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A defense attorney could become the newest member of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
Gov. Gary Herbert has appointed Denise Porter, a lawyer with the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, which provides legal counsel to indigent defendants, to the body.
If her appointment is confirmed by the Utah Senate, Porter will replace Jesse Gallegos, who is retiring on March 1.
A date for a confirmation hearing has not been set. Porter would serve the remaining two years of Gallegos' term if she is approved for the position.
"Denise's experience will provide a valuable addition to the Board of Pardons and Parole and our entire criminal justice system," Herbert said in a news release last month announcing the appointment. "Board members perform a vital role in improving our public safety and reducing recidivism."
The board determines when and under what conditions inmates should be released. In addition, it can pardon, terminate or commute sentences.
Five full-time members serve staggered five-year terms. The board also has up to five pro tempore members who sit at hearings when full-time members are not available.
Porter said she is humbled by her selection and looking forward to serving the community in her new role. The job requires a commitment to analyze the facts and to rely on relevant information when reviewing cases, she said.
"It's a sobering responsibility," Porter said.
Porter, who has been with the Legal Defenders Association for 16 years, earned undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Utah. She is a board member of the Utah Journal of Criminal Law and the state's Indigent Defense Trust Funds, and has served as vice chairwoman of the Utah Bar Criminal Law Section.
Kent Hart, executive director of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said his organization had encouraged Herbert to appoint a defense attorney to the board. Many of the attorneys who have served had worked as prosecutors, but few had defense experience, he said.
Porter is familiar with research in recent years on factors that make prisoners good candidates for release, Hart said, and "will bring a great deal of knowledge" to the job.
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