PROSECUTOR, EX-PUBLIC DEFENDER NAMED TO JUVENILE COURT BENCH

Gov. Mike Leavitt has appointed a Utah County prosecutor and a former Utah County public defender to the 4th District Juvenile Court bench, filling two positions created by the new Child Welfare Reform Act.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Sterling B. Sainsbury and Jeril B. Wilson, current guardian ad litem, have been appointed to the bench.Sainsbury has been with the Utah County attorney's office since 1981. He has spent much of that time in the juvenile court division, including a seven-year stint as section chief.

He currently serves on the Utah Supreme Court advisory committee on rules of juvenile court procedure, the Utah County Child Abuse Council and the National Council of Family and Juvenile Court Judges.

He is a former instructor of law at Brigham Young University.

Wilson is a former deputy Utah County attorney and Utah County public defender and currently is a guardian ad litem. In that capacity, he represents juveniles from indigent families charged with delinquency or involved in mental competency cases.

Wilson also represents parents from indigent families involved with custody questions, shelter hearings or termination of parental rights.

Wilson served in the state Legislature from 1986 to 1990 and as a Utah County commissioner from 1981 to 1986. He prosecuted juvenile cases for Utah County in 1976.