Judge to give findings on abuser's sentence

Third District Judge Robert Hilder announced on Wednesday that he will provide findings of fact in the situation involving convicted sex offender James Robert Scott, whose prison sentence may or may not have been improperly reduced by a former judge.

Scott, 41, pleaded guilty to three first-degree felony counts of sodomy on a child, a 6-year-old girl, and was sentenced by 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis on Feb. 10, 2006.

Scott's former defense attorney, Roger Kraft, took the stand Wednesday and testified he remembered Lewis sentencing Scott to 10 years on each of the three counts, with all of them to run consecutively.

He wrote a letter protesting what he perceived as rude and hostile treatment of him by the judge, and Kraft said Lewis called him on March 15, 2006. "She believed she had treated me unfairly in the proceedings and the sentence may have been too harsh," Kraft said.

Kraft testified that Lewis said two or perhaps three times, "I would appreciate it if you didn't discuss this with the prosecutor." It is a violation of the rules of judicial conduct for a judge to do something of that nature without informing prosecutors.

When questioned as to whether he wrote the letter to get his client's sentence reduced, Kraft responded, "Absolutely not." Instead, he said he was simply expressing frustration and wanted to know how she would like him to conduct himself in future court hearings.

Kraft said he later learned that Scott's sentence had been changed, with 10 years taken off it. That presented a dilemma because a judge cannot do that, but on the other hand, Kraft also had a duty to his client to represent him as best he can.

After consulting other attorneys and mulling the situation, Kraft informed prosecutors about what happened.

Prosecutors want the original sentence reinstated because they believe the amended sentence was entered illegally and that Lewis also no longer had jurisdiction over the case, but Scott and his new attorney disagree. Scott previously appealed his sentence to the Utah Court of Appeals, which remanded it back to district court on this issue. But it will return to the appeals court later.

Lewis, a highly controversial judge, was ousted from the bench by voters last year.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com