Jeffs jurors complain of defense contact

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Utah jurors who convicted polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs said they have been getting unwanted calls from a defense investigator.

"What he was trying to do was get something that would impeach the jurors so they could file an appeal," jury foreman David Finch told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The jurors complained to Utah Fifth District Judge James Shumate, who issued an order threatening attorneys with contempt for the unwanted contact.

The judge cited a professional conduct rule that barred attorneys from contacting jurors who didn't want such contact and ordered that no one should "harass, intimidate or otherwise annoy members of the jury regarding this case."

On Sept. 19, the jury convicted Jeffs of two felony counts of being an accomplice to rape, each punishable by five years in prison.

Jeffs is to be sentenced Nov. 20.