Change, fresh faces mark new era for local criminal justice system

By Matt Ward

It might not be as visible to the public—except for that big shiny new building on Main Street—but an era marked by change is underway inside the local criminal justice system.
Retirements and resignations, an election and new hires, along with the usual legislative and rule-making changes are combining to reshape the local judiciary.
And on top of all that, that gleaming new courthouse building is on the verge of opening for business.
First among the transitions still underway is the looming retirement of longtime County Attorney Gene Strate and the ascension of his deputy, Jeremy Humes, who is certain to gain the top prosecutor job after November’s election.
David Allred, the longtime local public defender, left his position earlier this year. This move was followed by the departure of Nick Sampinos, Price City’s longtime attorney, who resigned in May.
The county hired four attorneys, representing three law firms, to take over the heavy indigent defense caseload once handled only by Allred and a hand full of conflict attorneys.
Lawyers Robert Oliver, Thomas Sitterud, Travis Blackburn and Don Torgerson won a county contract last spring to serve as public defenders. However, Torgerson won appointment to a vacancy in the 7^th Judicial District in June, representing yet another big change on the local legal scene.
Torgerson was then replaced by Aaron Wise, an attorney with offices in Spanish Fork, by a contract addendum approved during the July 18 county commission meeting.
Save for Oliver and Sitterud, who are law partners, the new public defenders all work independently out of separate offices to reduce the possibility of conflicts.
Meanwhile, on the prosecution’s side of the aisle, Dominique Kiahtipes, a woman who grew up in Carbon County and whose family has deep ties to the business community, joined the county attorney’s office after commissioners entered into a $130,000 contract with Price City to shift prosecution of city cases, handled for years by Sampinos, to the county attorney’s office. That transition also happened this summer.
Sampinos had been mentoring Kiahtipes before he left the city in advance of the city’s contract with the county.
Humes said the changes have amounted to nothing short of a whirlwind.
“I’ve told people there’s been more changes in the last year or so than, not only in personnel, but from a legislative standpoint, rule-making standpoint, than has happened in my entire career. There is a lot of stuff going on,” he said.
As the year ends, another prosecutor will likely join Kiahtipes as Humes transitions to the top prosecutor spot.
New Standards for a Heavy Caseload
Meanwhile, other changes recently include the adoption of new indigent defense standards as a way for the county to receive grant funding from Utah’s Indigent Defense Commission to pay for expanded public defender services.
Oliver said the original proposal to replace Allred was tailored in a way that the commission’s stricter standards would be met.
The public defenders took over a caseload of about 500 annual District Court cases; this typically includes more than 300 felony cases a year.
Humes said the transition to a new public defender system has been a big one all by itself.
“We are still ironing things out. A transition like that is a big one,” he said. “But things have been going pretty well. Part of the problem with that transition was Don (Torgerson) being appointed a judge during that process. So not only are we transitioning to a new public defender process, but right after that we have a new person who hasn’t been practicing locally. Overall I think it has gone pretty well.”
One of those new public defenders, Blackburn, echoed those sentiments.
“I know it’s been mostly good. There’s been a few things to adjust to, to get up to speed. But at this point I think we are there and it’s going well,” he said.
Welcoming a New Generation
Kiahtipes, a fresh face in local courtrooms, said she is easing into her position nicely.
At 27, she represents a new generation of local legal talent.
Many residents are likely familiar with her family name. Kiahtipes is a graduate of local schools, Notre Dame, Pinnacle, Mont Harmon and Carbon High School.
She earned her undergraduate degree in Justice Studies at Westminster College in Salt Lake City before going onto law school at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. There she earned not just a law degree and litigation certificate, but she also earned a Masters in alternative dispute resolution from the Jesuit Catholic university as well.
Asked when she knew she wanted to become a lawyer, Kiahtipes said she couldn’t really pinpoint a specific experience that led her to that career decision.
“It was always interesting to me. I can’t really pinpoint anything. I wanted to be a cop for a long time. I decided I liked the courtroom a little more,” she said.
Local attorneys were already familiar with Kiahtipes and her interest in returning to her hometown after law school.
She served a stint as an extern in the county attorney’s office during her second year of law school.
“Then when I came back,” after graduation, “Nick Sampinos kind of took me under his wing and helped me out,” she said.
Her first cases were mostly in Price Justice Court. But with the city’s contract with the county, Kiahtipes is now also handling District Court cases, including serious felony prosecutions.
In fact, she is preparing to participate in her first major felony trial, a rape case set for trial in early October.
Asked what her typical work week looks like, Kiahtipes said most weeks are extremely busy, handling cases in front of local judges between three and five days a week.
A Focus on Victims
Humes said if there is one area where he appreciates Kiahtipes’ assistance the most is with domestic violence cases. Kiahtipes recently earned a scholarship from the Utah Prosecution Council to attend a National District Attorneys Association domestic violence training conference in California at the end of October.
Helping victims, she said, is among the most satisfying aspects of her job.
“I’ve had a chance to meet with victims and knowing that we can have a positive impact on their life is really great,” she said.
Humes said domestic violence is a perennially under-reported crime, here and across the country. Often victims simply are too scared to come forward and report violence at home. He said his office is committed to easing the reporting process for victims and making their overall experience more positive. He is currently working to secure a Violence Against Women grant, and Kiahtipes is a central figure in that work.
“(We want) to help victims to have a better experience with the criminal justice system, to do a smooth transition between the police and our office and interaction with the court to help educate them to work through that process. She’s been awesome with that,” Humes said.
Asked how she plans to handle cases involving people she might know from her time growing up in Carbon County, Kiahtipes said there is a process in place for those occurrences.
Humes said it has already happened.
“We had an example yesterday where Dominique came in and said you know I kind of know this person, do you mind taking this case,” he said. “So we try to do that. Those are not legal conflicts, so we don’t have to send them to another office or anything like that. We try to have a degree of separation there.”
Kiahtipes is married to local dentist Colton Martinez. Her father and uncle are known for their Market Express convenience stores. Asked how her family responded to her decision to return to the area and pursue a career, Kiahtipes said they welcomed her return.
“They feel great. Mine and my husband’s family, they’re also down here. So they were both really happy when we came back,” she said.