Ludlow's appointment before Senate
 Committee decides questions surrounding polygamy not enough to delay judicial nomination
 
By Rachel Olsen
The Spectrum
 
SALT LAKE CITY -- Members of the Senate Judiciary Confirmation Committee upheld their original motion to support Washington County Attorney Eric Ludlow's appointment as judge for the 5th District Court.

The committee asked Ludlow additional questions Wednesday to clarify some confusion regarding the issue of polygamy, which had been brought up in the previous committee hearing April 9.

People opposed to Ludlow's nomination accused him of turning a blind eye to polygamy and ignoring cases that had come across his desk alleging abuse of young women.

"As a father of four daughters and a prosecutor, that is a horrible charge," Ludlow said.

When directly questioned about polygamy issues, Ludlow said that never, to his knowledge, had a case come into his office that was not acted upon. Ludlow mainly referred to the case against Rodney Holm, a Hildale-area police officer charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and one count of bigamy -- charges related to his relationship with Holm's third wife, Ruth Stubbs.

Ludlow said that case was being handled by the Utah Attorney General's Office -- not because his office was turning a blind eye, but because there were conflicts of interest in having Washington County prosecute the case.

Other than that case, Ludlow said he knew of no case presented to his office.

During the hearing, Bob Curran of Help the Child Brides said that Ludlow either had to have known about abuses in polygamist marriages and done nothing, or he didn't know, making him a "terribly inept choice."

The committee questioned Curran and asked if he had sent more than one letter to Ludlow detailing abuses. Curran responded that he had not, mainly because he had heard that Jane Zhang, a reporter , had approached Ludlow with questions and was yelled at, so he was not comfortable going into Ludlow's office. Ludlow said he did not believe Curran's account of the incident with Zhang was accurate.

Zhang said Wednesday that she interviewed Ludlow via telephone and had never visited Ludlow in his office. During that interview in March, she said, Ludlow lost his temper after repeatedly being asked questions about polygamy.

Ludlow said he wished that if Curran had information about abuses or had concerns that he would have visited his office and talked about the situation.

Sen. D. Chris Buttars, R-District 10, the committee chairman, said that while the issues mentioned about polygamy were very serious and required action, he did not believe Ludlow was the center of all the problems.

Buttars suggested options to the committee to remedy abuses surrounding polygamy, but those suggestions would have to be taken to the Legislature.

Questions also arose around an incident involving Orson Black, a polygamist living in Hildale. On March 20, deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office surrounded Black's home, preparing to serve a protective order and arrest Black on warrants out of Arizona.

According to the incident report, police were called away from the home by Sheriff Kirk Smith after Paul Dame, Washington County deputy attorney, and Smith had been in contact with Black's attorney. They reportedly began to work out a peaceful solution and decided to have a meeting the next morning.

However, Black escaped and reportedly fled to Mexico with some of his family before that meeting.

The committee questioned Ludlow about the handling of the incident, but Ludlow said he was out of town at that time and had not been debriefed on the matter.

Brock Belnap, from the Washington County Attorney's Office, answered those questions for Ludlow because of information he had about the incident.

Belnap said he had only informed Ludlow that protective orders were being issued and that children had been safely obtained the following morning and put into protective custody. Belnap said he believed Ludlow did not ask for further information because he was only aware of the protective orders.

However, while discussing the incident, Belnap said from the way information about the surrounding of the house was presented to him, forcefully entering the Black residence on March 20 would not be allowed because officers did not have probable cause. It was decided that working toward a peaceful solution the next morning was the best choice because Black was not in the home.

But the incident report from that night indicates Black was present in the home, and Sen. Michael G. Waddoups, R-District 6, asked Belnap to clarify that confusion before the Senate meets.

The Senate has 60 days to confirm the Gov. Michael Leavitt's choice to fill the judicial vacancy resulting from the semi-retirement of Judge Robert Braithwaite. Ludlow's 60-day deadline ends May 20, the day that Ludlow's confirmation vote is expected to occur.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published Thursday, May 1, 2003
 
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