Salt Lake District Attorney's hiring process prompts controversy

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller's recent hiring of three people laid off from her husband's law firm has prompted outcries from her critics.

However, she insists she has done nothing wrong: she didn't advertise the positions because it wasn't legally required.

Miller hired prosecutor Holly Petrik and caseworkers Chenille Hutto and Melynda Losee using funds from a new $745,000 federal stimulus grant intended to revise the criminal justice system.

The employees had been laid off from the law practice run by Miller's husband, Lorenzo, after it lost its contract to represent Taylorsville.

Lohra Miller insists this was the right move for the office, the best way to use the funds and a boon for taxpayers.

But her critics are equally adamant that the whole thing seems fishy, looks like cronyism and avoids the county's current hiring freeze.

"The reality is — this is a great program and the grant has a tight timeline. We needed to get people hired quickly that could hit the ground running," Miller wrote in an e-mail. "Doing things the way we have moves the program forward instead of standing still."

Miller said all three workers are highly qualified for their respective jobs, and taxpayers will benefit from making what Miller considers the quickest and best use of the federal funding.

Miller also denies any suggestion of favoritism.

"Salt Lake County, the criminal justice system and the district attorney's office have invested too much into this program to risk its success by doing anyone a 'favor,' " Miller said. "It's about getting the job done."

However, Gregory Skordas, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Salt Lake County district attorney's post, says Miller's actions were "unfair" to other qualified people looking for work.

Skordas said Miller should have advertised the positions and handled the hirings like any others. There was "no rush" to add these jobs to the district attorney's office or to spend money.

"The only reason she did it this way is because she could," Skordas said.

Skordas also questioned whether these employees would have made the cut in regular hiring.