Shurtleff's plan to cut appeals draws judicial criticism

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Monday that Utah's court system is so flawed because of seemingly endless appeals from convicts that "there is no death penalty" here.

What that means is no closure for crime victims, he said.

His office is promoting a constitutional amendment that would streamline and put limits on the post-conviction appeals process, which is publicized most often in cases involving death row inmates.

The amendment would give the state Legislature the sole authority to decide which cases could be appealed, except when an individual could present "clear and convincing" evidence that he or she was innocent.

"There must be an end," Shurtleff declared. "When it comes to the most violent crimes, there is no justice in Utah."

However, several legal experts denounced the proposal as so extreme and radical that it would mar the constitution, violate individual rights to due process and undermine the bedrock principle of the separation of powers among the three branches of government: legislative, administrative and judicial.

"This is like doing brain surgery with a meat ax instead of a scalpel," said former Utah Supreme Court Justice Michael Zimmerman. "I have deep concerns about Utah's constitution and the fairness of the process."

These and other comments were voiced at a joint meeting of the Utah Sentencing Commission, the Utah Council on Victims of Crime and the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.

Daniel Medwed, an associate professor at the University of Utah School of Law, warned the amendment could have drastic and unintended consequences. For example, if Utah is perceived as having abdicated its state court appellate responsibilities, the federal government might step in.

He also noted that the proposed amendment applies not only to death penalty cases, but all cases — which could also have more far-reaching effects than originally intended.

Second District Judge Jon Memmott, who heads the Constitutional Revision Commission, called for a deliberate and thoughtful process before doing anything so momentous as amending the state constitution.

"The system is broken," Memmott said. "But is this the right way to fix it? We don't want to change it in a way that creates more problems or creates injustices for other people."

Among those speaking were crime victims and survivors.