Warren Jeffs' attorneys request a speedy trial

ST. GEORGE — Following the Utah Supreme Court's decision to toss the rape convictions of Warren Jeffs, attorneys for the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader have filed a request for a speedy trial in the rape-by-accomplice case.

A hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 18 in St. George's 5th District Court.

At that time, defense attorneys could ask a judge to set bail for Jeffs, who has been incarcerated for nearly four years.

With Wednesday's ruling by the state's high court, Jeffs saw his 2007 conviction for his role in performing nuptials between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin overturned. The court cited an erroneous jury instruction as the reason for the reversal.

Prosecutors must now decide if they wish to retry Jeffs. Texas officials are also working to bring the polygamous sect leader to their state to face charges of bigamy and sexual assault of a child. Those charges were levied in the months following the 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, Texas.

— Aaron Falk