Members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church are pushing a judge to seal the case of a 17-year-old girl, and they are demanding that lawyers connected to the case return any evidence taken from the polygamous sect's ranch.

In a motion filed in a San Angelo, Texas, court, lawyers for Teresa Jeffs' mother, Annette; YFZ Ranch leader Frederick Merril Jessop and FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop seek the return of documents, pictures and dictations made by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs (Teresa's father) that found their way into the public eye.

"Movants cannot freely exercise their religion if respondents continue to disseminate the religious documents," lawyers Kent Schaffer and Amy Hennington wrote in a filing made public Wednesday, arguing that some of the documents are privileged communications protected by a right to freely practice one's religion.

The lawyers also fear that the continued dissemination could harm Teresa Jeffs and impact the pending criminal case against Frederick Merril Jessop.

Schaffer and Hennington claim that during a January hearing, all sides agreed not to release any evidence. But that same day, the documents started appearing on Internet blogs and were leaked to the news media. The filing accuses Teresa Jeffs' court-appointed attorney, Natalie Malonis, of leaking some of them.

The controversial documents were attached to a deposition of Frederick Merril Jessop and recount Warren Jeffs' life as a fugitive.

Before a hearing could be held on sealing the depositions, Texas child-welfare authorities filed papers ending their case involving Teresa Jeffs. However, the lawyers seek to resurrect it to get a judgment.

"You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube," Malonis said when contacted by the Deseret News on Wednesday.

She said she did nothing improper, noting that the documents were public.

The case surrounding Teresa Jeffs turned into a courtroom spat between Malonis and FLDS members when she sought a restraining order against Willie Jessop, accusing him of pressuring the girl not to cooperate.

A hearing has not been scheduled on the motions, court clerks said.

In a separate filing, Malonis seeks sanctions for the delays caused by Willie Jessop's decision not to answer her questions. Both men invoked a Fifth Amendment privilege during the depositions, citing the ongoing federal and state cases.

Child Protective Services has claimed that Teresa Jeffs was married to Raymond Merril Jessop when she was 15 and he was 34. She has gone public and insisted she is not an abuse victim.

Of the 439 children taken into custody during last year's raid on the YFZ Ranch, only one child remains under court oversight — a 14-year-old girl whom Texas child-welfare authorities said was married at age 12 to Warren Jeffs.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com