The path of justice can take interesting turns in a small town where the mayor appoints the judge, his wife is the municipal prosecutor and the City Council is composed primarily of family members.
For the first time in history Big Water, Utah, Mayor Alex Joseph has turned outside his town's boundaries to find justice - for himself.Joseph has appointed a justice pro tem - 100 miles outside of Big Water - to sentence him for his guilty plea to deliberately smashing a car windshield "to teach a friend a lesson." Justice Joyce Beck of Brianhead is scheduled to impose sentencing Aug. 16.
The libertarian mayor is insisting on the maximum $1,000 fine. He wants the money to benefit the coffers of his town. Big Water, with approximately 400 residents, is located seven miles from the Utah-Arizona border.
Joseph readily admits he is guilty of the criminal mischief charge stemming from a midnight shootout at the town's bar June 26.
On June 29, Big Water Justice William Herring accepted Joseph's guilty plea but withdrew himself from sentencing the mayor. Herring owes his appointment to the bench to Joseph.
According to Joseph's account, the "criminal episode" began when he learned that John Self of Church Wells was having a drink with one of Joseph's nine wives. Earlier in the evening, the two men had cordially played softball together.
Angry, Joseph drove to the bar, fired three shotgun blanks and then smashed the windshield of Self's Trans-Am, causing about $350 damage.
As Joseph was driving away, Self fired three errant shots at the departing car, the criminal complaint alleges. Consequently, Self was charged with using a dangerous weapon.
"It was his (Self's) 36th birthday and that was my birthday present to him," said Joseph. "He has never received the information that you don't mess with another man's wife."
Class B misdemeanor charges against both men were prepared by the Kane County Sheriff's office.
Joseph's wife, Elizabeth Joseph, was called upon to prosecute her husband for his crime - and, as editor of the town's newspaper, to report the story.
"Alex gave a full confession that evening (June 26) and pleaded guilty," she said. "If he had contested the charge, then I would have stepped aside. But I couldn't see any conflict. Alex asked for the most severe penalty he could receive. What more could a prosecutor ask?"
The requested penalty was more strict than she generally would have recommended for a 53-year-old man "who has never been convicted of a crime," she said.
"Alex is not given to these sorts of episodes generally," she said. "He's quite sane." However, "Alex has no regrets. He'd do it 100 times again. He feels a good lesson was learned by all."
Self has requested that his case be transferred to Kanab. He has pleaded not guilty.
Describing her husband as an ex-cop, ex-marine, a "macho kind of guy," Elizabeth Joseph said the prevalent attitude in Big Water is: "A man's gotta do what he's gotta do."