Judge denies FLDS sect leader's request for new trial

ST. GEORGE — A judge today denied a request for a new trial for Warren Jeffs, the polygamous-sect leader convicted of rape as an accomplice. Fifth District Judge James Shumate made the ruling during a hearing in St. George. The legal team for Jeffs, the 52-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, which has been under scrutiny since a Texas ranch owned by the church was raided by Texas authorities earlier this month, said they plan to appeal Shumate's ruling.

Jeffs' attorneys say they will file the appeal within 30 days.

Last year Jeffs was convicted for his role in arranging the marriage of a 14-year-old girl to an older cousin. He's now locked up in Arizona awaiting trial there.

On Wednesday, Shumate denied a motion filed by Jeffs' defense team to delay the hearing that has been on the court docket since January.

Las Vegas attorney Richard Wright sought the continuance in a motion filed Tuesday. In it, Wright asked Shumate to consider a separate motion to subpoena jurors who convicted Jeffs last year on two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony.

Jeffs is seeking the subpoenas so attorneys can ask jury members at what point the group reached its verdict on the two charges in the case — was it before, during or after a juror was dismissed and an alternate juror selected?

The question of timing was raised because the original jury said it was deadlocked on the second count, without informing the judge if it had reached a decision on the first count. Shumate asked the jury to continue deliberations before sending them home for the night.

The next morning, one of the jurors told Shumate that another member of the jury had lied on the jury questionnaire. That juror, who admitted she failed to disclose a sexual abuse experience on the questionnaire or during one-on-one interviews with the attorneys, was dismissed and an alternate juror seated.

The jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts less than three hours later.

"The issue of whether the original jury reached a partial verdict on Sept. 24, 2007, is critical to a fair and thorough determination as to whether the erroneous juror substitution impaired the integrity of the jury deliberative process," Jeffs' motion stated in seeking the subpoenas.

In his motion for a new trial, Jeffs argued that "errors and improprieties" occurred that substantially affected his right to a fair trial. The defense team also objects to a portion of the jury instructions allowed by Shumate.

Jeffs is also the father of an unknown number of children now in state custody in Texas.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com