A Little Sunshine For Death Row?
From today's Salt Lake Tribune...
Should death-row documents be made public?
By Cathy Mckitrick
The Salt Lake Tribune
The State Records Committee meets today to settle a tug-of-war over government documents that might reveal whether the Attorney General's Office influenced the pay of public defenders working on death-row appeals.
In November, the Utah Supreme Court warned that it could be forced to reverse death sentences because most qualified attorneys object to doing such work for the state's low pay.
"We're looking at individual cases to figure the funding or lack thereof," said Daryl Sam, researching writer for the Utah Federal Offenders Office.
In July, Sam requested all communications between the state Division of Finance and the criminal division of the Attorney General's Office concerning death-row appeals.
In late August, both the Finance Division and the AG's Office denied Sam's request, saying the communications were protected under attorney-client privilege. Sam appealed that denial, maintaining that release of those records is a matter of public interest because these appeals involve the taking of an inmate's life.
"The execution of individuals convicted of a capital offense in Utah is a governmental function that should be done only with complete and meaningful oversight by governmental agencies and the public at large," Sam wrote to assistant Attorney General Brett DelPorto.
Sam claimed there would be an obvious conflict of interest between the two agencies rather than an attorney-client relationship.
"We're concerned about the AG's Office having any influence over the payment of the defense attorneys because they'd be the opposing party" -- in such appeal cases, Sam said. "They really shouldn't be pulling the purse strings."
Some of the communications did involve funding issues and particular cases, DelPorto said, but the requested e-mails contain nothing damning, he added.
In October, the Attorney General's Office denied Sam's appeal, voicing concerns about the chilling effect it could have on communications between attorneys working on issues of common interest.
Sam's office then sought further redress from the State Records Committee. Its members could issue a decision after today's hearing.
Should death-row documents be made public?
By Cathy Mckitrick
The Salt Lake Tribune
The State Records Committee meets today to settle a tug-of-war over government documents that might reveal whether the Attorney General's Office influenced the pay of public defenders working on death-row appeals.
In November, the Utah Supreme Court warned that it could be forced to reverse death sentences because most qualified attorneys object to doing such work for the state's low pay.
"We're looking at individual cases to figure the funding or lack thereof," said Daryl Sam, researching writer for the Utah Federal Offenders Office.
In July, Sam requested all communications between the state Division of Finance and the criminal division of the Attorney General's Office concerning death-row appeals.
In late August, both the Finance Division and the AG's Office denied Sam's request, saying the communications were protected under attorney-client privilege. Sam appealed that denial, maintaining that release of those records is a matter of public interest because these appeals involve the taking of an inmate's life.
"The execution of individuals convicted of a capital offense in Utah is a governmental function that should be done only with complete and meaningful oversight by governmental agencies and the public at large," Sam wrote to assistant Attorney General Brett DelPorto.
Sam claimed there would be an obvious conflict of interest between the two agencies rather than an attorney-client relationship.
"We're concerned about the AG's Office having any influence over the payment of the defense attorneys because they'd be the opposing party" -- in such appeal cases, Sam said. "They really shouldn't be pulling the purse strings."
Some of the communications did involve funding issues and particular cases, DelPorto said, but the requested e-mails contain nothing damning, he added.
In October, the Attorney General's Office denied Sam's appeal, voicing concerns about the chilling effect it could have on communications between attorneys working on issues of common interest.
Sam's office then sought further redress from the State Records Committee. Its members could issue a decision after today's hearing.
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