A 'dress code' for Utah trial

PROVO — On the eve of a jury trial for an Orem man accused of sexually abusing children, a 4th District Judge ordered that members of BACA — Bikers Against Child Abuse — leave their logos and jackets outside the courtroom or face jail time.

"This is not a forum for conveying a message. This is a courtroom," said Judge Anthony Schofield, who is presiding over the child sex-abuse trial of Carl Jensen.

Schofield said that anyone seen entering his courtroom wearing logos or demonstrating any form of support for any party, victim or witness in next week's trial will be found in contempt of court and given a 30-day stay in jail.

Schofield cited a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision for his ruling. In that case, Women Against Rape came into a courtroom wearing buttons sporting the organization's logo.

The court ruled that wearing such insignias was intrusive to the judicial process because they were influencing the jury as an outside party.

Schofield said BACA's jackets and attire would have similar effects.

The ruling comes at the request of attorney Mike Esplin, who represents Jensen, 39.

Jensen is accused of abusing several relatives and neighborhood children.

He faces seven counts of sodomy upon a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, first-degree felonies, and six additional counts of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.

In court Wednesday, Esplin told the judge the biker group physically and verbally harassed his client outside of court.

Also, their presence in court may prove prejudicial to a jury, he said. Esplin said the group's insignia, a closed fist surrounded by a chain, is "very aggressive."

BACA attorney Wade Kelson said BACA members attend court hearings to provide moral support to child victims and their parents. Some 15 bikers attended Wednesday's hearing in the Provo court.

"It is not a group of vigilantes. This is not a mob," Kelson said.

Many BACA members are doctors, bankers and other professionals whose only common interest is protecting victims of child abuse, he said. Taking away their logos and restricting dress, Kelson argued, infringes on the group's constitutional right to freedom of speech.

"The group's identity is really all it has," Kelson said. "Their colors are really all they have."