A Cochise County judge has removed himself from presiding over a multimillion dollar child molestation lawsuit against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) after the defendants raised concerns with the fact the judge is on the Church’s roll.
“I regret not being more open given the sensitivities of this case in regard to my history with the Church,” Judge Jason Lindstrom told the parties during a July 9 hearing on the matter. “I don’t tend to believe that it will cause me personal bias but there is no way for any of you to know that. And the appearance [of a conflict] is absolutely there 100 percent.”
According to the change of judge motion, Church attorneys became concerned after a June 28 hearing that Lindstrom seemed to display personal knowledge of the Church which the defendants believed was gained from a source independent of this case.
“Judge Lindstrom’s comments in the hearing about his personal knowledge caused the Church and the Defendants in this case to investigate further his prior involvement in the Church, and specifically in its Bisbee Ward,” the motion filed July 8 states. “That further investigation raises serious questions concerning Judge Lindstrom’s ability, consistent with applicable legal standards, to remain as the judge on this case.”
The lawsuit against the LDS Church and several of its members involves the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse suffered by three children of Paul Douglas Adams, a U.S. Border Patrol agent who admitted his ongoing criminal conduct to at least one, if not two, bishops of the Bisbee Ward prior to Adams’ suicide in December 2017.
Lindstrom was previously a member of that Ward and has a close family member who was active in the Bisbee Ward during the years the children were abused. He later joined the Sierra Vista Ward, but did not mention his Church affiliation over the several months the case had been assigned to him.
The Church defendants, which include former Bisbee Ward bishops Dr. John Herrod and R. Kim Mauzy, wanted the case out of Lindstrom’s courtroom because of concerns they “cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial” with Lindstrom on the bench. The motion also raised concern that Lindstrom’s mother-in-law could be a potential witness due to her service with the Bisbee Ward’s Relief Society.
“The applicable rules do not require Defendants to demonstrate actual bias or Prejudice,” the motion stated.
In his comments, Lindstrom acknowledged the appearance of an impropriety and potential for a conflict, but noted that Cochise County is small, and that he often had to prosecute people he went to school with or was one person removed from.
“The Court does understand that my tolerance for conflict is probably higher than most people,” he said.
Lindstrom them recused himself and the case has been reassigned to Terry Bannon, another Cochise County judge. It will be up to Bannon to rule on a matter that Lindstrom was supposed to have heard arguments about on July 9.
That issue involves whether attorneys for the Adams children can have access to the employment records of Shaunice Warr, a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was assigned through the LDS Bisbee Ward’s Relief Society to spend time with Leizza Adams, the children’s mother.
Warr testified in the child abuse prosecution against Leizza Adams about concerns with how her co-worker Paul Douglas Adams treated his wife and children. She also gave a statement to agents with Homeland Security Investigations about her experiences with the family.
The children’s lawsuit alleges Warr had a legal obligation as a sworn law enforcement officer to report her concerns to child welfare officials or the police. Attorneys for the children want to see what Warr may have told her supervisors or others within USBP about the Adams household.
Another issue which Bannon will have to rule on in the coming weeks is the disclosure during the June 28 hearing that the Cochise County Attorney’s Office has served a subpoena on the children’s attorneys in an effort to obtain documents about the Church’s response to the Adams’ admission that he was sexually abusing his children.
For more than three years Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre has considered whether to prosecute Herrod and Mauzy for violation of Arizona’s mandatory reporter law. However, the subpoena reportedly refers to an ongoing criminal investigation of the Church itself.
Among the lawsuit documents which could potentially be turned over to the county attorney is several documents related to a West Virginia lawsuit against the Church which may have been shared with the children’s attorneys in violation of a West Virginia Supreme Court order.
The parties are waiting on Bannon to set a review hearing so the pending procedural issues can be decided.
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