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Organizer Sofia Alcala yells as family and friends of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 27, 2020. Palacios was shot and killed by police in May. Alcala is one of nine protesters charged with vandalizing the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office building during a separate protest on July 9, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
District attorney asks retired judge to prosecute 9 cases tied to vandalism of his building
SALT LAKE CITY — A retired judge has been asked by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute the criminal cases of nine people accused of vandalizing the district attorney’s building during recent protests.
But the unusual move is already raising eyebrows and has become the latest chapter in an already controversial situation.
District Attorney Sim Gill announced this week that former 3rd District Judge Dane Nolan, who retired in 2017, will serve as “conflict counsel” for the vandalism cases. That means Nolan will handle the cases of those accused of breaking windows and spreading gallons of red paint around the district attorney’s office building following the ruling that the shooting death of a Salt Lake man by police was legally justified,
But to at least one of those who Nolan has been hired to prosecute, Gill’s choice for conflict counsel is a conflict itself.
Protester Madalena Rose McNeil called it an “unconscionable abuse of power” that Gill filed the charges and picked a prosecutor in a case when he or his building is the alleged victim.
“Once again, the District Attorney shows no sense of responsibility for his power over other people’s lives,” she posted on Twitter Thursday.
“What do you think it means that the DA chose to bring a prosecutor from his own city *out of retirement* rather than defer to a currently working prosecutor in another city, as is standard practice? Hm? Because I bet it doesn’t mean anything good.”
Salt Lake County Jail
Madalena Rose McNeil, 28, is charged with criminal mischief, a first-degree felony, and rioting, a third-degree felony, in connection with vandalism during a protest at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office building on July 9, 2020.
McNeil has received international attention because of the fact that she, along with others accused of vandalizing the building, is charged with a first-degree felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five years to life in the Utah State Prison.
‘Unethical’ charging?
On July 9, hours after Gill determined the fatal shooting of Bernardo Palacio-Carbajal by two Salt Lake police officers was justified, protesters took over the street in front of his downtown office on 500 South to denounce the decision. The protest turned to vandalism when gallons of red paint were poured on and around the building and on the street, and large windows were broken. Police estimated that the total damage could be as high as $200,000.
Ever since the riot in downtown Salt Lake City on May 30, the district attorney’s office has …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Utah News
