"They didn't have enough evidence to remove the children," said attorney Gonzalo Rios. A criminal defense attorney for 16 years, Rios was approached by residents of the YFZ Ranch to represent some of the mothers. He said he didn't necessarily agree with the FLDS lifestyle, but got on board because of some of the constitutional issues that concerned him.

"Today it is this group. Tomorrow, it could be anybody. We're doing this to preserve our rights as an American people," he said.

James and Nancy Dockstader, who appeared in court for a hearing for five of their children, remained hopeful about the future.

"It's definitely moving in the right direction," he said.

"We are so grateful someone will actually listen to the facts and look at us as individual families," Nancy Dockstader added.

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Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche, Nancy Perkins
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com; amyjoi@desnews.com