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	'Sacred' Papers of Jeffs Sought By Ben Winslow bwinslow@desnews.com Deseret Morning News [Las Vegas NV] September 9, 2006 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645200118,00.html Papers seized inside the SUV in which polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was riding when captured in Nevada should be returned to the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader because they are protected by his right to freedom of religion, his attorney says. The papers, deemed to be "sacred," also constitute privileged communication between the "spiritual leader" and his followers, attorney Richard Wright said in court papers obtained by the Deseret Morning News. "These records include confidential religious writings and teachings of the FLDS, as well as privileged communications with FLDS members," Wright wrote in an emergency motion filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. He says the papers, computers and recording devices found in the vehicle Jeffs was stopped in are protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of religion. Claiming clergy-communicant privilege, Wright asked the judge to privately review the documents before unsealing search warrant returns to keep the information from being made public. A hearing scheduled for Thursday in federal court was abruptly canceled, but authorities would not say why. "No comment," U.S. Attorney for Utah spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said about the emergency motion. Wright has not returned calls seeking comment. Jeffs was arrested Aug. 28 on I-15 just outside Las Vegas. A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper stopped a red 2007 Cadillac Escalade because of a problem with a temporary tag. Inside was Jeffs, one of his wives and one of his brothers. Inside the Escalade, FBI agents said, they found $54,000 in cash, cell phones, laptop computers, a police scanner, a GPS device and ledgers with the names of those offering money and shelter to Jeffs while he was a fugitive. Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Jeffs remains in isolation in the Purgatory Jail, where he is being held without bail. On Thursday, he met with Wright and another lawyer, whom jail officials have refused to name. The Washington County Sheriff's Office has also declined to release jail visitor logs. Jeffs has asked for time to find a lawyer here in Utah. Several high profile criminal defense attorneys in the Salt Lake City area have been contacted about possibly representing him. As of Friday, no formal notice of counsel had been filed in St. George's 5th District Court. Washington County prosecutors told the Deseret Morning News they are still screening additional charges against Jeffs. "Our investigation is continuing. There is the possibility of other charges being filed," deputy Washington County Attorney Brian Filter said Friday. He could not say when those additional charges might be filed. Jeffs is scheduled to appear in St. George's 5th District Court on Monday for a status hearing. A judge is expected to address attorney issues, bail and an upcoming preliminary hearing. Jeffs, 50, is charged with 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 said she did not want to be married to the man, prosecutors allege in court papers that Jeffs ordered her to stay. "Go back and repent. You go give yourself mind, body, and soul to your husband like you're supposed to. He will take you into the heavenly kingdom. Go back and do what he tells you to do," Jeffs is purported to have said. If convicted, Jeffs faces up to life in prison. In Mohave County, Ariz., Jeffs is charged with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. He is accused of arranging child-bride marriages. Any money that Jeffs would use to pay for his legal defense would likely come from his loyal followers. The court-appointed special fiduciary for the FLDS Church's financial arm said most of those assets are tied up in land and buildings. "The UEP didn't even have a checking account when I started," Bruce Wisan said Friday. "Any cash he's receiving now I assume is tithing and the extra on top of the tithing he's requesting from the families." Ex-FLDS members have said Jeffs has demanded payments of up to $1,000 a month from his faithful followers. In 2005, a judge took control of the FLDS Church's United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust amid allegations that Jeffs and other top leaders were fleecing money from it. The judge is expected to sign off on a reform plan for the UEP trust that would ultimately privatize land in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. Wisan is also suing Jeffs and ex-UEP trustees, claiming they misappropriated assets and exposed the UEP to a series of multi-million dollar civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse, forced child bride marriages and the ousting of teenagers from the communities. Lawyers for the fiduciary have placed advertisements in newspapers in St. George and in Eldorado, Texas, serving the ex-trustees with a court summons.
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