By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

The El Dorado County sheriff is objecting to a request that Phillip (far left) and Nancy Garrido (left) be allowed to visit each other in jail, saying it "is breathtaking in its audacity."

Lawyers for the pair say the two accused kidnappers of Jaycee Lee Dugard need to meet to make family decisions and that they must be allowed to discuss their pending court case.

But the sheriff's office ridicules the request, which will be heard in a court hearing Friday.

"The only justification offered by the Garrido co-defendants for their extraordinary request to visit each other is that they need to make 'family decisions,' " a court filing from Chief Assistant County Counsel Edward L. Knapp states.

"The pseudo-family the Garridos want to discuss was created by the kidnap, false imprisonment and multiple rapes of a young girl, producing two children. While it may be argued that a restoration of family values would improve the quality of American life in general, the assertion of family rights in a case where the 'family' was the product of 29 alleged felonies is astonishing."

The filing argues that there is no constitutional guarantee for inmates to visit each other and that arranging such visits could pose a security threat and overburden deputies at the El Dorado County Jail.

"Longstanding and uniformly applied County Jail policy and practice does not allow personal visitation between inmates, particularly by those who are co-defendants in a pending criminal case," the filing states, adding that the Garridos are seeking "special privileges that no one else gets."

"The Garridos do not have any right to make personal visits with each other because the essence of being in jail is that you don't get to visit whoever you please, under the conditions you might prefer," the filing states.

The county counsel's filing, made under the name of Sheriff Manfred Kollar, also points out that the trial court can order the jailing or release of an inmate but that it has no say over how the jail is managed.

The Garridos have pleaded not guilty in the kidnapping of Dugard in 1991 when she was 11. She allegedly was held captive by them for 18 years in their Antioch-area home, where she was forced to have two daughters with Phillip Garrido, a convicted rapist and kidnapper.

Attorneys for the pair did not respond to requests for comment this morning.

They also are seeking information on the whereabouts of Dugard or the identity of her lawyer.

The El Dorado County District Attorney already has filed objections to defense requests to allow the Garridos to see each other, and the sheriff's filing echoes those objections by noting Phillip Garrido is a "master manipulator" and that he "knows how to use concealed messages to threaten and coerce his victims."

"In 1972 he successfully coerced his minor rape victim into not testifying by threatening her," filing states. That refers to a case in Antioch where Garrido was charged with abducting a girl and raping her at a local motel; the charges were dropped just before trial when the victim declined to testify, authorities have said.

The filing also recounts the 1976 abduction and rape of Katie Callaway, who was taken to a Reno storage shed where she spent a night of terror at Garrido's hands.

"In 1977 he was convicted of raping another woman, and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, but in 1988 talked his way into being released from federal prison after serving only 11 years. He then tracked down his rape victim from 12 years before and used the cryptic phrase 'I haven't had a drink in 11 years,' interpreted by that victim to mean he hadn't raped in 11 years."

Three years later, Dugard was snatched from in front of her home near South Lake Tahoe as a fifth-grader walking to a nearby school bus stop.

She remained missing for 18 years until she was discovered alive in August.

Judge Douglas Phimister is scheduled to hear arguments on the visitation motion Friday afternoon in his Placerville courtroom.

Meanwhile, a separate court filing Phimister sealed from view indicates he received a declaration on Friday from Pam Lane involving the case, but he ordered lawyers not to reveal any information about it.

Phimister has previously sealed other documents related to his removal of attorney Gilbert Maines as Nancy Garrido's court-appointed attorney. Maines' appeal of his removal is pending.