Jeffs team opposes cameras

Defense attorneys for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs have filed a motion to exclude press photography from future hearings, saying the Deseret Morning News' "unbridled invasion" of their client's communication in court will have a negative impact on Jeffs' ability to find a fair and impartial jury.

In a motion filed in 5th District Court this week, Walter Bugden Jr. asked Judge James Shumate to reverse a previous order allowing photography coverage and to ban cameras in the courtroom, after the Deseret Morning News ran a front-page story about a handwritten note by Jeffs.

Bugden charged that during a hearing on March 27, the newspaper "invaded the defense camp" through the use of a "telephoto lens" in capturing the text of a note that Jeffs had tried to give to the judge. In the note, it appeared Jeffs was renouncing himself as a prophet for the FLDS Church.

Although it appeared Jeffs intended to give the note to the judge, his attorneys intercepted the note before that could happen.

"I have not been a Prophet and am not the Prophet," the note said. Further analysis done by the Deseret Morning News also deciphered other segments of the note, in which Jeffs said he had "failed (to) lead the people of the Fundamentalist Church."

"By publishing the private communication of the defendant, the Deseret News has contributed to the difficulty in finding a fair and impartial jury in this case," Bugden wrote in his motion.

Bugden also requested that "media sound technicians" also be barred from the courtroom, even though audio-recording devices are already not allowed in courtrooms by statewide court rules.

Deseret Morning News editor Joe Cannon said the newspaper has respected the court's decorum order.

"We respect the rule," Cannon said. "We just don't think this comes anywhere near breaching the rule. This was clearly newsworthy, and it's clearly our obligation to our readers to convey the news."

He said the newspaper had consulted with its attorneys and with Jeffs' attorneys before running the story. Images of the note were also corroborated with other sources who had seen the note, Cannon said.

Cannon said editors met with Jeffs' co-counsel Tara Isaacson, who insisted that their conversation be off-the-record, which the newspaper respected. During that conversation, Isaacson was advised on every detail of the story.