SAN ANGELO, Texas ? Some 120 would-be jurors in the trial of polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs have been excused, most because they are unable to presume him innocent.
A pool of 207 people arrived for the second day of jury selection Tuesday in the case of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' leader.
Asked if they'd heard enough about Jeffs to affect his guilt or innocence, 83 people raised their hands.
A similar, follow-up question increased the number to 101.
Those were excused, along with 19 others who said they couldn't consider probation or the minimum prison sentence of five years.
A jury won't be seated from those remaining until Wednesday.
Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
More than 100 would-be jurors in the sexual assault trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs said Tuesday they'd previously heard enough about his background to no longer presume him innocent ? meaning seating a jury in this rural corner of West Texas may prove even more difficult than expected.
A pool of 207 was on-hand for the second day of jury selection in the case of the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. About 60 would-be jurors were excused Monday because of scheduling conflicts, or for other routine reasons.
The 55-year-old Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child. If convicted, the maximum sentence for both is 119 years to life in prison. He will have a separate trial for bigamy in October.
Jeffs appeared in court wearing a dark suit and spent much of the day whispering instructions to his lawyers, who say he plays an active role in all motions they file. Followers see Jeffs as a prophet who serves as God's spokesman on Earth.
Eric Nichols, a special prosecutor for the Texas attorney general's office, asked those assembled if they'd heard enough about Jeffs previously to affect his guilt or innocence in their minds. Eighty-three people raised blue cards stamped with their juror numbers.
After a brief recess ? which was made a bit more uncomfortable because of a water main break that affected water pressure in the courthouse ? defense attorney Deric Walpole referenced those who indicated they had already made up their minds about Jeffs.
"Y'all, that's getting off to a bad start," he said. "Which is fine, as long as you're identified."
Walpole then asked if anyone no longer presumed his client innocent. "If you don't, raise your cards," he said. "Get `em up high. Don't be shy."
That drew an objection from Nichols, but the number of cards raised eventually increased to 101.
Walpole labored the point because he has already said he plans to file for a change of venue out of the oil and gas town of San Angelo, once a jury is seated. If a jury can't be drawn from the existing pool, it will be easier to argue that the case should be tried somewhere else.
When Walpole asked how many people had read or seen nothing about the Jeffs case, about 60 people raised their cards.
Jury selection isn't expected to be completed until at least Wednesday.
The charges against Jeffs stem from an April 2008 police raid on a church compound known as Yearning For Zion outside the town of Eldorado, about 45 miles south of San Angelo. Authorities who believed girls were being forced into polygamous marriages removed more than 400 children living at the compound, and TV images of women in frontier-style dresses and 19th century hairdos were shown across the country.
The original call to a domestic abuse hotline that sparked the raid turned out to be a hoax. Most of the children seized from the compound have since been returned to their families, but the evidence collected sparked charges including sexual assault and bigamy against Jeffs and 11 other FLDS men.
Even with Jeffs in prison, hundreds of people still live on Yearning For Zion, and construction crews continue at break-neck speed, erecting buildings which include a four-story, limestone temple. The FLDS controls a land trust worth more than $110 million.
When asked Tuesday, none of the would-be jurors said they had ever visited the heavily guarded Yearning For Zion compound, and only four were acquainted with anyone who lives there. Only about a dozen said they'd had contact with 14 Texas businesses the FLDS owns.
Since December 2009, all seven FLDS members to face prosecution in Texas have been convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years. Nichols served as lead prosecutor in all past church cases, but he was quick not to mention the word polygamy Tuesday.
Still, questions from both sides provided hints about the building blocks each will use to argue its case. Nichols asked about how reliable would-be jurors believed DNA evidence to be. Walpole indicated that Jeffs would not take the stand in his own defense, saying "I typically don't have my clients testify."
"It's their show, they have to present evidence," Walpole said, pointing to prosecutors. "Not guilty. That's our side of the story. Is anyone going to hold it against Mr. Jeffs if that's all we say is, `not guilty?'"
Only one potential juror raised his card in response.
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