Ruling on dismissing Shurtleff charges might not come until August

Ruling on dismissing Shurtleff charges might not come until August

(Francisco Kjolseth)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A 3rd District judge has not yet ruled on motions to dismiss public corruption charges against former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff nor has she canceled a hearing next month on the matter.

It appears Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills won't make a decision until after oral arguments scheduled for Aug. 2. She held a telephone conference with the parties Friday, according to the court docket.

The judge set the hearing after Shurtleff's attorney, Richard Van Wagoner, filed motions to dismiss the case in June and earlier this month. He argues delays have violated his client's due process rights and that the prosecution cannot meet its obligations to share all of its evidence with the defense.

Van Wagoner also contends state law doesn't allow people to be charged with accepting improper gifts when they can be charged under a bribery statute for the same conduct. Prosecutors initially charged Shurtleff with bribery but changed them to accepting improper gifts.

On Monday, Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings moved to the dismiss the charges. He cited several reasons, including a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding bribery, inability to obtain key evidence from a federal investigation and concerns about whether Shurtleff could get a fair trial in the high-profile case.

The former three-term Republican attorney general is charged with five felonies — three counts of accepting gifts, and one each of bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding and obstruction of justice — and two misdemeanors accusing him of obstructing justice and official misconduct.

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Dennis Romboy

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