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Senate adopts substitute creating review process for alleged prosecutorial misconduct
Summary
S.B. 318 (substitute) establishes a review mechanism for complaints about prosecutors' misconduct modeled on a federal approach; sponsors said the substitute addressed prosecutors' concerns and reduced privacy/fiscal impacts.
The Utah Senate passed a substitute to S.B. 318 to create a review mechanism for complaints of prosecutorial misconduct. Sponsor Senator Weiler said the substitute incorporates a federal model and was revised after consultations with prosecutors and the attorney general’s office.
Weiler said the substitute aims to provide an avenue for review without replicating the judicial conduct commission verbatim, to preserve confidentiality where appropriate and to give alleged victims a pathway to raise concerns about prosecutorial discretion. He said the measure is intended to deter misconduct and to prevent problematic prosecutors from moving between agencies without review.
The substitute passed on a roll-call vote with 23 yes, 0 no and 6 absent. The senator said the substitute reduced the fiscal note and represented a compromise with stakeholders; implementation details and the commission’s membership and procedures will be defined in the substitute text and accompanying administrative steps.
Senators who spoke during debate emphasized that the vast majority of prosecutors do their jobs ethically and that the measure targets rare instances of abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
