arrival.
Wright has said that Jeffs will waive his constitutional right to a "speedy trial" so that his attorney can have time to prepare.
The extradition has been long in coming. Arizona had been holding Jeffs on four charges alleging Jeffs had been an accomplice to sexual misconduct with a minor. Arizona dropped the charges to speed the extradition to Texas.
Then Utah's supreme court overturned the 2007 conviction against Jeffs for accomplice to rape after the court ruled that the judge hadn't given appropriate legal instructions to a jury.
Jeffs' attorneys in Utah wanted the case retried before any extradition to Texas, because the governor had signed an extradition order, but Utah's supreme court said the extradition order was valid.
Jeffs is one of 12 men indicted based on evidenced obtained from a state raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008, a raid based on a hoax phone call from a woman claiming sexual abuse on the ranch. Law enforcement personnel took more than 400 children from the ranch, but an appellate court had them returned.
Boxes of paper and electronic documents were seized in the raid and formed the base of evidence being used to prosecute the men.
Jeffs is the eighth of 12 to undergo prosecution.
Sentences issued to date have ranged from six to 75 years in prison.Jeffs has undergone three pretrial hearings since being extradited to Texas from Utah. He has operated under the legal counsel of an attorney who has helped him before: Richard Wright of Nevada.
Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther, the judge who has overseen all the criminal trials of FLDS men stemming from Schleicher County indictments, has made Wright sit in the gallery after his request to be allowed temporary admission to the Texas bar did not go through.
She then addressed Jeffs directly in the previous pretrial. Jeffs said he would have an attorney ready in advance of today's pretrial.
"I'll have one by next week," Jeffs said two weeks ago.
Wright said Jeffs has had difficulty getting an attorney because the trial is scheduled to happen relatively soon. Jeffs faces three charges, for which he will be tried separately.
The first trial, on the charge of aggravated sexual assault, is scheduled for Jan. 24.
The trial on the charge of sexual assault is scheduled for Feb. 21, and the trial on the charge of felony bigamy is scheduled for March 14.
Walther said she believes that because Jeffs was extradited from Utah, the state must finish prosecuting Jeffs within 120 days of his arrival.
Wright has said that Jeffs will waive his constitutional right to a "speedy trial" so that his attorney can have time to prepare.
The extradition has been long in coming. Arizona had been holding Jeffs on four charges alleging Jeffs had been an accomplice to sexual misconduct with a minor. Arizona dropped the charges to speed the extradition to Texas.
Then Utah's supreme court overturned the 2007 conviction against Jeffs for accomplice to rape after the court ruled that the judge hadn't given appropriate legal instructions to a jury.
Jeffs' attorneys in Utah wanted the case retried before any extradition to Texas, because the governor had signed an extradition order, but Utah's supreme court said the extradition order was valid.
Jeffs is one of 12 men indicted based on evidenced obtained from a state raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008, a raid based on a hoax phone call from a woman claiming sexual abuse on the ranch. Law enforcement personnel took more than 400 children from the ranch, but an appellate court had them returned.
Boxes of paper and electronic documents were seized in the raid and formed the base of evidence being used to prosecute the men.
Jeffs is the eighth of 12 to undergo prosecution.
Sentences issued to date have ranged from six to 75 years in prison.
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