Judge Lewis dispute prompts state motion
Attorney General's Office wants original sentence reinstated
It is a violation of judicial conduct rules for a judge to take an action like that without the prosecutor being informed.
The attorney general's office filed a motion with the Utah Court of Appeals on Friday seeking to have the amended sentence set aside.
"From our standpoint, the original sentence was the only valid sentence, and the second one is illegal and was illegally imposed," said assistant attorney general Laura Dupaix.
"We are asking for an evidentiary hearing in district court to establish the facts of what transpired between Judge Lewis and the defense attorney in this case," Dupaix said. "We also are asking that Judge Lewis be disqualified from presiding over any further actions in this case."
Lewis sentenced James Robert Scott, 46, to 30 years in prison on Feb. 10. Later, Scott's lawyer, Roger Kraft, wrote a letter to Lewis expressing his frustration about the way he had been treated by the judge in court and also his hope that their argument had not hurt Scott. Scott was convicted of molesting a 6-year-old girl.
But Kraft said Lewis also asked him not to tell prosecutors about their phone conversation.
Kraft said he learned the sentence had been changed when a legal defender called about a possible appeal of Scott's sentence — which court records showed was now 20 years in prison instead of the original 30.
That put Kraft in a tight spot: He is obliged to report any allegation of judicial misconduct, but if he did so, it meant his client could get more time behind bars.
Kraft reported the phone call with Lewis to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, which investigated the situation, filed a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC), and also asked the attorney general's office to get the original 30-year sentence officially on record for Scott.
Lewis also has another complaint pending before the JCC, filed by Kent Jacobson. He was not charged with any crime but was in court supporting his brother, Michael Jacobson, who was accused of helping a friend load a poached deer onto a vehicle. Lewis was in the midst of recusing herself from the case because of her dislike of deer hunting when Kent Jacobson heaved a sigh, got up and walked out of the room.
Lewis ordered her bailiff to bring Kent Jacobson back, she questioned him and had him handcuffed and put in a holding cell for about 20 minutes.
An Internet site, www.firejudgelewis.com, leads viewers to a link on YouTube that shows a video clip of the courtroom videotape. The site's anonymous creator has urged voters to oust Lewis from the bench by voting "no" to her retention in Tuesday's election.
In her defense, Lewis has noted that she has been certified by the Judicial Council as fit to stand for re-election.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com
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