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SAN ANGELO, Texas, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A Texas judge appointed a lawyer for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs after he asked for more time to find counsel. Judge Barbara Walther said Jeffs, while seeking to have his trial postponed, had refused Wednesday to waive the 120-day deadline for trial, Scripps Texas Newspapers reported. Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has now had five pre-trial hearings.
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Jeffs came into court with lawyer Gerry Morris of Austin, Texas. But he apparently decided Morris was not suitable after Morris asked for more time to prepare for trial.
The charges, sexually assaulting children and bigamy, involve activities at the Yearning For Zion Ranch, the church's Texas base. Texas authorities raided the ranch in 2008.
Eight men have been convicted of criminal charges and given sentences ranging from six to 75 years.
Jeffs faces separate trials on the sexual assault and bigamy charges.
