Lawyers seek contempt charge against Warren Jeffs

Lawyers for an ex-member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church are asking a judge to hold polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs in contempt of court.

style="border:1px solid #999999;"> style="padding:4px;"> class="boldText"> href="http://deseretnews.com/pdf/WarrenJeffsdeposition801.pdf">Warren Jeffs' deposition transcript ALIGN="CENTER"> COLOR="#ffffff">Related content

In a motion filed in St. George's 5th District Court, Wendell Musser's attorneys seek to have Jeffs remain in jail one day for each day he refuses to answer questions about where Musser's wife and 2-year-old son are.

They also seek financial penalties against the FLDS leader after a deposition went nowhere last week at the Purgatory Jail.

"Based upon the advice of my counsel, I decline to answer the question because my answer may be used against me contrary to the protections afforded me by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution," Jeffs said in a transcript of the deposition obtained today by the Deseret Morning News.

Jeffs repeated that statement to most of the questions asked by Musser's attorney Roger Hoole.

"Jeffs refused to answer even the most innocuous of questions, including whether or not he knew Wendell Musser, recognized his picture or would be willing to talk to him," Hoole wrote in court papers filed Tuesday.

Musser sued Jeffs earlier this year, claiming the FLDS leader separated him from his wife and son after Musser was arrested for DUI. When Jeffs was a fugitive, Musser was a caretaker for some of his wives.

A judge had ordered Jeffs to give up the location of Vivian Musser and her son, Levi, who recently turned 2. If he did not, the judge said Jeffs would be sanctioned $600 per day and have to give a deposition.

Last week, Jeffs was accompanied by one of his criminal defense attorneys, Richard Wright, for the deposition. Wright said in the transcript that Jeffs has no lawyer representing him in the civil suit, but he was there to protect Jeffs' constitutional rights as a criminal defendant.

In the transcript, Jeffs gave his name and where he was born. When shown a photograph of Wendell and Vivian Musser, he invoked his right against self-incrimination.