Jones Waldo litigators Brett Ekins and Mike O'Brien pulled an all-nighter Monday evening to defend the freedom of the press in the high profile case against polygamist Warren Jeffs.
Ekins and O'Brien, who worked on behalf of the Salt Lake Tribune, were able to overturn a court order limiting what reporters could write regarding the ongoing Jeffs trial jury selection process in St. George. While the two attorneys were given short notice of the problem, a verbal restrictive order issued by the presiding judge, they both rose to the occasion.
The JW attorneys were able to draft and file papers at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning for the judge to review before the selection process proceeded.
In response to these objections, the court rescinded its verbal order and instead issued voluntary guidelines for media reporting on jury voir dire. Both Jones Waldo and the Tribune were happy with the outcome, namely the chance for more light to be shed on what appears to be a highly controversial and decisive case in the history of the FLDS community in Utah.
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