Polygamist Sect Leader Jeffs Battles Extradition

Warren Jeffs refuses to sign waiver sending him to Texas
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 8, 2010 1:40 AM CDT
Polygamist Sect Leader Jeffs Battles Extradition
Warren Jeffs, leader of the FLDS Church, appears before Judge Terry Christiansen yesterday in West Jordan, Utah.   (AP Photo/Trent Nelson, Pool)

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs refused to sign a waiver allowing his extradition to Texas at a brief court hearing in Utah yesterday. Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, faces bigamy and sexual assault charges in Texas for his alleged involvement with underage girls at the Yearning for Zion ranch. He will appear in court again in November, CNN reports.

Jeffs' 2007 conviction in Utah for being an accomplice to rape was recently overturned by the state's Supreme Court, and his lawyer says that sending him to Texas will deprive him of his right to a speedy retrial. A dozen FLDS members appeared in the Utah courtroom yesterday to see the man that they believe is a prophet. Jeffs will remain in a Utah jail while the legal process continues.
(More Warren Jeffs stories.)

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