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On Friday, June 20, 2008,Judge Barbara Walther issued a temporary restraining order against Willie Jessop on the motion of Natalie Malonis, attorney, and Connie Gauwain, guardian ad litem, for Teresa Jeffs, the 16-year-old daughter of Warren Jeffs. The motion was supported by an affidavit from Sam Brower, a private investigator and anti-FLDS crusader. Malonis accused Willie of attempting to intimidate her and Teresa, claiming that he has a “history of aggressive and threatening behavior toward witnesses and professionals involved with FLDS litigation.” Malonis also said that Willie was trying to coerce Teresa into avoiding a subpoena to testify at next week’s grand jury hearing in Schleicher County.

 

Teresa was the last of the YFZ children to be released from CPS custody. Even then her attorney succeeded in having special restrictions placed upon her. She was ordered to live in Bexar County with her mother, Annette Jeffs, and to have no contact either with her father or with Raymond Jessop.

 

In a series of letters and e-mail messages to her attorney, Teresa expressed her dissatisfaction with Malonis and her desire to have a new attorney. She also displayed her own maturity and independence of mind. The correspondence itself speaks volumes about this sincere and determined young lady. 

 

At the request of Malonis, Willie Jessop agreed to meet with her and Teresa on June 10 to attempt to bring about a better relationship between the two. Willie suggested that the meeting be held at the Ranch to help Teresa realize that her attorney was working for her. Malonis got lost on the way to the meeting and arrived about 30 minutes late. Before her arrival Willie asked Teresa what bothered her most about Malonis and received the answer that she treated her like a child and tried more to be her mother than her attorney. Malonis had been accusing Teresa of having had a baby but of hiding it. Willie asked her directly about this issue, and she denied that she had a baby or that she had ever had sexual relations at all.

 

According to Malonis, after she arrived, Willie tried to get her to forcefully advocate for the FLDS Church. In an interview on June 21, Willie maintained that the entire discussion of over 3 hours dealt not with religion but with the attorney-client relationship. Malonis refused to believe that her client had never had sexual relations and insisted that she was hiding her baby. Shortly after the meeting, Willie flew to Salt Lake City and has not seen Teresa since.   

 

Teresa wrote a letter to Judge Walther, requesting a new attorney and accusing Malonis of acting against her best interests. Malonis claims that the girl has been sexually abused and is pregnant, both of which Teresa denies. In her letter she said, “I have told her the truth, but she continues to make derogatory statements about my religion and my family.” She says that she lost confidence in Malonis after her attorney became very upset with her, yelled at her, and talked harshly against her family, “saying that everyone was lying to her.” She also said that Malonis had told her that if she pursued her request for a new attorney, CPS might “come and take me away from my mother again.” She said that she felt “intimidated and threatened” by her attorney.

 

 Teresa sent Malonis several additional e-mails, objecting to being subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. The Attorney General’s office Thursday told Malonis that Teresa could not be located, but in Teresa’s letter of June 21, she told Malonis that she had been visiting at a relative’s home and that neither she nor her mother had heard the phone ring or they would have answered it.

 

A number of observations are in order concerning these events. The accusations against Willie Jessop are totally unfounded and appear to be based on the misleading dossiers distributed to Texas authorities in April wherein it was noted that Willie Jessop had been barred from the courthouse after the third day of the Warren Jeffs’ trial because it was “determined that he was attempting to intimidate the witnesses” by “staring menacingly” at them. In reality, Willie seldom even looked up at all because he was busily taking notes the entire time. He has been accused of purposely positioning himself directly in the line of sight of the witnesses, but his seat was assigned by court security officers so that he had nothing to do with its selection.

 

During this trial Willie had extra security officers placed around him, his every action recorded on courtroom video, and sniper weapons aimed at him as he left the courthouse. Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith’s son, who delivered to Willie the judge’s order to remove him from the courtroom, acknowledged to him at the time that he had observed nothing intimidating about his behavior. Indeed, it would be difficult for him to pose much of a threat to others when he was being subject to such obvious intimidation himself.

 

Concerning the request of Teresa Jeffs to have a new attorney assigned to her, it should be noted that the relationship between client and attorney is only functional when it is based on mutual confidence and trust. Such confidence is clearly lacking in this situation. Ms. Malonis is ignoring the wishes of her client and pursuing her own agenda of attempting to distance her client from her family and her religion. Teresa clearly deserves a new attorney.

 

 

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From: Teresa Jeffs

Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 10:39 PM

To: Natalie Malonis

Subject: Re:

 

 

Natalie, quit all your lying about everything. You need to realize that I have a mind of my own and I can do things on my own if I choose to. I just want you to realize that I am not putting up with you any longer when you are acting this way and trying to make your name so great, saying to the whole world that you are "protecting Warren Jeffs' daughter". That is nothing great to do because I live in a happy family and I have been happy all my life until you and CPS have been so bothersome and nosy! Let me live a free life.

 

          I want you to quit telling the whole world that Willie is making me do all this. Last I knew, he had gone to salt lake and I have had nothing to do with him in the last while. It was my own dear choice and idea to write to the judge and ask for a new lawyer. I wrote it myself and I took the time out of my day to do it. Quit blaming it all on someone else when you have absolutely no proof. No one can change my mind, not even Willie! But, I feel this way about you and I am hoping that you will be kind enough to leave me alone. It feels like you are trying to restrict me from every person in my life that I want to talk to or have anything to do with and you want to be the decider of what I do and who I have to do with. 

 

          Oh, Natalie, please don't make this case harder. Shut your mouth up and quit calling me a victim of sexual abuse. I am so sick of being called that when I am absolutely not a victim of sexual abuse and you have no evidence to prove that I have ever had sexual relations. The most help you will be to me now is for you to step aside and let me get a different lawyer that I feel like can help me. Don't feel bad and try to fight so hard to make yourself look like your doing your JOB, so everyone can praise YOU! Thank you.

 

Now, don't jump to conclusions again, thinking that Willie told me to talk to you like this or told me to stay away from my subpoena. It is my own dear feelings and doings. Right now I am just at home, sitting on my bed. Does it sound like I have dissappeared? To tell you the truth, I havn't tried very hard at all to dodge this subpoena. Of course I am not just going to go running for it! I know how to think for myself, if you can believe it! This is how I feel and I just thought I would let you know.

 

-Teresa

 

 

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From: Teresa Jeffs

Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 6:11 PM

To: Natalie Malonis

 

 

Natalie, I have just gone over this pleading that you filed yesterday. It is very ashaming to me that you as my attorney would do this. I am continually amazed at how you have been acting lately. 

 

   You say that you and I had a good attorney/client relationship. We did at first, but as time went on and even while we were still at High Sky, you remember how I began to withdraw from speaking to you or ever wanting to tell you anything while we were there. I began to realize where you were headed and it felt like you were turning against us. Right now, in my eyes, to me you feel like an enemy to me. I hear that you are subpoened and what do you think I would think of that? I feel like I am trying to be my own attorney right now trying to win against you because you are doing so many things that are not in my best interest.

 

     You say you hope that now that this restraining order is on Willie then maybe you and I will have a better relationship. Well, you are absolutely wrong. I read about how you talked about my mother. I realize that you wouldn't care if she was arrested, you don't care about anyone I love. Do you think I am going to want to deal with you even still.

 

     As time has gone on, I have been more resisting to tell you anything. You need to understand that no one is trying to tell me to do all this. I have gone to different people to know how to deal with it because my trust in you is gone and you are going on by yourself and leaving me without an attorney and now I am trying to win against you because of what you are doing. I now need an attorney that will help me because of the situation you have now allowed me to be in. 

 

    I just want to get this straight with you. I can tell that you do not even care about anyone, you are trying to act like you care about me so much that you want me to do what you want me to do and you are so worried that Willie or Ray or some one is going to do something to me. I can wittness to you that in any communications that I have ever had in my whole life with those men and others, they have never threatened me. They have treated so very kindly.

 

    Natalie, stop all your nonsense. It was me that emailed you telling you that I did not want the subpoena. You say that you tried calling me. My mother and myself never remember the phone ringing and your name coming up that it was you, or else of course me or my mother would have answered it. You say that I dissappeared so they could not subpoena me. Should I tell you the truth? I was just over at a relatives house most of that day visiting. They didn't think to come find me there. They called my mother up and wanted to meet her so they could give it to her. She was going to meet them but then we decided to ask him to give us a day and then we would meet him. He was willing. We called the man the next day and told him where we were so they could bring it to us. they told us they would bring it the next morning which they have done. So, Natalie, just to let you know, I have my subpoena.

 

    Well, they want me to appear before a grand jury. I do not have confidence in you and how can I get you to help me in such a situation that I am in when it feels like to me all you are doing is going against me. So, that is the reason that I am asking you to step aside and let me do what I need to do and get me a different attorney.

 

    You go live a happy life and so will I. Lets stop worrying about eachother and we will both be alot happier. Quit worrying about me so much hoping that I have protection. If I feel like I need protection in one way or another, I will tell someone. I feel like I need protection from you right now! If you can believe such a thing! My attorney is going against my wishes. Maybe you need a restraining order that you can absolutely have nothing to do with me and you have to stay 1000 ft away from me! What do you think of that? I think that would be most wonderful.

 

    Please don't feel bad. I just want to get this straight with you. Now don't think that someone else is typing this note to you. I wish you were standing by me to watch me type it so I can show you proof that this is me all the way. Nobody told me to come and type this. In fact, I haven't showed this restraining order to anyone yet. I am the only one that has seen it. I will show it to my mother as soon as I email this letter to you.

 

    Straighten up your back and realize that you cannot keep playing around with me. With the help of the Lord I will stand for the right, no matter what you or anyone else threatens me with. No one around me that loves me has threatened me that if I don't stand for the right then they will do something to me. Never in my life have I been threatened so much until I had to do with you and CPS.

 

     Well, thank you Natalie for stepping aside. I am expecting it of you. Go live a happy, merry life!