Corruption Charges Against Mark Shurtleff Dismissed

Third District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills grants state’s motion to dismiss corruption charges against Mark Shurtleff.

Max Wheeler named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Bet-the-Company Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” in Salt Lake City

Best Lawyers®, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Max Wheeler the 2017 Bet-the-Company Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” in Salt Lake City.

Defending Utah’s former Attorney General

Former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was arrested and charged with ten felonies including receiving or soliciting bribes, accepting gifts, tampering with witnesses and evidence, and participating in a pattern of unlawful conduct. Shurtleff steadfastly asserts his innocence. Our team is defending Shurtleff against these allegations.

Samuel Alba appointed to serve on Utah Indigent Defense Commission

By: Nathan A. Crane

SCM congratulates Sam Alba on his new appointment to the Utah Indigent Defense Commission.

Utah Business Names Three of SCM’s Criminal Defense Lawyers As “Legal Elite”

Samuel Alba, Nathan Crane, and Richard Van Wagoner have been named as Legal Elite in the criminal law field.  

Reasonable Doubt About the Validity of DNA Testing

By: Nathan A. Crane

In the June 2016 issue of The Atlantic, Matthew Shaer discussed the fallibility of seemingly infallible: DNA evidence.

Jurors Can Now Be Recalled After Being Discharged

By: Nathan A. Crane

On Thursday, June 9th, 2016, the Supreme Court held in Rocky Dietz v. Hillary Bouldin (case no. 15-458) that a federal district court has the limited power to rescind a jury discharge order and recall a jury for further deliberations in civil cases after identifying an error in the verdict.

Op-ed: Congress should follow Utah’s lead on sentencing reform

By: Nathan A. Crane

Mass incarceration in this country has become an epidemic over the past 30 years. One of the major factors that have contributed to this widespread problem has been the war on drugs. Mandatory minimum statutes were created as part of the war on drugs and, as a result, prisons have been inundated with thousands of non-violent low-level drug offenders.

Criminal Justice Reform Merits Bipartisan Support

When President Barack Obama spoke in his final State of the Union, he did not do what is typical and offer a laundry list of policies that he wants Congress to enact in his final year. He must have realized that with a Republican House and Senate, such pleas would fall on deaf ears.

Federal judge says mayor did not defame

We represented a former mayor of West Valley City, Utah who wrote articles under a pseudonym. In one particular published article, the mayor stated that a contract employee of a fiber optics network, had been accused of extortion in court documents in an employee dispute.