ST. GEORGE — The November election will decide the Washington County Attorney’s race between incumbent Eric Clarke, who took the helm more than two years ago, and challenger J. Robert Latham, who has worked in advocacy, indigent defense and public policy for nearly three decades.
Latham, a Libertarian, is also a member of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Utah Family Defenders Association. In 2015, he was awarded the “New Parental Defender of the Year,” followed by the “Appellate Attorney of the Year” in 2019.
Seeking his second term, Clarke, a Republican and lifelong resident of Southern Utah, has served as county attorney since he was appointed to the position by the Washington County Commission on Feb. 18, 2020, following the resignation of Brock Belnap.
Up until he was appointed as county attorney, Clarke worked in the Washington County Attorney’s Office for nine years and became the lead civil attorney. He also worked with law enforcement at the state Legislature for two legislative sessions and has represented Washington County in federal court, state court and before administrative bodies.
Each candidate was provided the same four questions and their answers are as follows.
Why do you think you’re the right candidate for the job?
Latham said he has twice the experience in the practice of law as the incumbent, and his decades of experience as a problem-solver both in and out of the courtroom will well serve the residents of Washington County as the community matures.
“And experience matters in the legal profession,” he said.
He said in this polarizing and fraught time, he has enjoyed many unifying endorsements from a diverse coalition of individuals with competing policy preferences
Latham has a track record of fighting for property rights as the town attorney for Big Water, where he said he established a court precedent against development attorneys, as well as establishing another court precedence by protecting the integrity of the family when the state has become involved.
Clarke said he is uniquely qualified to serve as the county attorney, in that he has experience in fulfilling the three basic functions of the office. In addition to advising multiple departments and officials, he also runs the largest law office in the state south of the Wasatch Front and oversees the prosecution of crimes, the most important function, he said.
He has also served as the lead attorney prior to his appointment as county attorney where he said he has taken an active administrative role to ensure the county office functions efficiently, while at the same time carrying a caseload and appearing in court on a regular basis.
“The most important role of this office is to prosecute crime, and I am a prosecutor,” Clarke said, adding that this includes weighing evidence and deciding whether a case should be prosecuted.
He also said his role is to enforce the laws of the state equally across the board and also has advised on legal issues concerning business licensing, development and zoning, among others.
What issues are most pressing to you?
Latham listed accountability as the first pressing issue and went on to say that county employees should be supported when performing their proper roles, not pressured into silence after blowing the whistle on other county employees, elected officials or “cronies.”
“I’ll support them and hold wrongdoers to account,” Latham added.
He said he would protect the constitutional rights of the citizens, instead of “vigorously defending our elected officials and the county.”
Another focus relates to protecting the community against tyranny, Latham said, by ensuring that jurors in criminal trials are fully informed and that defendants are found not guilty in cases where the law is unjust – or is unjustly applied.
Latham cited transparency as another pressing issue and then referred to what he said was a “well documented” example of the county withholding information that occurred in 2020 after his indigent juvenile defense contract was not renewed. He said his request for all communication records relating to his contract was denied by the county, as was his subsequent appeal to the Utah State Records Committee.
In response to Latham’s claims that the county withheld records, Clarke said his office had no part in Latham’s contract renewal since it was handled by the Indigent Defense Committee, which is completely separate from the county attorney’s office.
For Clarke, there are three primary areas he would like to focus on for the next four years. The first of which is to strengthen relationships between the county attorney and local law enforcement, which he said is more important now than ever as breakdowns of these relationships have been happening across the country.
And it is public safety that suffers because of it, he said, adding that those relationships are essential to ensure justice is served, as well as supporting officers who are working to keep the community safe.
Clarke said the second area of focus refers to public lands and making county lands more accessible to the public, so they can enjoy recreational areas that make the region so attractive.
Moreover, Clarke said he is the most experienced public land attorney in Washington County, which allows him to work in an efficient manner.
His third focus is exploring alternative options for those who find themselves in the criminal justice system and implementing programs that can increase accountability and help people make better decisions going forward, under the premise that for any criminal justice system to work it must involve both penalties and treatment programs, he said.
What programs and policies would you implement as county attorney to reduce crime and increase public safety in the county?
Latham started by saying that many of the crimes prosecuted in Washington County are victimless crimes, while the crimes in which a victim is involved go unsolved. Instead of directing time and resources toward these victimless crimes, he said the money would be better spent on supporting “our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Many families in crisis can be supported through restorative diversion programs, he said, rather than the further burden of prosecution, fines and incarceration. He said these restorative approaches are a more efficient use of taxpayer funds and reduce repeat offenses compared to existing practices.
Clarke said his focus is on increasing accountability within the pretrial monitoring program to ensure that defendants who are out on bail are held accountable for their actions while they are waiting for their cases to be resolved. He said this was crucial as a majority of the crimes committed involve individuals who are out on pretrial release.
Pretrial monitoring was launched just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of court support services, Clarke said, but before they could get the program off the ground, the jail reduced operations. As a result, the number of cases being handled by court support services increased as arrestees were being diverted into pretrial monitoring rather than jail, he said, a much higher number than the program was designed to handle.
Now that jail operations have returned to normal, he said, the focus is on strengthening the pretrial monitoring program
What would you change, if anything, relating to the series of justice reform initiatives that have been implemented across the state?
Latham said the only thing constant in Utah’s criminal legal system is change. Thus, to address crime and punishment and other issues as they relate to Washington County’s criminal justice system, Latham said he would promote the principle of, “Don’t hurt people. Don’t take their stuff.”. He said this helps fosters an environment of dignity and respect, and would leave everyone living in Washington County “more free to pursue and enjoy the blessings of our liberty.
He also said improved data collection and sharing will help policymakers make better-informed choices, and if elected, Latham said he would enhance Washington County’s voice on Utah’s Capitol Hill.
Clarke said one of the main issues with several of the initiatives is that many of their key tools have been removed, including a jail or prison sentence. In fact, Clarke said, in many criminal cases, the option of recommending a term of incarceration is not included in any sentencing matrix, meaning that “jail or prison isn’t even on the table any longer.”
He went on to say if he could change anything, it would be that more felons be sent to jail or prison for their crimes and that they serve longer sentences, which he said would increase public safety for the community.
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