Childress, who was just appointed to oversee the YFZ case, said in an Aug. 18 letter to the court and attorneys in the case that CPS is not trying to deny discovery to anyone. He noted that Texas evidence rules make reference to discovery being used to drive up the costs of litigation or to stall a case.

"In a case with more than 140 mothers and 400 children, all of whom have lawyers, we maintain, and hope to show at the hearing on Sept. 4, that formal discovery ... is virtually impossible," he wrote.

Hundreds of children were taken into state custody during the April raid on the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch in nearby Eldorado amid allegations of child abuse involving members of the Utah-based polygamous sect. The 440 children were subsequently returned after a pair of Texas courts ruled the state acted improperly and that there was no imminent danger.

Child welfare and criminal investigations continue. Most recently, CPS has filed "nonsuits," seeking to end court supervision for approximately 176 children for various reasons. A 14-year-old girl was placed in foster care last week after Judge Barbara Walther ruled her mother was unable to protect her from abuse. The girl is believed to have been married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.

So far, 10 indictments against nine men have been handed up by a Schleicher County grand jury in connection with the criminal probe of the FLDS Church. A separate battle is brewing over evidence seized by law enforcement in the raid on the YFZ Ranch. A hearing on whether to toss the search warrants is scheduled to be heard here on Oct. 1.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com