Civil-rights trial against polygamous sect begins in Phoenix

• Jury selection began Tuesday in the civil-rights trial of two towns housing a polygamous sect
• The Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is accused of usurping city powers
• The trial is expected to last through the end of February

Do you view the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  and the towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, as one and the same?

That was the question an attorney asked a prospective jury pool Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. The trial pits the U.S. Department of Justice against the so-called "twin cities" that straddle the Arizona-Utah border, as well as the power and water companies that serve them.

The juror candidates were hesitant to say yes or no.

But that is exactly what the U.S. government is arguing — that the church and local governments are inseparable. The DOJ lawsuit alleges that the cities have violated the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Act and clauses of several constitutional amendments in regard to due process, separation of church and state, and equal protection under the law.

"For at least 20 years, the cities have operated as an arm of the FLDS, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution," the complaint says. "The cities' governments, including the Marshal's Office, have been deployed to carry out the will and dictates of FLDS leaders, particularly Warren Jeffs and the officials to whom he delegates authority. For decades, officials of the cities have, by operating at the direction and for the benefit of the FLDS, abdicated their official duties to protect the rights of all citizens equally and to administer governmental functions consistently with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution."

Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the sect formed after the Mormon Church renounced polygamy, was convicted in 2011 of child sexual assault with 12- and 15-year-old girls and is serving a life sentence. Court pleadings indicate he still heads the FLDS.

Jury selection to begin in trial against polygamous towns of Colorado City, Hildale

The trial was supposed to be held in U.S. District Court in Prescott, but was moved to Phoenix. A federal judge was brought in from Alaska to hear the case. A panel of nearly 50 jurors was called from northern Arizona, closer to the cities in question. Those selected will be reimbursed for travel expenses to attend the trial, which is expected to continue through the end of February.

Jeff Matura, the Phoenix-based attorney defending Colorado City, zeroed in on prospective jurors to question them about answers they'd filled in on pretrial juror questionnaires.

Why did a woman think the two cities are "odd?"

"Polygamy is odd," she answered.

Matura referred to polygamy, which is practiced by the FLDS, as "a lifestyle," and asked other jurors why they thought the cities were a "religious area."

But the pleadings allege more than that, quoting communications among town and church leaders asking Warren Jeffs for God's input on whom to appoint to police positions. They speak of town leaders who fell from favor, who were separated from their wives and children and driven from their houses by church leaders. Or about local police carrying out "edicts" of the church; about non-FLDS residents being targeted by police or denied water and electric service; about non-FLDS children being forbidden to play in local parks.

The Justice Department lawsuit was presaged by another case brought in U.S. District Court by the Arizona Attorney General's Office on behalf of a Colorado City couple denied water and electric service, ostensibly because the wife was not a member of the FLDS church. After months of denying service, according to court records, the town marshal sent a backhoe to dig up their front yard to see if they had stolen the water they were denied access to. The husband's brother was arrested.

In 2014, that couple was awarded a settlement of $5.3 million and the towns were assessed civil penalties by the court.

Opening arguments in the present case are expected to begin Wednesday morning.