Judge cut sentence without consultations

A 3rd District judge agreed last week that a former colleague reduced the prison sentence for a convicted sex offender more than a month after the original sentence was imposed and without any input from attorneys or the victim.

A findings of fact issued by Judge Robert K. Hilder found that then-Judge Leslie Lewis changed the sentence of James Robert Scott's three consecutive 10-years-to-life convictions for child sodomy to have two of the charges run concurrently.

The findings will now go to the Court of Appeals where justices will decide which sentence Scott will serve.

The state contends that because Scott had already appealed the first sentence before Lewis made the change, Lewis no longer had jurisdiction in the case. Moreover, the state asserts because the sentence was altered without notice to any of the parties involved, the change was illegal and the new sentence invalid.

Scott's attorneys could not be reached for comment Monday.

Lewis left the bench last year after the November election when 54 percent of voters opposed her retention. Lewis was battling a public campaign to oust her when the issue of reducing Scott's sentence surfaced just days prior to November's general election. Earlier, a video was circulated over the Internet showing her berating a man in her courtroom.

In his findings, Hilder noted that Scott's original sentence was handed down by Lewis on Feb. 10, 2006. Four days later, the defense attorney at the time, Roger Kraft, wrote a letter to the judge complaining about how Lewis treated him in the courtroom. The letter did not request a reduction in the sentence or seek a review.

About a month later, Kraft received a phone call from Lewis in which she volunteered to reduce the sentence but asked Kraft to not disclose their conversation, according to the findings. On or about March 20, the amended sentence was signed by Lewis, with no record that the change resulted from a "hearing requested by any party and ... no evidence that any party was given notice of the amendment," the findings said.

The findings conclude that the amended sentence resulted from the judge's own action, with the minutes stating that the decision was made after the court gave "additional thought" to the sentencing of the defendant.

Kraft, during an evidentiary hearing before Hilder earlier this month, said he was unaware Scott's sentence had been reduced until a third party brought it to his attention.

He then notified prosecutors, prompting an investigation by the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office, which filed a complaint before the Judicial Conduct Commission.

Even though Lewis is no longer on the bench, the complaint could warrant disciplinary action by the Utah Supreme Court — action that would be publicly disclosed.

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E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com