AUSTIN, Texas – The convictions of a polygamous sect member who argued that the 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch was unjust has been denied.
Michael Emack, an FLDS follower and Warren Jeffs supporter was denied by the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Friday, being the first convicted member of Jeffs’ followers to take a case to higher courts.
Emack’s argument of the raid being unconstitutional was rejected when a three-judge panel in Austin said authorities had sufficient grounds for probable cause.
Emack is currently serving a seven-year sentence for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old spiritual wife. Emack is one of eight convicted FLDS men serving a sentence, including Warren Jeffs, the polygamous sect’s religious president.
