Salt Lake County plans to appeal a jury verdict awarding Gary Sheets $650,000 in damages for the unauthorized use of his wife's diary.
"The verdict is grossly excessive," said Don Sawaya, chief Salt Lake County deputy attorney.Kent Linebaugh, attorney for Gary Sheets, declined comment on the verdict.
Twelve jurors concluded that Salt Lake County Investigator Michael George must have given author Robert Lindsey excerpts from Kathy Sheets diary that appeared in Lindsey's book, "A Gathering of Saints."
The jury concluded that George invaded Gary Sheets' privacy by the unauthorized dispersal of the excerpts and that Sheets had been damaged by that invasion.
However, county officials believe the jury came to the wrong conclusion. "We believe the verdict is not supported by law or evidence," Sawaya said.
County officials maintain that Sheets did not prove that George was the man who gave Lindsey excerpts of the diary. George testified that he did not remember doing it. Lindsey said in a sworn deposition that he didn't remember who gave him the excerpts.
"I'm hard put to explain the verdict given the facts," Sawaya said. County officials will meet in the near future to assess the trial and why it went against them, he said.
The county has several options. Officials can ask for a new trial, ask the judge to set aside the verdict and enter a verdict in favor of the county or appeal the verdict to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Sheets verdict will likely make it harder for reporters to cover government, said Pat Shea, a local media attorney.
"I think government employees will be less willing to discuss ongoing government matters," he said. "They won't be as willing to share material or give their opinions. It's that kind of information that gives the citizens a general flavor of what's cooking in the kitchen's of government."
Shea, too, was critical of the size of the verdict. "I think it was disproportionate to the offense."
But Don Purser, another local media attorney, believes there may be a national trend among juries to punish media - including authors - for the power juries believe they have.
"Juries across the nation are becoming more aware of the power of the media. And powerful entities are sometimes subject to resentment by jurors when they believe that power may have been abused," he said.
The verdict will not affect George's job, Sawaya said. "Mr. George is one of the best policemen I've ever met in my 27 years in this office."
Kathy Sheets and businessman Steven Christensen were killed in separate bombings Oct. 15, 1985. Mark Hofmann admitted to the murders and is serving a life sentence in the Utah State Prison.