Salt Lake City, USA - In a decision that could have major implications for a long-running court battle between the state of Utah and a polygamous sect, a federal judge ruled Thursday that a state takeover of the sect’s property trust six years ago was unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson’s decision to grant a motion for a preliminary injunction is a victory for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, which is led by Warren S. Jeffs.
"Virtually from its first step after it decided to reform the Trust, the state court was in forbidden territory," Benson wrote in his ruling.
Benson’s ruling blocks the sale of Berry Knoll farm, an approximately 700-acre parcel that church members say has both economic and spiritual significance to the community.
"It’s a really great day for constitutional rights," said FLDS attorney Rod Parker. "It takes a lot of courage on the part of judge to say, ‘OK, I know this group is out of favor, but this isn’t right.’"
Lawyers for the FLDS argued that because fundamentalist Mormons believe in the religious principal of holding property communally, the state takeover violated their religious freedom.
Attorneys for the state may appeal Benson’s decision.
"We strongly disagree with Judge Benson’s ruling and now we’re going to look at our options, including an appeal," said Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General’s Office. Officials will consider their next move in a meeting next week.
The long-term future of the trust was not immediately clear. Benson wrote in his ruling that a separate order will define the "precise extent" of the injunction.
In a statement, a spokesman for the accountant appointed by the state court to run the trust said: "We were appointed by the state court, and under the direction of that court for the last six years we’ve been preserving property and protecting the homes for families living on the United Effort Plan property ... We will continue to do our best to administer the trust while an even higher court resolves this dispute."
The UEP trust holds most of the property in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., and a settlement in British Columbia. Created in 1942, the trust is now valued at about $110 million.
The state took over the trust in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement by the FLDS trustees. No one from the FLDS initially responded or protested to the takeover, and 3rd District Court Judge Denise Lindberg changed the trust’s terms to remove religious considerations, partly to avoid running afoul of the constitution. But in 2008, the sect began fighting the takeover in the courts after officials proposed selling Berry Knoll farm.
In the years since, litigation over the trust has proliferated in the courts as conflicts over who controls farms, houses and the church cemetery have sprung up in Hildale and Colorado City.
Jeffs, 55, is in jail in Texas awaiting trial on sexual assault and bigamy charges. A year after handing off day-to-day control of the church’s affairs, he took back legal power this month.