Just two of five cases originally brought against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader in Arizona are still in play, and a significant portion of those two cases have been dismissed.

Now, a judge has set a July 11 hearing on whether the remaining charges, based on Jeffs' alleged role conducting marriages for underage girls, came out of a tainted grand jury proceeding.

Defense attorney Michael Piccarreta argues the grand jury panel that met May 10, 2007, was not properly advised on Arizona law nor questioned sufficiently about potential bias against Jeffs. He also argues that Mohave County investigator Gary Engles gave jurors misleading or false information.

In his response, Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said the grand jury heard the charges months before Jeffs' high-profile September trial in Utah.

He concedes jurors were not questioned extensively about their exposure to media or knowledge of Jeffs but says they were asked, "Has anybody read anything about a man named Warren Jeffs?"

When some raised their hands, they were told not to discuss anything they had read about the case during proceedings. Two jurors were dismissed when they said they could not be impartial, leaving 12 on the panel.

Smith also defends Engles' statements and the prosecution's discussion with the jury as appropriate.

Five cases were initially filed against Jeffs in Arizona, where anyone under the age of 18 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.

The Mohave County Attorney's Office dismissed three cases after it was unable to prosecute the other men involved. The remaining cases charged Jeffs with incest and sexual conduct with a minor for conducting illegal marriages.

One case involves Elissa Wall and her 2001 marriage to Allen Steed. Utah officials used that case to convict Jeffs of being an accomplice to rape. He is serving two five-to-life prison terms.

But on June 4, Mohave County Superior Judge Steven F. Conn dismissed the incest charges.

In Arizona, the charge can only be brought against adults who are both over the age of 18. In both of Jeffs' cases, the women were minors.

Also, Conn said marriages between "first cousins of the half blood" are not defined as incestuous under Arizona law. Wall and Steed have a common grandfather but different grandmothers. The same was true in the other case.

"Those were actually the more serious charges facing Mister Jeffs," Piccarreta said.

The remaining charges are punishable by up to two years in prison. In Texas, officials have taken DNA samples from Jeffs as part of an investigation into alleged marriages to four underage girls.

brooke@sltrib.com