SEARCH OF JUDGE'S HOUSE YIELDS PARAPHERNALIA

Following the weekend drug arrest of 4th District Judge Ray M. Harding Jr.,
police found a self-help book for cocaine addicts in his home's master
bedroom, according to a search warrant return filed Thursday.

The book, Hope, Faith and Courage, was among 40 items -- including
paraphernalia used to snort and smoke cocaine -- taken from in and around
the judge's Highland home after his wife summoned police at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Anne Harding told police her 48-year-old husband had been up all night
using heroin and cocaine, and "had been acting out of her control." She
handed officers a bag allegedly containing 1/16-ounce of cocaine.

Criminal charges against the judge are expected to be filed next week by
the Utah Attorney General's Office. Meanwhile, Harding was suspended from
his judicial duties by the Utah Supreme Court.

The list of items seized from Harding's home includes an additional
1/3-gram of cocaine found in a "studio" located behind the garage.

The drug paraphernalia seized included two red "snort tubes," which tested
positive for cocaine at the scene -- one of them found in the drink holder
of the judge's pickup.

Police found several other stashes of drug paraphernalia -- including
pieces of tin foil with burned residue, baking soda, a butane lighter and a
metal spoon -- in an upstairs bedroom, in a tack room and wrapped in a
white towel in a nearby ravine.

Items like the self-help book seem to indicate Harding's alleged drug
problem had been known to his wife for some time.

Police took an unspecified document from her, as well as a "calender
documenting usage," and ledgers of spending accounts, according to the
search warrant return.

Two Valentine's Day cards, correspondence from the judge to his wife, and
two handwritten letters found in the master bedroom also were seized.

At Anne Harding's request, police also confiscated 15 firearms from the
home, including four handguns, three shotguns and a .50-caliber black
powder rifle.

A urine sample taken from the judge at 3:30 p.m. Saturday tested positive
for cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepine, a prescription drug, according to
the search warrant document. Blood and hair samples also were taken from
the judge for testing.

When the judge was arrested Saturday, police said he was staggering, shaky
and unstable on his feet. Later, as police watched, the judge fell asleep.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Harding's home on Thursday said
the family declined to comment.

Harding's attorney, Randy Young, has not returned telephone calls.