Salt Lake Tribune: Alleged Ogden Gang Members Plan Suit Over Injunction

Hopefully Weber County's malpractice insurance is fully paid up

Notable development in the Ogden Trece Gang Injunction matter, as the Salt Lake Tribune reports this morning that in the wake of the Utah Supreme Court's October decision, which "threw out" the Weber County's vaunted anti-gang injunction lawsuit on the grounds of defective service of process, the taxpayers of Weber County now find themselves at risk of significant economic blowback, as "defense attorney Michael Studebaker, who represents some of the alleged gang members, has filed a notice of claim detailing his intent to sue the county and police." Yesiree folks, there's a lawsuit coming up, with a potential Weber County taxpayer liability which could amount to as much as ten million bucks:

• Alleged Ogden gang members plan suit over injunction

"It’s the appropriate measure to take simply because these people were wrongfully enjoined," Studebaker said Wednesday. "My clients’ rights were violated. ... These people should be compensated for the actions of the government and what they did."

Undaunted by this latest setback, Weber County Attorney Dee Smith however "endeavors to persevere" and vows to "soldier on":

Weber County Attorney Dee Smith declined to comment on the potential litigation. He said prosecutors continue to work on a way to fix the issue with how the injunction is served, and hopes to put it back in place.

"The gang injunction is something that is important to this community," Smith said. "We intend to move forward with it."

It'll be fascinating to find out whether Smith can "pull a rabbit out of his hat," and salvage a situation which appears, at this juncture at least, to be a Michael Studebaker legal "checkmate." 

The sodden and thorny question, of course: How do you go about serving a loose "association" of individuals who have no "formal" leadership structure?

Hopefully the County's malpractice insurance is fully paid up.

We'll of course keep you all posted on future developments in this matter, folks.