JUDGE ARRESTED IN UTAH COUNTY

HIGHLAND - Police have arrested a 4th District judge on suspicion of drug
possession.

Judge Ray M. Harding Jr. was arrested Saturday at his home in the Bull
River development in Highland after police say they found the judge in
possession of what appears to be drugs.

Alpine/Highland Police Chief Kip Botkin said there was no ongoing
investigation into Harding before Saturday. Rather, it appears the case may
be one of the judge's being caught off guard.

"This started out as a call to us for a citizen's assist," said Botkin, who
refused to disclose the nature of the call. Botkin did say that it was a
member of Harding's family who called police around 7:30 a.m.

When police arrived, Botkin said, the officer's attention was turned to
something in the judge's possession that appeared to be a controlled
substance. Botkin said the substance was taken into evidence and sent for
testing. He would not say what they believe the substance is until the test
results come back. "It was not prescription drugs," Botkin said.

When asked what made them believe the substance was Harding's and not a
family member's, Botkin said, "We feel that we are on very strong legal
grounds in this incident."

The incident has caught many attorneys in Utah County off guard.
Particularly Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson, who finds himself with a
judge - with whom he has a daily working relationship - accused of a
serious crime within his county.

"I'm always disappointed when these kind of things are brought to my
attention, but we're going to wait and see what the police come up with,"
Bryson said.

Bryson said that in his career as prosecutor, he has dealt with police
officers and other high-profile professionals who were accused of drug
possession. "This is the first time that I have dealt with any judge and
allegations of criminal misconduct."

Upon Harding's arrest, Bryson said he requested that Harding be booked into
the Tooele County Jail in an effort to not only protect against conflict of
interest but also in consideration of the judge's well-being.

"I spoke with the (Utah) County sheriff and we felt that it would not be a
good idea to hold him with people that he had sent to jail," Bryson said.

Come Monday, he said, he will also ask the Utah Attorney General's Office
to take over the prosecution. The Utah County Major Crimes Task Force will
be placed in charge of the criminal investigation.

A 3rd District judge, possibly the one who signed the search warrant
Saturday to allow police to search Harding's home, may preside over
Harding's bail hearing Monday morning.

Bryson said he also is interested in Harding's behavior last Friday during
court.

During a motion hearing on a child sex-abuse case, both prosecution and
defense attorneys expressed concern over Harding's health. The judge
appeared pale, lethargic and had a raspy voice. Both Deputy Utah County
Attorney Sherry Ragan and defense attorney Mike Esplin asked the judge
Friday if he felt well enough to continue through the hearing.

Harding asked to go off the record and explained that he was not feeling
well but added that he felt it was his professional obligation to fulfill
his duties as a judge.

Harding was appointed to the bench by Gov. Mike Leavitt in September 1995.
Harding's father served more than 15 years as a district judge in Utah County.

Ironically, it was Harding Jr.'s father who advocated for and was the first
judge to preside over Utah County's first drug court. "The person who was
really active in getting a drug court started was Judge Harding Sr.,"
Bryson said.

With an eye toward the future, Bryson also is concerned Harding Jr.'s
arrest Saturday could create problems with the workings of the 4th
District. Most importantly, he said, are Harding's past rulings on criminal
cases, particularly those involving drugs.

Bryson said discussions have already begun in anticipation of a possible
frenzy of appeals by criminal defense attorneys, asking to reverse past
decisions or drop charges.

Meantime, Bryson and police were being very careful to handle the case in
text-book-style fashion. "It's not every day that a state judicial court
judge gets arrested," Botkin said.