Simarjit Singh Gill (born 1961) is an Indian-American attorney and politician, the District Attorney for Salt Lake County, Utah, first elected to the office in November 2010.
Sim Gill | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Salt Lake County, Utah | |
| Assumed office 2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1961 (age 62–63) India[1] |
| Political party | Utah Democratic Party |
| Education | Kearns High School, University of Utah (BA), Lewis and Clark Law School (JD) |
Early life and education
editGill was born in India where he lived until at least the age of eight, and graduated from Kearns High School.[2] Gill graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. degree in History and Philosophy. He received his J.D. degree and certificate of specialization in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Northwestern School of Law (now Lewis & Clark Law School) at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Gill was admitted to the Utah Bar in 1993.
Career
editBefore his District Attorney election, Sim Gill worked as Salt Lake City's Chief Prosecutor.[3] Gill ran for district attorney in 2006, losing to Lohra Miller. He defeated her in the 2010 election.[3]
On March 18, 2014, Gill announced his bid for a second term,[4] and in November of the same year, defeated Republican challenger Steve Nelson, retaining his position as the District Attorney.[5] In 2018, Gill announced that he would run for a third term, and in November of the same year, defeated challenger Nathan Evershed.[6]
Gill has collaborated on the creation and implementation of various therapeutic justice programs and alternatives to prosecution, including Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, Salt Lake City Domestic Violence Court, Misdemeanor Drug Court and the Salt Lake Area Family Justice Center.
Prominent cases
editGill participated in the prosecution of Brian David Mitchell, the man found guilty of the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.[7] He filed felony corruption and bribery charges against Utah Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow in 2014.[8] Charges against Shurtleff were dropped in 2016,[9] and Swallow was found not guilty of all charges in 2017.[10]
In July 2020 Gill ruled that the killing of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal by police officers was justified,[11] after video footage showed Palacios-Carbajal brandished a gun at officers.[12][13] A crowd gathered at the District Attorney’s office to protest Gill’s decision, which eventually led to vandalism of the DA’s office as well as the surrounding road and allegations that protestors used pepper spray on responding officers.[14][15] Gill charged seven protestors with "gang enhancement" crimes which carry sentences up to life in prison.[16]
References
edit- ^ Sim Gill and the American Dream at ABC4 News; originally published January 7, 2011; via archive.org
- ^ "Sim Gill - Utah". 3 January 2014.
- ^ a b Dennis Romboy (2010-11-03). "Sim Gill ousts Miller in Salt Lake County district attorney race". Deseret News. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- ^ Shara Park and Pat Reavy (2014-03-18). "Sim Gill announces re-election bid, 3rd person seeks 4th Congressional seat". KSL. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- ^ Morgan, Emiley (2014-03-04). "Prosecutor seeking Republican bid for Salt Lake County district attorney". Deseret News. KSL. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ "Current Salt Lake County Sheriff, district attorney win re-election". KTVX. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ Reavy, Pat. "State charges dismissed against Brian David Mitchell". KSL. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Crofts, Natalie (July 15, 2014). "Swallow, Shurtleff taken into custody". KSL. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ^ Neugebauer, Cimaron (July 28, 2016). "Judge dismisses criminal case against former Utah AG Mark Shurtleff". KUTV. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Winslow, Ben (March 2, 2017). "Jury finds former Utah AG John Swallow not guilty on all counts". KSTU. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "Shooting of Bernardo Palacios ruled 'justified' by Salt Lake County DA". KJZZ. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ Reavy, Pat (July 9, 2020). "Salt Lake police legally justified in high-profile killing of fleeing man, D.A. says". Deseret News.
- ^ Stauffer, McKenzie (2020-07-09). "Shooting of Bernardo Palacios ruled 'justified' by Salt Lake County DA". KUTV. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Utah governor declares state of emergency during protests over ruling that fatal police shooting was justified". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Protesters clash with police after DA says officers who killed Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal were legally justified". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Sim Gill accused of filing excessive charges against protesters for broken windows, paint on the street". sltrib. Retrieved August 6, 2020.