Salt Lake City, USA - The Utah Supreme Court has denied polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs' appeal seeking a new hearing on three key issues related to his upcoming trial.
The court denied the petition late Tuesday with no comment.
Jeffs' attorneys filed the interlocutory appeal on April 18, asking the high court to review three decisions made by 5th District Court Judge James L. Shumate.
The judge denied the defense's request to move Jeffs' trial out of Washington County. Shumate also refused to reverse his decision to send the case to trial. And he rejected a defense argument that Utah's rape statute is unconstitutionally vague in defining what constitutes enticement.
So far, the only success Jeffs' attorneys have had is in getting Shumate to allow their client to wear street clothes at his hearings and scaling back security at the courthouse