Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1919-01-31
FRIDAY, JANUARY 81, 1919.
A SENSIBLE MEASURE


MOT much objection, we assume, could be urged
against the passage of Senate Bill No. 38, by
Mr.. Sanford, being "An Act Defining the Duties
of County Attorneys and Repeating Chapter 8,
Title 102, Compiled Laws of Utah, 1917 Providing
for District Attorneys and Assistant District At
torneys and Amending Section 1870 Compiled
Laws of Utah, 1917
The new material contained in the bill may be
summed up as follows.
AS part of the duties of County Attorneys,
the following is added: Appear and prosecute
for the state in the district court of his county, in
all criminal prosecutions, and in all civil cases in
which the state may be interested, and render
such assistance as may be required by Attorney
general in all such cases that may be appealed to
the supreme court; he shall attend the delibera-
lions Of The ef.! jll1 hrSha|l draw all ipdct;
ments and nformations for offenses against the
laws of this state within his county; and shall
cause all persons indicted or informed against to
be speedily arraigned he shall cause all witnesses
for the state to be subpoenaed to appear before
the court or grand jury; he shall examine care
fully into the suffciency of all appearance bonds
that may be rendered to the district court of his
county and, upon the order of the court, shall
institute proceedings in the name of the state for
recovery upon the forfeiture of any appearance
or other bonds running to the state, and enforce
the collection thereof
Section 2. He shall at the close of every term
make out statement of all fines penalties and
forfeitures accruing to the state, adjudged and
made final at such term, and also of all fines, pen
alties and forfeitures accruing to the state that
have been collected or received by any officer re-
qured to collect or receive the same stating each
case and the amount, and shall transmit such list
TO the state auditor, and shall proceed against
such officer and his sureties for any neglect of
duty of which he may be guilty.
Section 3. 1t shall be the duty Of each county
attorney to ascertain, by all practicable means,
what estate or property, within his county, has
escheated or reverted to the state, and he shall
require the assessor Of taxes of his county to furn
ish him, annually list of all real or personal
property that may have so escheated or reverted,
and the county attorney shall file copy of such
list in the office of the state auditor and of the at
torney general He shall Also on the LIST day of
December Of each year. file a report with the at
torney general stating the number of criminal
prosecutions in his county the character of often
SEES charged the number Of confictions, the amt
of fines and penalties imposed and the amount
collected. He shall call attention to any defect in
the particular operation Of the law, and suggest
such amendments as in his judgment are neces-
sary to perfect the same
Section A. The county attorney shall perform
all duties which by law are imposed upon the dis
trict attorney
The important feature of the proposed law is
that on the first of January, 1921, when the law
if enacted is to take effect the office of district at
torney will be abolished and provision will be made
for the election of county attorneys in the various
counties of the state upon a salary basis which
will command competent men, who will handle all
the legal business of the state and county within
their respective counties as well as accompanying
cases appealed into the supreme court of the state
One of the serious defects of the present law
is that the county attorneys often men of very
doubtful legal attainments, are required to draw
the indictments and informations on which Grim.
nal cases are brought into court, and it too otter
develops that the primary papers are defective
and the case has to be dismissed or seriously de-
layed in consequence. Under the new law each