St. George, USA - Attorneys will need a third day of interviews to find eight more jurors qualified to serve in the trial of polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.
So far, they have identified 20 of the 28 potential candidates needed to make up a final pool from which they will select a panel of eight jurors and four alternates to hear the state's case against Jeffs.
The interviews are providing a snapshot of county residents' knowledge of the case and feelings about the polygamous sect Jeffs leads.
Some potential jurors said they know little about either. Others recited details gleaned from media reports or personal interaction with members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The FLDS sect's homebase is about an hour from St. George in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
What lawyers want to know is whether the potential jurors can put aside what they know and feel about the sect, its practices or Jeffs and weigh only facts presented during the trial. Prosecutors have focused on whether the candidates understand nuances of the laws that will be at issue in the case. The defense has focused on opinions about polygamy, arranged marriage and the sect leader himself.
"You have to begin this case with a promise to Mr. Jeffs that 'I will start with the presumption that Mr. Jeffs is innocent,' " defense attorney Walter Bugden told one man.
The man looked briefly at Jeffs, seated at the far end of an oval table, and said, "I can do that."
But many potential jurors did not clear that question or other hurdles.
From a starting pool of 300 people, around 200 have been been excused, dismissed or failed to answer the summons for jury duty.
On Wednesday, attorneys will begin interviews with 15 more potential jurors - a process likely to take all day and delay the anticipated start of the trial.
Jeffs is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice, stemming from a spiritual marriage he conducted in 2001 between Doe, then 14, and her cousin, then 19.
Doe testified in an earlier hearing that she objected numerous times to the union and to having marital relations with her husband. Jeffs, according to Doe, said her heavenly salvation depended on her doing as told.
On Monday, media representatives were brought one at a time into 5th District Judge James L. Shumate's chambers and allowed to observe questioning of two jurors. However, through a courts spokeswoman, Shumate barred the media from reporting anything about the proceedings, including specific questions asked and responses given.
After The Salt Lake Tribune and other Utah media objected, Shumate this morning narrowed his instructions, asking reporters to not identify jury candidates or report on their private matters. He asked that reporters use discretion in reporting questions asked and answers given.
On Monday, the first two candidates questioned were women in their 50s. One works at a casino in Mesquite while the other works for Sky West airlines.
A Washington woman who works in the medical field was the third to be interviewed. She said she has seen members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the building where she works, and described the sect as "secluded."
"They're very quiet. They don't talk," she said.
Defense attorney Tara Isaacson asked the woman to further explain her observation and she answered: "Because they're so quiet and don't say anything, I feel they're not allowed to talk."
The woman described herself as a "big fan" of "Big Love," an HBO series about a polygamist family in Utah. She said the show has given her some insight into the polygamous lifestyle, but added she was not sure to what extent the show is based specifically on the FLDS sect.
The woman also said she had watched an old movie about Short Creek, as the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., were once known. The two towns are the homebase of 6,000 or so FLDS members.
She also said she had watched a Dr. Phil show about two teenage girls who left the FLDS community several years ago.
"People outside of Utah don't have a clue what is going on," the woman said.
Both she and the next candidate took momentary glances at Jeffs while being questioned.
The candidates are being questioned in a room with 12 other people - the judge, bailiffs, prosecutors and defense attorneys, court staff and Jeffs. He was seated Monday in a corner farthest from the candidates, and watched intently as they spoke.
The next potential juror, a sales and marketing manager for a St. George company, said he feels people should be allowed to believe whatever they want to as long as they are not hurting other people.
As a leader who has counseled members in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has learned some allegations are not just "black and white" and there is often more to a story, he said.
The man said he had lived in Asia for several years, where arranged marriages are common.
The LDS Church publicly disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates any one who practices or professes belief in the practice. It claims no connection to fundamentalist sects. It issued a statement Friday restating its position in anticipation of the deluge of media coverage of the Jeffs' trial.