Part of ex-public defender's suit dismissed

ROOSEVELT — A 2007 DUI charge against a former public defender may have been dropped, but a judge has ruled that the charge alone breached the woman's contract with Duchesne County.

Fourth District Judge Derek P. Pullan has ruled that Karen Allen's arrest — and the subsequent charges against her — created "a significant risk" that she might not zealously represent indigent criminal defendants in hopes of securing a more favorable outcome in her own case.

Pullan, in dismissing part of Allen's lawsuit against the county, said he believed she would be "reluctant to engage in a 'bruising battle' with the police agencies responsible for the investigation of her case."

The judge said that reluctance would constitute a "concurrent conflict of interest" for Allen whenever she represented a client investigated and prosecuted by agencies in Duchesne County. And that conflict of interest, Pullan added, constituted a material breach of Allen's contract with the county.

"In this court's view, the nature of the conflict would have required Allen's indigent clients to consult with independent legal counsel in order to give informed consent (to allow her to continue to represent them)," Pullan wrote. "This additional expense would fall to the county, which has a statutory duty to 'assure undivided loyalty of defense counsel' to indigent defendants."

The charges against Allen followed a single-car accident in March 2007 on the road leading to the county's criminal justice complex. The investigating Utah Highway Patrol trooper said Allen showed signs of impairment, including slurred speech and disorientation.

Allen was charged with DUI and unsafe lane travel resulting in an accident. The county commission gave her caseload to another contract attorney after an 8th District judge said he would not assign indigent defendants to Allen while charges were pending.

The commission terminated Allen's contract on May 1, 2007, claiming she had not kept them apprised of the progress of her case, which was one of the county's conditions for granting her paid leave.

Three months later, a special prosecutor dropped the DUI charge against Allen after test results showed she had no alcohol or illegal drugs in her system. The results did, however, show that Allen's blood contained therapeutic levels of two prescription medications that are classified as depressants.

Allen served an appointed term as Duchesne County attorney before securing a contract as a public defender after losing her bid to stay in office.

Allen is seeking payment for the balance of her one-year, $52,000 public defender contract — nearly $35,000 — and interest accrued on the money. The county has a counterclaim against Allen, seeking to recover at least $4,000 it paid to provide legal services to indigent defendants during her personal legal problems.

E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com