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SALT LAKE CITY -- There's new evidence that the fight between Salt Lake County's District Attorney and one of her own prosecutors is far from over. KSL Newsradio has obtained a series of e-mails sent by Lohra Miller's office to police agencies around Salt Lake County.
The e-mails were sent in October from a member of Lohra Miller's staff in regards to Kent Morgan, a man Miller had tried to fire. Thursday night Miller was a guest on KSL Newsradio's The Nightside Project. There she said that she was only recently made aware of the e-mails, but she stands by them.
KSL Newsradio first obtained a series of e-mails sent from an investigator in Miller's office to five police chiefs. The e-mails discuss the "ongoing challenge that the DA's Office has had recently with Assistant District Attorney Kent Morgan.." and asks for input because Miller "would like to represent to the public that it is not only her that has lost faith and confidence in Mr. Morgan but also Law Enforcement and Law Enforcement leadership."
Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank was among the recipients.
"I don't send my personnel decisions out for other people's input so I just chose not to respond to this e-mail," he said.
Miller and Morgan's history made headlines in March of 2008 when he was fired for an alleged improper relationship with an accused felon. He appealed and won his job back, but instead of resuming felony prosecutions, he was assigned to the civil division.
The County Career Service Council ruled Miller was retaliating and ordered Morgan to resume his previous duties in September. The DA's office asked for and was granted a stay in that decision.
Miller says she was trying to determine where she should place Kent Morgan after he was fired then re-hired per the instructions of the county's Career Service Council.
Miller says when she fired Morgan for possibly leaking information to a defendant, the county's Career Services Council told her she had adequate cause to do so.
"When they ordered that I take Mr. Morgan back, they ordered a demotion and five months off without pay," she said.
She says Morgan had numerous phone calls with a defendant in an active case, Steve Maese, but Morgan told him to call on a throw-away phone.
"What Steve Maese did was he went and bought a phone, registered it to Jack Bauer with an address that comes back to the homeless shelter, and then the phone calls picked right back up again," she said.
The e-mails were sent to the chiefs of police in West Valley, West Jordan, Sandy, Cottonwood Heights and Salt Lake City, and were written by Stu Smith, a member of Miller's staff.
"I am sure you are aware of the ongoing challenge that the DA's office has had recently with Assistant District Attorney Kent Morgan," the letters stated. "Mr. Morgan states he believes his place is in the courtroom, in front of a judge, prosecuting felony cases."
The letters go on to say Ms. Miller "is on the record as saying she has lost confidence in him and his ability to represent the DA's office ... Lohra would like to represent to the public that it is not only her that has lost faith and confidence in Mr. Morgan, but it is also law enforcement and law enforcement leadership."
Miller says that while she says she was not aware of the e-mails until a few weeks ago, she did ask a staff member to see if any law enforcement officers were willing to go on the record with concerns about Morgan. She says that was prompted by a number of off-the-record comments. To this day, no one has come forward.
"In this case, I have done the right thing and continue to stand by that," Miller said.
In a motion filed with county's Career Service Council on Dec. 15, Morgan called the request an "apparent effort to avoid compliance" with the council's prior orders that he be reinstated to a position consistent with his experience and years at the DA's office.
Miller says the council told her she had adequate cause to fire Morgan when she let him go, but it was later discovered that Morgan did disclose he was friends with Steven Maese. The council said she would have to hire him back but with a demotion.
Kent Morgan declined to comment for the story.
Lohra Miller is running for re-election. Private practice attorney and small claims judge Greg Skordas has announced plans to run against her.
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Compiled with information from Marc Giauque and Sarah Dallof.
