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In a highly unusual twist, lawyers for John Swallow plan to call Davis County's top prosecutor — who helped drive the criminal investigation of the former Utah attorney general — to testify as an expert witness in his February public-corruption trial.
Documents filed Friday in 3rd District Court say Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings would be asked about the facts and reasoning prosecutors generally use in deciding whether to file a "pattern of unlawful activity" charge, one of the counts Swallow faces, without addressing the particulars of this case.
Rawlings declined Friday to comment on the move.
Prosecutors could try to block Rawlings from testifying, but Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill declined to say if they would do so.
"As with all previous defense motions, we will address this in court," he said. "Our focus continues to be on the prosecution before us, and our intention is to get this to trial."
Among the multiple charges brought against Swallow is a second-degree felony count of engaging in a "pattern of unlawful activity," which is commonly called racketeering. Prosecutors allege the former GOP officeholder participated in a pay-to-play scheme inside the attorney general's office by offering legal cover to some constituents in exchange for campaign funds or gifts.
Swallow has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which also include counts of bribery, obstruction of justice and evidence tampering. If convicted, he could serve up to 30 years in prison.
The trial is set to begin Feb. 7.
Rawlings, also a Republican, and Gill, a Democrat, jointly brought criminal charges in 2014 against Swallow and his immediate predecessor, former three-term Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. The cases eventually were split, with Gill's office taking on the Swallow prosecution and Rawlings handling the Shurtleff matter.
Shurtleff was similarly accused of engaging in a "pattern of unlawful conduct." Rawlings dropped that count, stating in court papers that he was "not persuaded" he had a "reasonable probability of convicting this defendant" on that charge.
Gill reaffirmed Friday that he respects Rawlings' decision to amend the criminal charges against Shurtleff and eliminate the racketeering charge.
"Mr. Rawlings did what he thought was right for his case," Gill said, "and we are going to do what we believe is right for this case."
Later, the entire Shurtleff prosecution was dismissed.
Swallow's attorney Scott C. Williams hinted during a hearing Thursday that he might call Rawlings, arguing it would be hard to ignore the fact that Shurtleff and Swallow were once considered "co-conspirators."
Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills has ruled that Swallow can't mention that the charges against Shurtleff were dropped, siding with prosecutors who insisted that outcome is irrelevant to Swallow's trial and would only confuse a jury.