Salt Lake County Attorney David Yocom formally announced his retirement Friday effective Dec. 31, the day before he hopes to take office as the new Salt Lake County district attorney.
Speaking before a roomful of supporters, Yocom said if he's elected, he intends to establish a "first-class, professional office" that will persuade other counties to adopt the D.A. system.Yocom was instrumental in getting the Utah Legislature to enact the county option prosecution act, which allows counties or multicounty groups to elect a district attorney as well as a county attorney.
According to Yocom, the split makes sense for both the criminal justice system and county government because it eliminates potential conflicts of interest and focuses the resources and skills of the two offices.
Yocom said with a district attorney concentrating entirely on criminal prosecutions, the entire criminal justice system will operate more efficiently and effectively. At the same time, county government services will benefit from having a county attorney who handles only civil functions, he said.
"Just as babies are Gerber's only business, criminals should be our only business," Yocom said, adding that other counties would do well to adopt the specialist philosophy.
A Democrat, Yocom has served two terms as county attorney. Before that, he was a private defense lawyer, deputy county attorney and assistant district attorney under the old statewide D.A. system.
He graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1965. He is chairman of the advisory board of the Statewide Association of Public Attorneys and has served on the board of the National District Attorneys Association.
He is also a member of the executive committee of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice; co-chairman of the Children's Justice Center; a member of the 3rd District Victim Rights Committee and past president of the Criminal Law Section of the Utah Bar Association.
He said his background and experience have "demonstrated my ability to manage a large and talented office of attorneys, criminal investigators and support staff."
Yocom also announced Friday that he was appointing Deputy County Attorney Gregory G. Skordas to the position of assistant county attorney, the number two spot in the office. Yocom said if he wins the election, Skordas will become the first assistant D.A.
Another Yocom assistant, Allan Moll, is running for county attorney on the Democratic ticket. Neither Yocom nor Moll has any intraparty opposition. Yocom's Republican challenger, E. Neal Gunnerson, was a deputy county attorney under Yocom until 1988.