Lawyers for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs have scheduled interviews with Texas authorities involved in the raid on the polygamous sect's YFZ Ranch.

Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran, his deputy John Connor and Texas Ranger Brooks Long will be questioned next month at the San Angelo, Texas, offices of attorneys retained by the FLDS Church, a notice filed Friday in a Kingman, Ariz., court said.

"Failure to appear for this deposition may result in sanctions including, but not limited to, dismissal of the prosecution, a ruling that the search of the YFZ Ranch in April 2008 was illegal and unconstitutional, or contempt of court against the deponent," Jeffs' criminal defense attorney Michael Piccarreta wrote in the notice.

Piccarreta noted the lawmen could plead the Fifth Amendment or that any statement they gave could be used against them in future court cases. A judge has ordered the men to give interviews to Jeffs' criminal defense team, which wants to know what information and evidence from the raid was shared with Arizona authorities.

Doran said the Texas Attorney General's Office will assist them in the depositions.

"We have nothing to hide," the sheriff told the Deseret News. "We'll discuss whatever topic."

The YFZ Ranch was raided in April based on a phone call alleging the abuse of a pregnant teenage girl in a polygamous marriage to an older man. The call is believed to be a hoax, but on scene, Texas authorities and child welfare workers say they saw other signs of abuse. That prompted a judge to order the removal of hundreds of children.

Approximately 439 children were returned to their parents when a pair of Texas courts ruled the state acted improperly and the children were not in immediate danger of abuse. To date, only 36 children remain under court supervision in what was once the nation's largest child custody case. The rest were "nonsuited" after Texas Child Protective Services determined there was either no evidence of abuse or their parents took appropriate steps to protect their children.

Jeffs is facing trial in Arizona on sexual misconduct charges, accusing him of performing underage marriages. He was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice. Jeffs and 11 other FLDS members have also been indicted by a grand jury in Texas on charges ranging from sexual assault of a child to bigamy to failure to report child abuse.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com