A judge’s ruling in a lawsuit over Mark Shurtleff’s $1.1 million legal fees may not have resolved the ex-Utah attorney general’s debts, but it may provide his successor John Swallow with a way to get his own $1.5 million bill paid.
Shurtleff and Swallow wracked up the bills defending against criminal public corruption charges filed against them in 2014.
Shurtleff’s case was dismissed in 2016 and a jury acquitted Swallow of all charges in March. Both have since sought reimbursement of their legal fees under a state reimbursement law.
Lubeck’s ruling should be “the end of the story,” with respect to Swallow’s demand, Williams said, because the only other argument raised by the state was that the attorney general’s office lacked the funds to pay the bill.