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  Arraignment Delayed for Jeffs" Attorney Again

By Matthew Waller
San Angelo Standard-Times
September 30, 2011

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/sep/30/arraignment-delayed-for-jeffs-attorney-again/

An attorney for polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has had the arraignment for a cocaine possession charge against her moved back to Oct. 25.

Earlier this month, Jeffs' former attorney Emily Detoto, 40, was scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 30 in Harris County, where she practices law.

The court appearance was moved to Sept. 29, and the arraignment reset for late October.

Upon Detoto's request, the arraignment has been reset three times now.

Detoto was charged June 20 with possession of less than 1 gram of a controlled substance, a state jail felony. Houston police said the charge involved cocaine.

The criminal defense lawyer, who has been named a "Texas Rising Star" by the Super Lawyers publication for five years, was part of a team of attorneys who represented Jeffs.

In August, Jeffs was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, and he was sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison.

Detoto has said she was hired to try to remove 51st District Judge Barbara Walther from Jeffs' case. The motion against Walther claimed she was too biased, as she signed warrants that led to the seizure of evidence against Jeffs, among other allegations.

A visiting judge heard Jeffs' motion and ruled against it.

Detoto and other attorneys tried to remove themselves from representing Jeffs after their part in the trial was finished. Robert and Gary Udashen, brother attorneys who had been hired to suppress evidence, tried to be excused as well.

They tried again to remove themselves after Jeffs fired them all and chose to represent himself through most of the rest of the trial.

Detoto stayed on as a standby attorney and fielded questions from the media on several occasions.

At her website, texaswarriorlawyer.com, she lists cases she has handled that have been dismissed, including two that list charges regarding possession of cocaine.

"Drug charges should be taken seriously, whether they are minor possession charges or more serious charges, such as trafficking or production," her website states.

Detoto and her attorney could not be reached for comment.

 
 

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