Evidence from Jeffs trial to be made public

ST. GEORGE — Evidence once filed under seal in the Warren Jeffs rape case, including excerpts of jailhouse conversations and a competency evaluation, will be made public, a 5th District Court judge ruled on Tuesday.

Additional information  » Court filings: State of Utah v. Warren Steed Jeffs

Defense attorney Wally Bugden argued that releasing the documents would prove prejudicial to Jeffs and make it extremely difficult to seat a fair and impartial jury in upcoming cases.

"There are five criminal cases in Arizona and if you were to release those documents right now we absolutely believe it would seriously jeopardize Warren Jeffs' right to a fair trial," Bugden told Judge James L. Shumate. "The release of this information you've already concluded would be too prejudicial."

Bugden urged Shumate to rule against opening the documents, arguing those who visited Jeffs in jail were entitled to know that their private conversations "would not be released to the world," even though they were recorded for law enforcement purposes.

"They would never in a bazillion years think that simply because they were talking in a jailhouse setting that it would be released on the evening news," Bugden said. About one dozen followers of Jeffs attended Tuesday's hearing and stood when Jeffs entered the courtroom.

Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap argued that Jeffs' conviction on two first-degree felony counts of rape as an accomplice was already widely known and releasing the documents would do little to taint a jury pool.

"There is an interest on the part of people who make life and death decisions because they believe Warren Jeffs is a prophet," said Belnap. "It seems to me there is an interest in letting people hear his words."

Among the documents ordered released on Tuesday are a court-ordered competency evaluation and report, memorandums and pleadings on the potential release of jailhouse conversations made by Jeffs to his brother, Nephi Jeffs, and other visitors.

Among the jailhouse excerpts are comments made by Jeffs, who reportedly told his brother that he abdicated his role as prophet of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and that he had been "immoral" with a sister and a daughter about 31 years ago. Jeffs later recanted those statements in another conversation with Nephi Jeffs.

Bugden also informed Shumate that he would seek a new trial for Jeffs. Shumate also turned down a defense request to hold his ruling for 10 days while Bugden files an appeal with the Utah Supreme Court.

---

E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com