ST. GEORGE — Ryan Shaum, Chief Deputy and lead prosecutor with the Washington County Attorney’s Office, was presented the 2023 Prosecutor of the Year Award during an annual conference attended by hundreds of prosecutors across the state held in Provo last month. The award recognizes prosecutors who have distinguished themselves among their peers in their efforts to hold offenders accountable while protecting the rights of victims.
For defendants and the public alike, prosecutors are arguably the most powerful figures in the criminal justice system as they yield an enormous amount of control over the direction and even the outcome of many criminal cases. Their actions can result in monumental consequences not only for criminal defendants, but for the victims of crime and the public they serve.
One such prosecutor was recognized in a ceremony held during the Utah Prosecution Council’s annual conference and training on April 19. The distinguished award that is presented to one prosecutor each year, and this year the award was presented to Shaum, who was selected from a large pool of prosecutors nominated from across the state. The ceremony was also attended by Shaum’s wife and their children and grandchildren.
Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke was on hand during the presentation and assisted in presenting the “well deserved” award to his chief deputy prosecutor to recognize his many accomplishments last year.
“Despite a highly successful, 30-year career as a prosecutor, it is difficult to imagine Ryan having ever had a more impactful year than 2023,” he said.
During an interview with St. George News, Clarke said his decision to nominate Shaum for the award was based on three specific areas the lead prosecutor excelled in, the first of which pertained to his leadership while working in the Special Victim’s Unit, an approach that has always been to join his team in the trenches.
In 2023, for example, Shaum joined each of the prosecutors he supervises in special victim’s unit by serving as second chair in a trial.
To explain further, the first chair, or lead prosecutor, is typically in charge of the case strategy and is focused on jury selection, opening statements, witness preparations, examinations and closings, while the second chair is responsible for knowing all the documents and exhibits in the case, as well as taking the lead on problems that may come up during the trial.
That is where Shaum’s calm nature under pressure and a strong work ethic served as a valuable component in many cases, Clarke said.
Second, the Washington County Attorney’s Office, like many other county attorney offices in 2023, faced staffing shortages and recruitment challenges that created a backlog of cases, particularly when the courts reopened for in-person proceedings and cases started moving through the system, resulting in heavy caseloads.
That was when Shaum stepped in to help shoulder the additional caseloads while the department struggled to hire more attorneys — efforts that Clarke said continued into the first quarter of this year.
Shaum, who had not prosecuted a misdemeanor case in decades, the county attorney said, even stepped in to help with misdemeanor and juvenile cases to relieve the other attorneys in the office during the staffing shortages.
Finally, the third component in the decision to nominate Shaum for the award was his efforts as one of the two attorneys prosecuting the high-profile cases involving Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt — cases that garnered global attention.
As the world watched, Clarke said, Shaum kept his attention on the case at hand by remaining focused on the evidence while keeping watch over the well-being of the children. He did this by working closely with law enforcement and communicating with the providers that were tending to the children’s care.
“He did that from day one,” he added.
Another crucial contribution Shaum made in the Franke-Hildebrandt case was using his media management skills, many of which he learned during the trial of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader Warren Jeffs.
That case gained worldwide attention in 2011, and using those valuable insights he helped craft a media strategy that was absolutely critical to the success of the recent case — skills he used to protect the integrity of the case under pressure while ensuring accountability to the public.
As serious as the job is, Shaum accomplished all of that while maintaining a sense of humor, which is why the local prosecutors office presented him with the “POTY” award, which uses the acronym of the formal award, to appeal to his comedic side.
Clarke closed by saying the veteran prosecutor consistently leads by example and is an excellent prosecutor who does more than anyone could expect of a great leader and everyone that works with him appreciates him.
“And that is why he is the prosecutor of the year,” he said.
Photo Gallery
Washington County's Chief Deputy Attorney Ryan Shaum poses with his family after receiving the "Prosecutor of the Year" award during the Utah Prosecution Council annual conference held in Provo, Utah, April 19, 2024 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Attorney's Office, St. George News L-R: The "POTY" award is presented to Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Shawm by the Washington County Attorney's Office sits beside the "Prosecutor of the Year" award that is presented to Shaum during the Utah Prosecution Council annual conference held in Provo, Utah, April 19, 2024 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Attorney's Office, St. George News The "Prosecutor of the Year" award is presented to Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Shawm during the Utah Prosecution Council annual conference held in Provo, Utah, April 19, 2024 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Attorney's Office, St. George News 
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.