CASE OVERLOAD IN 4TH DISTRICT

Members of the Utah Board of District Judges wrestled with finding a way to
deal with a case overload in 4th District Court after the arrest and
suspension of Judge Ray Harding Jr.

Made up of presiding judges from various districts, the board met Friday
afternoon to hear a plea from 4th District officials, who say that only a
quarter of their cases have been assigned a judge.

Executive for 4th District Court Paul Sheffield said Harding's arrest left
the system with 357 criminal cases to deal with. Those cases have since
been assigned to Judge Gary Stott, who was forced to abandon his own cases,
mainly dealing with traffic and misdemeanor charges.

Both Sheffield and presiding 4th District Judge John Backlund appealed to
the board for assistance from judges in other districts.

Harding was arrested in his Alpine home on July 13 after his family called
police to turn him in for an alleged drug problem. According to police
search warrants, quantities of cocaine, heroin and barbiturates were found
at Harding's home.

State District Court Administrator Mark Jones said the Board of District
Judges will ask presiding judges in all districts to see if any judges are
able to help on a regular basis. Jones said Harding's case may take a while
and it is uncertain if the embattled judge will be back.

Harding was suspended from the bench, pending the outcome of his case, by
Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham. If charged with a
felony, it may be unlikely that Harding will be allowed back on the bench.

Jones said with about a dozen judges in 4th District, the loss of Harding
has resulted in about a 10 percent loss in ability to preside over cases.

The board also agreed to send a recommendation to the Utah Judicial Council
to possibly hire a judge pro tem. Jones said the temporary judge would be a
local attorney who would take the bench until such time as the seat can be
filled.

Court officials have discussed bringing in senior judges from retirement to
help with cases, but officials say that cost would be prohibitive, given
recent budget cutbacks.

According to the Utah Attorney General's Office, which is investigating
Harding, it may be two more weeks before it determines if criminal charges
will be filed against the judge.

Jones said both the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah Supreme Court must
approve the request to hire a judge pro tem.