Comments about ‘FLDS men ask judge to toss seized documents’

The FLDS "men" what the evidence thrown out so they won't get convicted - otherwise what do they have to hide? They certainly acted like they had something to hide the night CPS officials wanted to interview ONE girl...the FLDS leaders went to extremes to try and frustrate any investigation. Well, it did frustrate the CPS - maybe they went a bit too far due to their frustration - but maybe they also wondered what these men had to hide?? Bottome line: girls should not be "given" in marriage to men, they should not be impregnated as soon as possible to assure dependence on the group, and women and children should not be viewed as property to be accumulated by the powerful and "reassigned" at will. The women and children in those communities are little more than slaves - its time somebody did something about it

The men acted like they had something to hide because the state wanted them to produce a person that didn't exist.

I hope these guys are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Over time we have all learned more than we wanted to about this particular group. From the evidence that I have seen not only here but from other states, there is a great need of protection for these young girls. It is difficult to ask a young women to testify against the only way of life she knows with the fears that she already has grown up with. From the comments of women who have escaped this group and have had time to adjust to life outside the compound a very different picture emerges. I cannot say that this way of life is protected under the umbrella of religious freedom as most of these women have no idea of what freedom is about. The law has a chance now to put a big dent in this mess and I say full steam ahead. If Utah, Arizona and Colorado would have taken care of this years ago we would not be in this mess.

it seems like that would have been easy to say - no need to sneak children out of their beds, tell them to refuse to give their real names, etc. The FLDS treated the situation like a crisis and created one - they could have sat down with investigators, answered their questions fully and truthfully and the investigators would have realized that the call must have been a hoax - instead they wondered what all the fuss was about - the assumed that such drastic measures were taken by the FLDS because they had a lot to hide.

This is a difficult legal case.

The FLDS members tended to be conformist or obedient, for example, they all hang pictures of Warren Jeffs, a convicted criminal, in their homes. However, in this case, they weren't all in a position to break the law. Some of them did not have an underage married girl in their home.

But, Texas lawmen are used to searching complete ranches as opposed to a portion of a ranch and so they got a search warrant for the ranch. The property was not legally divided and according to news reports the FLDS had understated the number of inhabitants. Additionally, it was reported that the FLDS intentionally confused the situation. Had there not been anything to hide, things may have progressed more smoothly.

The lawmen uncovered significant violations of the law. It doesn't appear that they were out to get the FLDS. No one was charged with bigamy, for example. The criminal charges were appropriate. Warren Jeffs was familiar with the law and thumbed his nose at it conducting illegal marriages while on the run from law enforcement. Now, that someone else can call the shots, the illegal behavior has ceased.

The FLDS men did nothing wrong .. they are living the principle as outlined by our Mormon forefathers, the people that settled the Salt Lake valley .. leave them alone and just live and let live.

Elliott,

If they want to 'live the principle' without being prosecuted, maybe they should have stayed in Arizona and Utah.

We put people in prison for committing felonies here... and in Texas, Bigamy is a felony...

As the Gov said, "if you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you. If you dont want to be prosecuted for those activities, then maybe Texas is not the place you need to consider calling home."

TBM Obvioulsy you see nothing wrong with the law being lawless. Those of us who believe in freedom have a problem with this.

Regardless of what started the raid did they discover underage girls married and bearing children? Yes? End of discussion.

It is not just enough to live with someone to be considered "married". I can say that I am "married" to a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt and even throw a wedding reception - but that doesn't make it a marriage. To be lawfully wedded you need a marriage license from the county, someone authorized by the state to perform weddings, and some witnesses. See? The government controls it. If you don't meet the criteria, YOU AREN'T MARRIED. You may say you are. You may tell others. You may even believe it - but unless you jump through the legal hoops that the state puts up then YOU AREN'T MARRIED.

Bigamy requires someone to go through the "legal" motions of marriage the license, preacher or judge, and witnesses. Unless you do that YOU AREN'T MARRIED. Unless the state is going to start prosecuting people with multiple sex partners as polygamists, then the prosecution of the FLDS for bigamy violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

I don't support child abuse. But get them for the crimes that they do commit. Most of the "children" that were claimed to be married were in their 20s.

That thankfully isn't how our country is ruled. One cannot enter an apartment complex on a warrant and raid every single family within. That is precisely how the raid took place, all the while I would allege, the authorities knew the call was a hoax (unless you want me to believe that authorities in Colorado do not have caller i.d.) Only one child, out of HUNDREDS, was found to be abused. Yes, hundreds of children were wrongfully taken from their homes and families. Heck, some "children" were actually adult women including one in her late 30's and multiples who had both birth certificates and drivers licenses ignored by CPS. Would the average apartment complex contain a sexually abused child? Yes, unfortunately. A "fishing expedition" isn't grounds for raiding apartment complexes though even if you dislike them.

The law regarding bigamy was written specifically to target them, but is ignored in the average population. I take issue with that as well.

No wonder I now list myself as Agnostic. It seems that the religionists don't like flavors too similar to their own.

It is not the end of the discussion-it should be just the beginning. One of the indicted men was 23 when he and his one and one and only 14 year old wife were sealed. She became pregnant at age 16. According to TEXAS' own law, a judge can authorize a child AS YOUNG AS THREE YEARS OLD to marry. Were this couple married by a judge? Since Texas is a common law state which recognizes religious ceremonies as legally binding- So why are they not recognized by Texas legally married because they "purported to be" to one another. Yes his wife was 16 - yes she had a child - IT is not the end of the discussion. It is NOT proof of abuse - because if it were truly abusive/HARMFUL why are not these texas judges which allow young teens to marry and have intercourse, being charged with child abuse?

In Texas, a common-law marriage is just as legally binding as one with a license, and can be used to prove bigamy.

I could pull the case law for you, but there is limited space for comments...

In any event, the warrants will not be suppressed, since they met all constitutional requirements, the defendants will be convicted, and their appeals will be denied.

Welcome to Texas.