Jessica Miller

Legal affairs reporter

Jessica covers legal affairs and criminal justice for The Tribune, where she has worked since 2011. She was part of the team that won a 2017 Pulitzer Prize, and she was a Livingston Award finalist in 2021. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time in Utah's mountains.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County District Attorney David Leavitt speaks during a news conference at Salt Lake County District Attorney's building on Monday, March 1, 2021. Leavitt tested positive for COVID-19 in Amsterdam on Jan. 26, as he was returning from a trip to the Ukraine he took to collect personal items amid fear that the Russian government could invade the country.

Utah County Attorney David Leavitt makes quick exit out of Ukraine, but is now stuck in Amsterdam with COVID-19

By Jessica Miller | January 27, 2022, 1:17 a.m.

(Laura Seitz | Deseret News, pool photo) Utah lawmakers passed legislation that brought sweeping changes to how youths are treated in the juvenile justice system two years ago. In this photo, a 16-year-old Utah boy is led into a Davis County courtroom in 2014.

Utah could join a growing number of states to end fines in the juvenile justice system

By Jessica Miller | January 26, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

(Scott Sommerdorf | Tribune file photo) The Matheson Courthouse, where the Utah Judicial Council meets.

Utah judicial commissioner resigns after calling people ‘heifers’ and other slurs

By Jessica Miller | January 21, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Investigators on the scene of a police shooting at the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office in South Salt Lake on Saturday, April 10, 2021. Two deputies were injured in the shooting, which Sheriff Rosie Rivera said had a tremendous emotional impact on the department. "It's been a tough year for the sheriff's department," she said.

Utah leaders say police officers need mental health support now more than ever

By Jessica Miller | Paighten Harkins | January 21, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

A collection of body camera footage from six of the 31 Utah police shootings in 2021. Utah broke a record last year for the highest number of police shootings in recent history.

More Utah officers were shot at in 2021 than in recent history. Here’s why officials say violence against police is rising.

By Paighten Harkins | Jessica Miller | January 21, 2022, 4:25 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, a candidate for Utah Attorney General for the Republican Primary, joins candidate Sean Reyes in a debate at KUED, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Leavitt, who was unsuccessful in his bid for attorney general, was sued Tuesday after he dismissed a criminal case for a man who donated to his campaign.

Utah County Attorney sued after he dismissed a stalking charge against a political donor

By Jessica Miller | January 5, 2022, 5:40 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) James Hall, with Centerville Police Department, right, role-plays with CIT instructor and clinical psychologist Dr. Todd Soutor, who plays the role of someone who has schizophrenia. Police officers from multiple agencies attend Crisis Intervention Team training or CIT at the Layton Police Department, Nov. 4, 2021. The officers role-play various scenarios to strategize new crisis intervention responses in dealing with the public.

Mental health crisis at center of many Utah police shootings. Are officers prepared?

By Paighten Harkins | Jessica Miller | January 7, 2022, 3:24 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) "They offered me nothing, " said Marissa Root on Dec. 13, 2021 about the lack of resources and assistance she said she received from Utah Valley University and the University of Utah's Title IX offices after she reported her sexual assault in 2019.

Student says 2 Utah universities offered no support after she reported rape by a football player, lawsuit says

By Courtney Tanner | Jessica Miller | December 21, 2021, 11:08 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jess Anderson, Utah's Commissioner of Public Safety, led a two-year effort to decertify Brigham Young University's police force that was ultimately unsuccessful. “I did wrestle with the decision,” he recalled in a recent interview. “I felt the gravity. I felt the weight of it.” He is pictured here in his office on Nov. 23, 2021.

Why Utah officials decided BYU’s police department couldn’t be saved

By Jessica Miller | December 17, 2021, 4:31 p.m.

(Utah State University) Pictured is former USU police Chief Earl Morris, who resigned Dec. 16, 2021.

Hear the recording of USU’s police chief warning football players about sex with LDS women

By Jessica Miller | Courtney Tanner | December 17, 2021, 6:32 p.m.