This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Attorneys for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs want to replace the West Texas judge set to preside over his sexual assault and bigamy trial, according to the San Angelo Standard-Times and wire reports.
In a Monday hearing, defense attorneys said 51st District Judge Barbara Walther's body language has appeared biased against other members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and she is dealing with a potential safety risk, according to the Standard Times.
Defense attorney Jeff Kearney assembled more than a dozen witnesses who testified that Walther has rolled her eyes and used gestures that made her appear frustrated with the defense. In one instance, attorneys said, she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling — though she later apologized, saying she had a sinus headache.
"Many of the jurors would punch each other, nod their heads and smile to indicate they had seen" Walther's gestures, said FLDS defense attorney Dan Hurley, the Standard-Times reported.
In addition, defense attorneys claimed that there's been more security surrounding Walther after a possible threat. During the first trial of an FLDS man, a truck pulled out dangerously close as she traveled to Eldorado, Texas, the Standard-Times reported. Police suspected it may have been someone connected to the sect. Other judges have recused themselves due to security risks, according to the paper.
Texas District Judge John Hyde of Midland presided over the recusal hearing at the Tom Green County Courthouse on Monday afternoon. He planned to issue a ruling at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the start time of a scheduled pretrial conference for Jeffs.
Jeffs is facing three felony charges connected with two alleged underage spiritual marriages, one to a 12-year-old girl and the other under 17. Prosecutors filed sexual assault and bigamy charges against 12 men following a massive 2008 raid on the group's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Seven of those men have been tried and convicted; five are awaiting trial.
FLDS defense attorneys have attempted to have Walther recused once before, during a December 2009 attempt to quash the indictments against the 12 men.
Twitter: @lwhitehurst