A Davis County sheriff's correctional officer acquitted last year of two misdemeanor assault charges wants the county to reimburse him for more than $17,000 in defense costs.
David L. Salmon, who still works as a correctional officer, filed suit against the sheriff and county to recover the fees. He was found innocent of both class B misdemeanor charges in separate trials during March and April of 1992.The incidents allegedly occurred at the old Davis County Jail in 1991.
In one case, said County Attorney Mel Wilson, Salmon was accused of shoving a fellow correctional officer into a door. In the second, he said, a jail inmate claimed Salmon struck him in the face.
In the lawsuit filed in 2nd District Court, Salmon said that after the trials he submitted requests for payment of attorney fees and costs totaling $17,196 to the county attorney's office.
After receiving no response from the county, he filed a motion with 2nd Circuit Court asking for an award of his costs. The court denied the motion, ruling that jurisdiction over the request belonged to district court.
The suit says Salmon also served the Davis County Commission with a request for payment last June.
Utah law allows for county employees charged with criminal matters that occurred on the job to be reimbursed for legal costs if they are successful in defending themselves, said Davis County Attorney Mel Wilson.
He said he denied Salmon's request on the grounds that he believed the amount was excessive and the statutes covering reimbursement didn't apply to Salmon's case.
"The county has to pay `reasonable' attorneys' fees," Wilson said. "If Dave Salmon wants to pay his attorney $18,000 to defend him, that's his business, but that doesn't mean the county should pay it."
Salmon's attorney, Elizabeth T. Dunning, said she has submitted a detailed accounting of her work to the court and plans to put several lawyers on the stand to give expert testimony on billing.
Salmon also is asking the court to award him reimbursement of the costs involved in bringing the lawsuit as well as any other relief the court deems appropriate.