Criminal Justice Division

 

The Criminal Justice Division includes prosecutors who are experienced in homicide, white collar crime and public corruption cases, and in issues related to competency to stand trial and countering mental defenses. They regularly consult with and actively assist prosecutors throughout the state, often in high-profile and difficult or sensitive cases. These attorneys frequently handle cases for county attorneys who have a conflict of interest, and are often called in to assist county attorneys in rural areas who have small offices and request assistance with major cases. In recent years these attorneys have successfully prosecuted several complex murder cases, including John Pinder (Duchesne County), Filomeno Ruiz (Duchesne County), Scott Merrill (Emery County), Jason Pearson (Emery County), Troy Kell (Sanpete County), Eric Daniels (Sanpete County), and Ron Lafferty (Utah County).

In addition, there are 5 specialized prosecution units which handle cases in the following areas: Welfare Fraud, Criminal Tax Fraud, Medicaid Fraud , Insurance Fraud, and Meth Labs. The Meth Lab prosecutors are funded through federal money, the Medicaid Fraud Unit is funded through a 25%-75% state/federal fund match, and the Insurance Fraud prosecutors are funded through a surcharge on insurance policy premiums, a mechanism established by the Legislature to combat fraud. The prosecutors in the Welfare Fraud and Criminal Tax Fraud units generate more in court-ordered restitution to state agencies than it costs to operate the units. For example, over the past two years, the Criminal Tax Prosecutor has secured court orders for approximately $2 million in tax liability for those convicted of tax violations. Cases prosecuted by these specialized units also have a deterrent effect on potential violators in these areas.

In total, the division has 17 attorneys and 7 support staff. Besides the general prosecutors and the 5 specialized prosecution units, there are also 4 attorneys who represent the Department of Corrections, Board of Pardons and Parole, Department of Public Safety and other state agencies.

Finally, division attorneys are actively involved in efforts to improve the quality of the criminal justice system in Utah. Their efforts include statewide training of state, county and city prosecutors, and working at the local and national level to influence criminal justice policy. They also propose legislative changes to make our system fairer and more efficient, such as the 2001 DNA Actual Innocence bill. They serve on several committees and task forces to improve the criminal justice system.