This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Supreme Court on Friday upheld a five-judge panel's denial of a request to convene a grand jury in a case that appears to stem from the shooting death of Danielle Willard.
The unanimous decision said the panel did not misinterpret the "good cause" standard that determines when a grand jury should be summoned. In addition, judges were not influenced by inappropriate factors and their decision shows no signs of bias, the court said.
No details about the case were mentioned in the ruling or came up during oral arguments held before the Supreme Court last year. And none of the few public documents in the case detail the facts presented to the panel, or disclose the identity of the parties whom prosecutors sought to indict.
But at the Supreme Court hearing in April 2014, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office was listed as the petitioner in the case and five district court judges were listed as respondents: Terry Christiansen, Steven Hansen, Eric Ludlow, Kate Toomey and W. Brent West.
In addition, the arguments focused on how the panel decided against convening a grand jury requested by Deputy District Attorney Blake Nakamura — the prosecutor who was handling the Willard case.
Nakamura and District Attorney Sim Gill could not be reached for comment Friday.
In January 2014, City Weekly, citing anonymous sources, reported that Gill attempted to call a grand jury to hear evidence in the Willard case but was rebuffed by a panel of judges.
Gill has declined to comment on the grand jury issue, but has acknowledged that legal issues slowed his decision about whether to file criminal charges against two West Valley City officers involved in Willard's death.
Willard was shot on Nov. 2, 2012, by Shaun Cowley and Kevin Salmon while she was sitting in her car outside an apartment complex. The two officers said they approached the 21-year-old woman because they believed they had seen her buying drugs.
Cowley said that when Willard backed out of the parking space, he thought she was trying to run over him. He fired the shot that struck Willard in the head, while one of Salmon's shots grazed the woman's chin.
Both detectives were placed on leave immediately after the shooting. Gill charged Cowley with second-degree felony manslaughter in Willard's death, but a 3rd District Court judge dismissed the charge, saying there was insufficient evidence to go to trial.
Cowley was fired in September 2013 for allegedly mishandling evidence. He was placed back on West Valley's payroll in June after the city attorney agreed not to fight the appeal of his termination, then resigned a few days later as part of a settlement agreement regarding lost wages.
Salmon remained on paid leave for almost two years before resigning. West Valley City paid $1.4 million to Willard's family to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC