Juror Questionnaire in Short Creek trial
If summoned to jury duty in January at the federal courthouse in Phoenix, you may need to mark on question 84 if you've watched any television shows about polygamy.
That can include, according to the juror questionnaire for the upcoming civil trial in the United States of America v. Colorado City, et al, "Sister Wives," "Big Love," "Polygamy USA" and "Prophet's Prey."
A judge on Tuesday approved the jury questionnaire and entered it on the court docket. Aside from standard questions asking for personal history and demographics, the court wants to know a little about the candidates' exposure to polygamy in the entertainment and news media, and whether they hold opinions about the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its imprisoned president, Warren Jeffs.
The questionnaire also asks whether the candidates have ever held public sector jobs and if they have experienced discrimination.
That's because, as the questionnaire explains in a preface, the civil trial will be about whether the twin towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah perpetrated a pattern of misconduct in violation of the First, Fourth and 14th amendments by giving the FLDS Church control of municipal government and which discriminated against other groups.
The defendants include the two towns, as well as a related water utility.
The questionnaire informs jurors the trial could last 22 days.
Also, a judge last week unsealed 42 pages of letters written by towns officials to Jeffs or his brother Lyle. All the letters appear to be previously entered into public records in other courts and proceedings.
ncarlisle@sltrib.com
Twitter: @natecarlisle
JEF02 - LAS VEGAS (EE.UU.), 5/8/2011.- Fotografía cedida por la Policía Metropolitana de Las Vegas, que fue por primera vez suministrada el 31 de agosto de 2006, que muestra al polígamo Warren Jeffs, un líder de una secta mormona, acusado el 4 de agosto de 2011 de agresión sexual contra dos niñas, de 12 y 14 años de edad, a quienes tomó como esposas en "matrimonios espirituales". Jeffs de 55 años enfrenta una sentencia máxima de 119 años en prisión tras el veredicto de un jurado de Texas, que lo encontró culpable de los cargos. EFE/LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT/ EDITORIAL USE ONLY