Polygamist sect: disorder in the court

SAN ANGELO, Texas — If the 416-child-custody case involving a West Texas polygamist sect continues the way it proceeded Thursday, some of the subjects may not be children by the time it's over.

With an attorney for every child and more for the parents, a chaotic chorus of lawyers rose for even minor legal points.

Texas District Judge Barbara Walther struggled to keep order as she faced 100 lawyers in her 80-year-old Tom Green County courtroom and several hundred more participating over a grainy video feed from an ornate City Hall auditorium two blocks away.

Dozens of the children's mothers, meanwhile, sat in their long, pioneer-style cotton dresses, long underwear even in the spring heat.

By late afternoon only two witnesses had testified, and both only to lay the foundation for documents to be admitted. One witness, a state trooper, was cross-examined by dozens of attorneys, each of them asking the same question on behalf of a child or parent.

Additional details on life at the ranch began to emerge as child-welfare investigator Angie Voss testified.

She said women may have had children when they were minors, some as young as 13. At least five girls who are younger than 18 are pregnant or have children, Voss said.

She said that if one of the men fell out of favor with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), his wives and children would be reassigned to other men. The children would then identify the new man as their father. Voss said that contributed to the problem of identifying children's family links and their ages.

At times, the hearing disintegrated quickly into a barrage of shouted objections and attempts to file motions, with lawyers for the children objecting to objections made by the parents' attorneys. When the judge sustained an objection to the prolonged questioning of the state trooper, the lawyers cheered.

Upon another objection about the proper admission of medical records of the children, the judge threw up her hands.

"I assume most of you want to make the same objection. Can I have a universal, 'Yes, Judge'?" she said.

In both buildings, the hundreds of lawyers stood and responded in unison: "Yes, Judge."

The first attempt to admit evidence resulted in an hourlong recess while all the lawyers examined it.

The hearing was to continue today.

At issue was an attempt by Texas to strip the parents of custody and place the children in foster homes because of evidence they were being physically and sexually abused or in imminent danger of abuse by the FLDS, a renegade Mormon splinter group suspected of forcing underage girls into marriage with older men. Attorneys from across Texas are handling the case for free.

The children, from infants to 17-year-olds, were removed by the state during a weeklong raid that began April 3 at the 1,700-acre ranch operated by the FLDS near Eldorado, about 45 miles from San Angelo.

Walther signed an emergency order nearly two weeks ago giving the state custody of the children after a 16-year-old girl called an abuse hotline claiming her husband, a 50-year-old member of the sect, beat and raped her. The girl has yet to be identified.

FLDS members deny children were abused and say the state is persecuting them for their faith.