OCR Text |
Show THE ZEPHYRMARCH 1993 PAGE 26 1 "Here comes the Judge.." Amid a stoon of controversy, Lyle Anderson becomes District Judge by Christopher Smith Standing in front of the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, Lyle Robert Anderson shuffled his feet, and looked a little embarrassed. Like many residents of Grand County, even he could not comprehend his almost miraculous ascension from a deputy county attorney to southeastern Utah's newest district judge. "If someone had indicated to me two years ago this would happen, I would have referred them for commitment," the tall, bespectaded attorney told Justice Gordon Hall, who performed the official swearing-i- n ceremony in the Utah Capitol Feb. 4. Monticello man went from deputy Grand County attorney to county The to state elected legislator to Seventh District Judge in less than two years. Trained as a attorney chemical engineer at Brigham Young University, Anderson has enjoyed a rocket ride to success in the legal profession. But controversy surrounding his qualifications, appointment and confirmation to the bench still rankle many. "It's going to take a major act of God and two felonies to get him out of there," says Leonard Shrewsbury, a Moab retiree who testified against Mr. Anderson's confirmation at a Utah Senate hearing. "Now that he's seated, he's probably on his way to the Supreme Court." "The Navajos are not happy with him," adds San Juan County Commissioner Mark Maryboy, a tribal legislator, who fears Anderson is radally prejudiced. "It makes them Navajos very nervous when they find someone like Lyle Anderson on the bench." Some of the most stinging criticism over the prospect of Anderson becoming a judge came from colleagues. "In my entire time here I have never met either an attorney or a judge in southeastern Utah who was as significantly unqualified as Mr. Anderson is to assume this most important southeastern Utah attorney Eric Swenson wrote in a Jan. 14 letter to the public position," Senate Judiciary Confirmation Committee. "Mr. Anderson would not as a judge have what attorneys usually refer to as a proper judicial temperament. He is often rude and insensitive in bearing. He often treats those with whom he deals in an arrogant and condescending manner. He occasionally is vindictive. He occasionally presents an attitude of immaturity." Swenson, whose practice is based in Monticello, says he will ask that his local cases to trial before Judge Anderson be heard by another judge. coming In another letter to the Senate committee. Salt Lake attorney Ronald Yengidi wrote: "I do not find the demeanor that he has exhibited consistently throughout our dealings to be that of someone who should sit in judgment of other human beings in civil and criminal settings. He is not the most experienced individual who applied for the judgeship, and as a result, he is not the best possible choice." Anderson was appointed by outgoing Gov. Norman Bangerter over two other area attorneys, each with more trial and law practice experience. But from the outset, Anderson appeared to have an edge. For starters, he was the only Republican among the three candidates for the appointment by GOP Gov. Bangerter. The other two men. Price attorney Michael Jensen and Moab attorney Bill Benge, are both Democrats. Judicial appointments are considered positions. Anderson's father and law partner, Robert Lyle Anderson, was an old friend of the governor. Robert Anderson also served on the judicial nominating commission that was charged with naming the three candidates to replace retiring Seventh District Judge Boyd BunnelL Once his son became a candidate for the judgeship, Robert Anderson disqualified himself and was replaced by Price attorney Michael Harrison. Lyle Anderson himself was a fan of Gov. Bangerter. He was a frequent although minor contributor to Gov. Bangerter's political campaigns. While still working for his father's law office, Lyle Anderson made four contributions to the governor in 1988: $50 on March 21, $25 on March 24, $50 on October 7 and $50 on Nov. 2. His mother, Madge, also gave money to the governor, contributing $100 to his 1984 campaign and $25 to his 1988 campaign. Gov. Bangerter announced his appointment of Lyle Anderson on Dec. 18, pending Senate confirmation. But even before the governor had conducted interviews with Anderson and the two other candidates named by the judicial nominating commission, work was underway to fill the vacancy that would be created in the Utah Legislature with Anderson's appointment to the bench. The week before the Dec 11 interviews between Gov. Bangerter and the three judicial Editor Adrien Taylor to inquire candidates, Lt Gov. Val Oveson called Moab whether she would be interested in filling the vacancy created in the House of Representatives although Anderson won the legislative district of San Juan, Grand and Emery counties with a 56 margin. Mrs. Taylor had sought fee Republican nomination for the District 71 seat last July only to be "skunked," as she put it, by a "group here in Grand County actively recruiting candidates outside of Moab to run against me." That group was the Hdyoak family, a bastion of political power in Grand County whose friends and family members have served in various elected local positions for years. A resident of Grand County, however, has not been elected to the Utah Legislature in 30 years. Judge Wapner look out... Here I come! 20-ye- non-partis- an Times-Independe- nt if Lyle Anderson was named to the bench. In November, Anderson a resident San Juan County won election as District 71 representative to fee Utah Legislature. Using fee campaign slogan "Lyle Has Style," he won a majority of votes in all counties of the district save one: Grand County, where he served as county attorney. Democrat Dan Nakai received 1,638 votes to Anderson's 1,561 in Grand County, Mrs. Taylor was blackballed at the nominating convention "simply because of her Publisher Sam Taylor. The Holyoaks gender and religion," says her husband, are active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da-y Saints, as is Lyle Anderson. The Taylors are not members of the Mormon Church. The appointment of a legislative replacement, however, was not the responsibility of the governor's office. "He Oveson was calling before he even knew the governor didn't have appointive power," says Sam Taylor. Mr. Taylor said his wife's first response to the call from Val Oveson was to tell the Lieutenant Governor that Anderson "would not make a good judge." Anderson gained a notorious reputation in Grand County for several reasons: He drafted and pushed a county records policy to prevent release of public documents that might "engender shame, humiliation or embarrassment" toward elected officials. The law was later revoked. As county attorney, he wrote a letter to the Moab newspaper, urging voters to reject a new, county council form of government. The measure passed. In an official voter information pamphlet for the county council election, Anderson wrote both the "against" and "neutral" position statements. His public opposition to the change in government appears to be his biggest sin in Grand County. Some residents felt it unethical that a public servant like the county attorney should encourage citizens to vote a certain way on a political issue. David Everist of Moab was concerned enough that he organized a public meeting to collect testimony against Anderson's appointment to the bench. "I have nothing against him personally, but if you look, Michael Jensen has 17 years on the state bar and Bill Benge has 21 years plus 10 as a county prosecutor," says Everist. "Lyle has 11 years on the bar and only two years courtroom experience, yet he gets fee job. It's a farce." Still, Anderson has several supporters who claim he is the victim of Grand County's politics. A man of higher integrity I don't know," says Grand County Clerk Fran Townsend. Several other county employees who worked with Anderson submitted letters to state senators testifying in his behalf. Times-Independe- nt Times-Independe- non-partis- rough-and-tumb- le s bagel bakery & espresso 690 SOUTH MAIN 259-BAK- E nt an COtfQ SOOttl no Uddiaq) AUS0 the |