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Show Utah Judge Michael Hutchings to Hang Up His Robes The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH Friday, June 12, 1998 15-year veteran of the bench will practice law and develop real estate while maintaining his support ofanti-crime programs THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Anoutspoken 3rd District judge announced his retirement Thursday, after serving 15 years on the bench. Michael Hutchings, 44, will shed his robes by Dec. < to practice. law, develop real estate and support crime-reduction programs, accordingto letter sent to Utah SupremeCourt Chief Justice Richard Howe. _ “Lintend to lend my voice and my supportto the implementation of policies that will reduce crime and victimization in our community,” Hutchings states, Two years ago, in his treatise Another Vietnam: Salt Lake's War On Crime, Hutchings broke with judicial tradition by claiming the community was not tough enoughon criminals. Police applauded, but he was criticized by Latinos for describing the “typical drug dealer” in Salt Lake asanillegal immigrant from Mexico. (Hutchings had cited jail records indicating 80 percentof those arrested for drug crimesin Salt Lake County were illegal immigrants.) Unperturbed, Hutchings co-authored, with University of Utah professor Gerald Smith, a compilation of statistics purportedly indicating Utah would be leading the nation in total crime per capita by 2002,if crime trends continue. Butin 1995, the Utah Courtof Appeals overturned Hutchings’ decision, saying he had overreached by orable cases were preliminary hearings for capital homicide suspects Sam Kastanis and MiKastanis, by holding a Utah Crime Summit in July 1997, attended by U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno. Reno promised more FBI and drug and immigration agents, and al prison. “People listened and responded. There has been improvement,” Hutchings said. “But we definitely still have problems.” Utah is second-highest in the nation for theft and has the nation’s smallest prison system, which is burstingat its seams, the judge said. He also lamented the lack of adequate drug- and alcohol-treatment programs, claiming the majority of criminals are “good people” with substance-abuse problems. Thejudge, who was appointedto the bench in July 1983 by Gov. Scott Matheson, plans to join the case was weak andcircumstantial Walker. Among Hutchings’ more mem- “deciding questions arising from credible, but con chael DeCorso, herecalled. Hutchings was called an alarmist by some. But Sen. Orrin Hatch andstate authorities followed up said Utah could bethesite of a new 1,100-bed feder- Sandy law firm of Holman and At charged with the murders of his wife and three children at their West Jordan homein 1991, was acquitted by a jury. DeCorso was found guilty of the 1994 robbery and murder Michael Hutchings of a West Jordan shoe-store manager and sentenced to life in prison withoutthe possibilityof parole. Hutchings also presided over a 1991 preliminary hearing that has had far-reaching legal ramifications. Charged with the August 1990 murder of his girlfriend, Donald Jaeger claimed she had committed suicide at their Salt Lake County home. At Jaeger’s preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented results of gunshot-residue tests showing California Official: Hit Water Guzzlers Where It Hurts in their wallets. The California horticulturist is in Utah this week to teach officials howtouse arate structure to conserve water. Since 1990, Ash hascut outdoor watering almostin half in his Irvine Ranch Water District by restructuring the area's waterrates. He presented his nationally recognized water conservation program to officials from about 20 water districts. The program began Thursday and continues to- jay. The Utah Water Conservation Forum invited him to speak in hopes that Utah water districts will model their own water rates Movie Buffs Trial Starts With makesure that those that use the The extra money from the most waterpayforit,” says Georgia Barker, executive director of water wasters goes toward a fund @ Continued from B-1 held in abeyance — or not formally entered — for three years, If Kingston and Cramer are not charged with any further crimes in that time, or if the jury acquits Peterman, the pornography charges will be dropped. “The prosecution's focusis hav- ing the jury decide whatis obscene in Utah County. The defendants are really incidental to that,” said John Caine, Cramer’s attorney. ‘This is the best of both worlds for these two defendants, They are not admitting anything.” That didn't make the last 19 monthsanyeasier for them, however. “I don’t feel good about it, We're not guilty of anything,” said Kingston, Peterman’s wife. “It's the right thing to do for our families and our business. It’s been a very tough year for us. It's been very traumatic. We're business people. We're not pornographers,”’ Peterman estimated that publicity over the case has cost the 20-store chain, located in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, more than used for other water-conservation the Utah Water Conservation Forum. The Irvine District makes its tiered, but they do not carry the customers pay significantly when they use more water than they are imposes. Utah residents pay a allocated,and it rewards them for usingless. The amountof water allowed is based on the amount of landscaped area on each buildinglot, the numberof people in the building and the weather. Thedistrict has calculated how much wateris neededto keep a lawn healthy — an amount that fluctuates with the weather. Whenresidents use more than they need, they can pay up to $2 millionin lost revenues. Before the first film was screened, both sides outlined their cases and apologized in ad- Explicit Screenings eight times the base water rate. Their bill is reduced by up to 75 percent whenthey conserve. vanceto the nine jurors(eight and an alternate) for making them watch 16 dirty movies during the next week. Jerome Mooney, Peterman’sattorney, said 15 of the films were “cable versions,” with the most explicit scenes edited so that actu- improvements. Utah water rates also are steep fines the California district base rate and more whenthey use more water. But Utah’s water rates — the third lowestin the nation — remaintoo low for water conservationists. “(The rate] is set somewhat low so those using significantly more waterare not really paying their fair share,” Barker says. Utah water districts also have not studied how much water Utahns should use. The state ranks second in per capita water consumption, formation that the raid was com- ing? I don't know. Maybe.” Records of adult video rentals and purchases were sealed by orderof U.S. District Judge Thomas Greene in December 1996, but last month Greene ordered re- And he hinted that video may have been a setup orchestrated by Brett Bezzant, owner and publish- “Shooting Star’ was not on Movie Buffs’ shelves, but was behind the counter in American Fork when the shop was raided. Thevideo had been purchased by Bezzant four days earlier, Mooney told the jury, and was labeled “cable version.” But it was returnedto the store on the dayof the raid, was confiscated by police, and, Mooneysaid, turned out to be the only hardcore film among the more than 1,000 that were seized “We don't believe the film that was returned was the same copy that was sold four days before,” Mooney said. After court had recessed, the attorney speculated further. “Did he have inside in- and howit impacts their pocketbooks. ers on archaeologically sensitive Bezzant strongly denied buying at him because he wrote a column in his newspapers supporting an American Fork resident's efforts to organize a boycott of the video chain, Summers, whowill attend the plans Chaining involves dragging a large anchor chain between two ears. bulldozers to knock overtrees, In March 1997, the BLM wanted to chain about 45,000acresof trees Unlike Irvine's program, West Jordan water guzzlers would be penalized only during the summer, when the most wateris wast- that had been burned during range fires the previous fall in Millard and Juab counties ed on landscapes. “This obviously is an attempt to ‘THESALTLAKE TRIBUNE OGDEN — Members of the largest graduating classin the history of Weber State University weretold to figure out what they love and then find a way to make a living doing it. Best-selling author and busi- nessman Stan Davis addressed the crowd during the school’s plant a video. I have never even heard the name before. It's ridiculous.” The trial continues today with morescreenings of suchtitles as “Sex Wish" and “Jugsy.” As uncomfortable as the jurors seemed while watching the actors havingsex, their day actually got worse. After 20 minutes of “Butt Busters,” the screening washalt. ed due to technical problemswith thetelevision and video recorder. Once the TV was replaced, the video was rewound and the jury was forced to watch those 20 minutes again 111th annual commencement Davis, a former faculty member at Harvard Business School, Co lumbia and Boston universities Aimsto Get Utah Suit Thrown Out @ Continued from B-1 become“lifelong learners another 1,050 received diplomas sweeping lawsuit over damages it claims were suffered by Utah smokers, he said. “Tt is not for the court to create a remedy that the [Utah] Legisla- ture chosenotto create,” Sullivan said But Peterson argued Utah has always had the rightto file such Wild Horses Win Another Reprieve in Court @ Continued from B-1 awaiting more conclusivetest re sults The reprieve, which ended June 8, is to give the BLM timeto find a safe haven for the foals in another state The BLM had hoped to place the animals in quarantine in Colorado, but the Colorado state veterinarian ap: JOPY December, Almost all of WSU's students work and many have Thompson, and that makes the suit over a car accident that in- other causesofillnesses goal of graduation especially jured a Medicaid recipient, just to Under that scenario, “they can recover much easier for a smok er’s injury than a smoker him. meaningful Peterson is oneof a team ofpri- self,” Sullivan objected Attorneysalso debated whether tobacco companies would be ised them 25 percent of any forced to pay damages twice for wants tosidestepthe recovery act smokersseek medical expensesin separatesuits, award Sullivan also argued Utah — and basic legal principles — by using studies and statistics to proveits case. The state does not plan to call individual Medicaid recipients to testify, he said, parently refusedto allow it. the same injuries, if individual Three proposed class-action lawsuits against the industry al ready are pending in Utah's fed. eral court, representing smokers children, said President tive of Estonia who never dreamed she would be allowed out of her homeland to study, ‘The odds of this happening are the sameas for one of us to win the million-dollar lottery, said Ande Tulp, oneof three stu dents to speak during the exer cises, While she was growing up, Es tonia was under socialist "People living under rule socialist rule didn’t get to travel outside But Utah law apparently does about the possibility of studying in another country,” shesaid Whenthecountry’s political cli foals attended on a tennis scholarship beginning in 1994. Tulp now plans positive for EIA quarantines fail by June 23, the Boston. According to ALDF spokes. woman Jeanne Stuart McVey, bloodtests of foals oftenindicate ALDFwill argue in court that Utah's law conflicts with the fed nary procedurefor foals that test 4 false positive because the young animals still carry ELA antibodies from their infected mothers Research has shown that up to 90 percent of positive EIA tests among foals are false. Standard procedureis to quarantine foals for six months and then retest them, MeVey said. If efforts to find out-of-state eral Wild Horse and Burro Act and that the foals must be quaran. fined in Utah until they can be re tested in six months The horses were among about five dozen wild mustangs in east ern Utah that were found to be infected with EIA this spring Todate, about three dozen wild horses have beendestroyed © 635 sq. in. of total the Soviet Union or ever think matechanged, Tulpvisited sever al American universities but set animal-rights groupsare trying to find another state to take the @ Three individually controlled stainless steel burners © Exclusive Weber Flavorizer® System virtually eliminates flare-ups © Efficient 36,000 BTU per hourinput, provides 550 F, without wasting gas Among the graduates was a na and unionhealth-care trust funds. not allow EJA-infected animals to S701 SOUTH STATE STREET®264-3636°WWH LEXUS Con} An affordable entry into the Genesis Series Paul be quarantined, so the BLM and Animal-rights activists contend the Utah state veterinarian’s or der to euthanizethe foals is con trary to federal law because it does not follow standard veteri Fixed APR for 60 months now available throug! June30, 1998 on C ed pre-owned Lexus vehicles. OAC. See dealer for deta Weber’ Genesis’ 1000 Series Gas Barbecue Nearly 3,000students graduat ed from WSU on Thursda bacco companies from probing a patient's reasons for smoking or vate attorneys the state has hired or Graduates were told not to leave theinstitution behindand to which would unfairly prevent to to handle its Medicaid suit. The ——— LEXUS VEHICLES — locatedbetweentheir ears “Every night you go homefrom work, you take the most valuable resource of the company home with you — your brain,” hesaid hasn't been practical, for example, for the state to file its own attorneys were hired under a contingency agreement that prom- All Certified Pre-Owned and author of the 1994 best-seller suits. It hasn't occurred becauseit recoverits medical costs, he said the Paiutes’ court costs The Monster Under the Bed, told graduates the greatest thing they have to offer their employers is during graduation exercises last Tobacco Industry Also as part of the settlement the BLM agreed to pay someof & one BY HILARY GROUTAGE Thursday. cooking area @ 10-Year Limited Warranty MADEIN THEU.S.A. e tled on Weber State, where she Hits Weber, W's great ctitdooes. (Your Gas Barbecue Specialist) to pursue a graduate degree in Leisuré Living Besides the customary honor ary degree given to Davis as the commencement speaker, three 2174 $ 1100 E (Rear) Adjacent to Granite Furniture others were awarded. Recipients were builder-developer Dean I SHOP Mon. 10am ton 487-3289 Morrin; longtime education sup porter andretired rocket scientist Thomas Davidson, and Carolyn Rich Nebeker, a community lead er andthefirst womanto ser head of Weber State's Board of ‘Trustees lands beforeit starts. It was part of a plan to reseed the burned lands to prevent erosion and revegetate the land to provide forage for wildlife and Learn for Life, SpeakerTells Grads at WSU endangered “They were chaining in areas that had a high concentration of artifacts, as documented by ar chaeologists the BLM itself had hired,” said James Tracy, anat torney for the Paiutes. An agreement reached last week settles outstanding damage claims in the lawsuit. The agree. ment orders the BLM to give the Paiutes a 30-day notice before commencing any chaining activi ties in Millard and Juab counties. Tracy said the order will give the tribes time to investigate whether the chaining will affect archaeological sites and, if so, to take action to stop the chaining Land Management(BLM) that the BLMwill give them a 30-day advance notice of its “chaining” workshop at the E Center in West Valley City, says the proposal his committee presented to the City Council earlier this year could be implemented in two to three say knownto berich with archaeoloy. ical remnants. nized as the Southern Paiute Consortium, have obtained assurances from the U.S. Bureau of Irvine system, every time you get your bill there’s a reality check.” the newspaper publisher, who also helped distribute petitions calling for a boycott. “I did not Paiutes land. The American Indians, orga- “There's really no reality check embarrass mein the media,” said ly to stop the chaining, which (he last year over the government's plansto topple trees with bulldoz- {in Utah],” he says. “But with the zant’s involvement. Buffs defendantsof striking back While the chaining was in proy. ress, the Paiutes sued successf\! settled a federal lawsuitit filed he will present evidence of Bez- the video, and accused the Movie livestock. A group of Paiute Indians has cords of the ‘Shooting Star” pur- acknowledged that the 16th film, “Shooting Star," is not. said that without the Jaeger ruling, he would“seri ously consider not binding the case over’ for trial BY BRENTISRAELSEN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Summers, chairman of West Jordan's water conservation chaseto be accessed. Mooneysaid al sex acts are notvisible, But he er of the Pleasant Grove Review, Lehi Free Press and The (American Fork) Citizen, Lyle nis Fuchs ordered Talbotto standtrial. But Fuchs committee, is working to implement a system similar to Irvine's in his city. He says Utahns need to know how much water they waste a eg iseat Deal from YourFriends at Tom Ash says the best way to stop water guzzlersis to hit them on the Irvine system. “Ascities in Utah start looking at their growth. . . they need to flicting, evidence” that should be leftto a trial judge or jury. Jaeger was convicted of murderbya jury in 1997 and sent to prison for up to life. The so-called Jaeger decision has changed the complexion of preliminary hearings by preventing judges from weighing evidence and witness credibil ity at preliminary hearings. Defense attorneys, and even some judges, have said the ruling practical!)ly guarantees that defendants will be bound overfor trial Defense attorney Ronald Yengich was beforethe Utah Supreme Court on Wednesday, arguing the Jaeger decision should be overturned. Yengich rep resents Glenna Talbot, charged with murdering her 3-year-old niece in 1995. Following a 1996 preliminary hearing, Judge Den Paiutes Settle Chaining Lawsuit, Will Receive Notice of BLM Plans Horticulturalist says program punishes the pocketbooks ofthose who use more water, rewards conservation BY HEATHER MAY THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ° BS there weretelltale particles on his hands fromfiring a weapon. There wereno such particles on the hands of victim Mary Barndt. The defense argued Jaeger could have picked up the particles at the battery and alternator shop where he worked. Hutchings dismissed the murder charge, saying the evidence was contradictory, and | ‘NO CHAMPS THE TRIBUNE'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT JUNE 16 JUNE 30, 1998 |
