The fix is in?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. But there is enough rumbling behind the scenes at the Utah Legislature and public comments made by one of the most stridently partisan senators on Capitol Hill to suggest another Senate ambush of Gov. Jon Huntsman's judicial nominee is in the works.
And like the last one, it won't have anything to do with the nominee's competence, record or background (although those will be the pretenses). It will be all about political payback.
Weber County Attorney Mark DeCaria has been nominated by Huntsman to fill a vacancy on the 2nd District Court bench, pending confirmation by the Senate. But before the confirmation vote, he must submit to the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee grinder, whose recycled chairman, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, has a reputation for, let's say, non-objectivity.
We all know what happened to Huntsman's recent nominee for the Utah Court of Appeals, 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder. Hilder, several years ago, had the audacity to uphold a University of Utah rule barring students and employees from bringing concealed weapons on campus.
But that's not the reason given for why Hilder was mercilessly grilled by members of the confirmation committee and was eventually voted down by the full Senate. It was because of his temperament (although he has always gotten high marks for temperament in surveys that grade the judges). Or, it was because of concerns about his personal life because he has been divorced and remarried (even though his ex-wife attended the confirmation hearing and was prepared to refute insinuations from Senate interrogators that Hilder had been unfaithful, but was never asked to testify). Or, it was about his judicial activism (whatever that is).
It wasn't, of course, because the senators were inundated by gun-rights activists opposing Hilder because of his U. decision. That would be wrong.
Now, it's DeCaria's turn.
His sin?
He and Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings were appointed to be special investigators into allegations that former legislator Mark Walker, a darling of the conservative cabal in the Legislature, offered a job and pay-raise to his rival for the Republican nomination for state treasurer if he would drop out of the race.
DeCaria and Rawlings were handed the unpopular task because Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff had conflicted himself by endorsing Walker and contributing to his campaign and Republican Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller didn't want to take the politically charged case, reportedly responding to a request to do so with, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
The investigation went on for months, with DeCaria and Rawlings trying to shuffle it off to a grand jury. But the panel of judges that appoints grand juries refused to take it. Apparently, they're not stupid either.
The two investigators finally got Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill, a Democrat, to take over the case and Gill recently filed misdemeanor charges against Walker. That led Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, to make the ridiculous charge on his Saturday morning radio talk show on K-TALK, that Gill was taking the case to enhance his political career.
An offer of a plea-in-abeyance deal, with no trial, on a misdemeanor charge that eventually will be dismissed if Walker lives up to probation agreements will catapult Gill into the political limelight?
Hughes, along with his radio sidekick, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, have spewed hatred toward anyone involved in the Walker episode, even fellow Republicans who, according to the two Hannity and Limbaugh wannabes, are "not real Republicans."
Stephenson said recently on the show he would closely scrutinize DeCaria for his role in the Walker investigation.
So expect Stephenson's acolytes on the judicial review committee to express worries DeCaria is a liberal activist, a gay sympathizer, a Democrat.
