Judge orders Jeffs to stand trial; subpoena of reporter quashed

ST. GEORGE — Polygamous leader Warren Jeffs is fit to stand trial on charges of rape as an accomplice, a 5th District judge ruled Friday.

Judge James L. Shumate also agreed to quash a subpoena to compel Deseret Morning News reporter Ben Winslow to identify his sources. The subpoena had been handed to Winslow a little more than 24 hours before Friday's hearing.

Shumate said he had asked defense attorneys to seek an evaluation of Jeffs' mental, emotional and physical condition, after the 51-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church appeared frail and disoriented during a March hearing.

"The court determined at that time that this issue of Mr. Jeffs' well-being should be done under seal," Shumate said. "It is absolutely under the court's discretion to do that. Let's stop flinging blame at the defense. This was an order of the court."

A coalition of media representatives seeking to have the evaluations unsealed was granted a partial victory Friday when Shumate agreed to release the documents, although portions would be heavily redacted.

Defense attorney Walter Bugden argued that the psychological evaluations of his client should be protected under medical privacy laws.

"Just because Mr. Jeffs is a criminal defendant and a high-profile case doesn't mean the public has a right to know some of his private medical information," Bugden said. "Our sincere concern is the difficultly to seek a fair and impartial jury."

Jeff Hunt, who represented the media coalition including the Deseret Morning News, argued that the existence of the sealed documents had raised the specter of whether Jeffs was competent to continue to trial.

"This is an old contest between the First Amendment and a defendant's right to privacy. Just because Mr. Jeffs is high profile doesn't mean he's entitled to greater rights, and he's asking for more," Hunt said.

During Friday's hearing, Jeffs was alert and appeared pleased by the attendance of a dozen followers in the courtroom. He waved and nodded to several people in the audience until a bailiff told him to turn around and face the front of the room.

Shumate expressed concern over the cost of the ongoing case. He then granted the media's request to unseal several documents, after he personally reviews them to black out prejudicial material.