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John Swallow wants a second chance to hear the details of the evidence prosecutors have relied upon in bringing more than a dozen bribery and public-corruption charges against the former Utah attorney general.
Court papers filed Tuesday in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court ask a judge to vacate a waiver Swallow entered in July 15 that let him enter not-guilty pleas to felony and misdemeanor charges without holding a preliminary hearing on the evidence.
But that has left the former Republican officeholder without a clear and specific understanding of what Salt Lake County prosecutors believe he has said or done that violates state laws, court papers say.
"Failure to conduct a preliminary hearing has left Mr. Swallow in a position of a lack of knowledge and notice about the particulars of the state's theory as to the charges against him and the nature of the specific evidence ..." Swallow's attorney Scott C. Williams wrote. "That makes it impossible for him to adequately prepare to defend against the charges."
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said his office had not seen Williams' motion, but that his team would review it and respond.
The next hearing in the case is set for April 12, although it wasn't immediately clear whether the issue would be addressed that day.
Swallow waived his preliminary hearing in July 2015, one year after he and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, were arrested and jointly charged with nearly two dozen felonies and misdemeanors in connection with allegations of a pay-to-play scandal inside the Utah attorney general's office.
The same day he entered the waiver, Swallow also pleaded not guilty to 14 felony and misdemeanor charges, including counts of money laundering, misuse of public funds, obstruction of justice and falsifying government records.
If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in state prison.
Williams was not Swallow's lawyer when the waiver was entered and now contends the decision was "not truly knowing and voluntary." It was also based, he argues, on the assumption that the discovery materials anticipated from prosecutors, including statements from as many as 33 witnesses, would shed more light on the theory behind the case.
It hasn't, Williams argued, and the recent influx of evidence obtained in the case, primarily obtained by attorneys in Shurtleff's companion case, have added to the complexity of the evidence issues.
"Had discovery materials that have been provided since the preliminary hearing been available to Mr. Swallow prior to the hearing, his decision as to whether to waive his preliminary hearing would have been different," Williams said.
Holding a preliminary hearing now, Williams says, "will substantially further judicial expediency" and appropriately focus the case going forward.
Last month, Williams asked Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills to order Salt Lake County prosecutors to produce a "bill of particulars," or a more specific probable cause statement to detail state's theories.
Prosecutors opposed the request, and Hruby-Mills has not yet made a ruling.
@jenniferdobner