Prosecutor wants firm disqualified

PROVO — The prosecutor in the case of the "kidnapped bride" has asked that the attorneys for the bride's parents be disqualified.

Julia and Lemuel Redd of Monticello are charged in 4th District Court with one count of kidnapping each, for allegedly taking their 21-year-old daughter, Julianna, to Colorado the day before her wedding.

The couple was scheduled to begin a four-day jury trial beginning July 9, but a breakdown in communication between attorneys pushed the trial until December.

And now, prosecutor Curtis Larson is asking that the Zabriskie law firm, with attorneys Rhome and Dean Zabriskie, be disqualified because of what he alleges is a conflict of interest.

The conflict allegedly began when attorney Jere Reneer entered an appearance June 21 for Lemuel Redd.

Larson said he viewed that as an indication that the "interests of defendant and co-defendant ... have since diverged seriously and materially" and that the couple is pursing different defenses.

"Because a jury will be asked to consider the respective guilt of each party and because the normal function of a trial ... will naturally lead the attorneys to shift guilt on to other parties ... it is not sound to allow (Lemuel Redd's) former attorney to advocate against him," Larson wrote in a motion to disqualify the attorneys.

However, Rhome Zabriskie said the motion is ridiculous and is based on the false assumption that the Zabriskies have withdrawn from representing Lemuel Redd.

"It is unjustified and unreasonable for the state to assert that the two have conflicting positions," he wrote in his response to the state's motion to disqualify him and his father, Dean. "The fact is that the Redds, who have been married for more than 30 years, have had a unified defense from the beginning."

In response to that motion, Larson argued that when Reneer appeared in court, he did not specify that he was co-counsel or assistant counsel, and is recorded in court documents as the sole counsel.

Zabriskie reaffirmed in a phone call with the Deseret Morning News that they have not withdrawn from representing Lemuel Redd, and Reneer joined the defense team to "share in the workload," he said.

"We're all sort of working together right now," he said, when asked who specifically represented whom.

Larson's main concerns stemmed from the possibility that information Lemuel Redd provided to defense counsel could be used against him, as part of the defense for Julia Redd.

"The Zabriskie law firm cannot fulfill their ethical obligation to the defendant (Julia Redd) without violating their ethical obligation to their former client and co-defendant, Lemuel Redd," he wrote.

A date for arguments has not yet been set.

After driving to Grand Junction, the parents stayed in a hotel that night and returned Julianna to Provo in the morning. She and her fiance, Perry Myers, were married days later and now have a baby girl.

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com