Attorney general seeks rehearing in Warren Jeffs case

SALT LAKE CITY — In the wake of the Utah Supreme Court's decision last month to toss a pair of rape convictions against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, the Utah Attorney General's Office is seeking a rehearing before the high court.

Prosecutors were granted a two-week extension to file a petition for a rehearing, a court official said Tuesday. The petition is due Aug. 23.

Scott Troxel, a spokesman for Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, said his office would not comment on the cause "until the petition is filed."

Late last month, the Utah Supreme Court reversed Jeffs' 2007 conviction of rape as an accomplice for his role in the "spiritual" wedding of a 14-year-old girl to her 19-year-old cousin.

In ordering a new trial, the court cited an erroneous jury instruction that focused too heavily on Jeffs' relationship with the girl.

At the time, Shurtleff said his office would not seek a rehearing before the Supreme Court and said it would be difficult to retry the case given the court's interpretation of the law.

Jeffs is currently being held in the Utah State Prison's Olympus facility, the prison's mental health unit, said Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke.

When or where Jeffs could be moved from the Draper site was unknown.

If prosecutors decide to retry the case, Jeffs could be moved to the Washington County Jail. Texas officials, meanwhile, are working to bring Jeffs to their state to face charges of bigamy and sexual abuse.

— Aaron Falk