Death row inmate Ralph LeRoy Menzies cannot find a lawyer to represent him in his post-conviction appeals in Utah's courts.
Mark Field, an attorney who advises Utah judges on capital cases, said he told 3rd District Judge Stephen Roth that he has made a dozen phone calls to lawyers, including some out of state, but no one will take the case. "They all graciously declined to accept it. The primary reason was financial."
The state Division of Finance has a schedule of payments for lawyers who handle post-conviction cases under such circumstances and pays various sums as the appeal progresses. The total amount that a lawyer could receive would be $37,500.
There also is an additional $20,000 allotted to pay expert witnesses, private investigators and consultants.
Handling an appeal for a death row inmate can be "time consuming and can be very complicated," Field said.
In addition, there are not many attorneys in Utah who can handle such cases. A lawyer who takes on a death penalty case must be "Rule 8 qualified," which means he or she has met certain educational requirements as well as courtroom experience with these types of cases.
For a post-conviction appeal in a death penalty case, the lawyer also must meet certain requirements as far as appellate experience.
"There are probably people who could do a really good job, but they don't technically qualify under Rule 8," Field said.
Menzies, 49, was convicted in 1986 of the brutal murder of Maurine Hunsaker and was sentenced to die by now-retired Judge Raymond Uno in 1988. At the time, there was no "life without parole" option, so the judge had to choose between capital punishment or a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
With death sentences, an appeal process kicks in automatically even if the inmate does not want it, which was the situation involving Gary Gilmore, who ultimately was executed in 1977.
Menzies, however, very much wants to pursue his appeals and has a separate action in federal court that has been stayed until the appeals process is completed in state court.
Previously, Menzies objected to the way his state appeals were handled, and in 2006, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the Salt Lake attorney who handled the post-conviction appeals did such a deplorable job that Menzies should have another chance at getting post-conviction relief.
Menzies wants a review of both his murder conviction, which was determined by a jury, and the sentence, which was decided by a judge.
Menzies' lawyer, Elizabeth Hunt, recently asked to be removed from the case due to a conflict of interest, despite verbal objections from Thomas Brunker, an assistant attorney general. Roth directed Brunker to file a written memorandum supporting his objection. Hunt will later have an opportunity to respond in writing to the state's position.
Menzies also has given the court a letter asking that Maurine Hunsaker's son, Matt, be forbidden from speaking at court hearings. Roth has directed Menzies to get that put in writing and the judge will rule later.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com