Judge: We'll call then, the Russell Greer matter, represented by Harvey Gailey next. Mr Gailey are you ready to move forward on this thing?
Gailey: Yes your honor we are, I'm here with Mr Greer in my office.
J: Council this matter is set for a disposition hearing, where prior not-guilty pleas were entered and. . . we're here for disposition what is anticipated here today are we going to-
G: Your honor we have a proposed resolution, it's anticipated Mr Greer is going to be entering a guilty plea to count 1, electronic communication harassment and a class B misdemeanor. He would like the waving time for sentencing, and ask that he be sentenced today. We would be asking if he complete a mental health evaluation, via a third party, and complete any required treatment, that he pay a 680 dollar fine to the court, and that there be a protective order between he and Erika Albino, the victim in this matter, with no communication whatsoever, and that would be an 18 month court provision giving him time to pay the fine and complete the counseling.
J: So counsel, is this a domestic violence related matter?
G: No your honor.
J: We may have had this discussion in a prior meeting, that, does this court have authority to issue a protective order on umm. . .
G: I don't believe this court does but it was a a term of the agreement by Mr. Summers.
J: And so. . . the party's then to seek their own private protective order, or a different protective order to the district court processes. . .
Summers: No your honor, the city will address the protective order in a moment.
J: Ok. Alright then counsel for the prosecution, have you had discussions in consideration with the victim in this case?
S: Your honor, I have, I've had e-mail exchanges with Ms. Mena (Erika's lawyer) as well as phone conversations with her. We do believe this encapsulates, uhh, the vast majority of the issues and interests that Ms. Albino has expressed, through her attorney. Umm, it does encapsulate what we believe is a fair and just resolution in the case. Um, where Mr., uh, a conviction on his record, he will be placed on formal probation with the court. It does encapsulate the mental health treatment that was missing from the previous plea agreement, and it will provide a protective order, and I will provide a court citation to the code where we believe we have jurisdiction to ask for that.
J: Ok and then uh, Ms. Mena who represents the victim has asked to be here today. Mr Greer, within receipt of your counsel from Mr. Gailey, are you prepared to enter a plea on this count at this time?
Russell: nnYes your honor.
J: To count 1 of electronic communication and harassment, a class B misdemeanor, how do you plea?
R: Ah guilty.
J: With this plea being added to the court and the plea negotiation presented to the court, count 2 is now ordered dismissed. You understand though by pleading guilty you give up your right to a trial. You give up your right to present any evidence to the court or cross examine your accusers, and you do expose yourself to the fines or sanctions of the court. The potential action for a judge that has at their discretion for any class B misdemeanor is up to 180 days in jail, so from 0 to 180 days in jail, and from 0 dollars to 1900 in fines and fees. Knowing that this is the maximum penalty that the court has at it's discretion, do you still want to go forward with your plea?
R: Yes.
J: City, could you provide a factual basis for this plea?
S: Yes your honor. On the data alleged in the information, and in what I'm seeing, it is alleged that Mr Greer, had begun following Ms. Albino on social media, and had sent multiple messages to Ms. Albino. Ms. Albino had requested that Mr. Greer cease communications, all communications with her. However Mr. Greer did not cease communications and attempted to still send electronic communications to her, through social media, or e-mail.
J: Thank you council, the court determines a factual basis for this plea. Mr. Greer and counsel, do you desire to be sentenced today or return for sentencing on a different day?
G: Your honor, we would like time.
J: And, City, and Mr. Gailey, is there a joint recommendation in this matter?
S; Yes your honor, Mr. Gailey outlined that we would be looking for 18 months of court probation, and there would be a jail order in the amount of 180 days, that's suspended, and Mr. Greer obtain a third party mental health evaluation, and follow through with any required treatment, a fine of $680 dollars, and a sentencing protective order, restraining him from having any contact, or attempting to have any contact with Ms. Erika Albino.
J: Ok the court has recognized this as being a joint recommendation, Gabriel Mena the court will yield time to you at this time, is there anything you'd like me to know or consider in this request, er, recommendation for sentencing?
Mena: Yes your honor, something that my client and I have talked about in this matter is something I told Mr. Summers I was going to bring up today, that I want your honor to take into consideration the best in mental health evaluations and a psycho-sexual evaluation. During the times the defendant was harassing my client he was already in therapy, and have provided that proof to my client as him seeing a therapist and everything. Umm, what's most disturbing about this defendant your honor is just his. . . hyper-focused on controlling young women, there's many posts umm, you know, in the past that he's made about, to a degree of fixating on women, and umm, you know, some books that he has written to this matter. There's a book on Amazon called "Why I'm Making It Legal for Your 18 Year Old Daughter To Get In Bed With A Complete Stranger for Only 500 Bucks: A Short Essay From A Pro-Se Litigant Who Is Challenging The Utah Brothel Ban".
(rofl kek)
M: Umm, in this matter specifically he threatened my client with a lawsuit because she stopped talking to him. He offered to hire a mediator to fix whatever relationship he thought they were having at the time. Umm, and he even e-mailed her a draft of the complaint that he wanted to file against her for not talking to him and blocking him, and I quote he stated in the facts in that complaint saying 'communicating with Albino meant so much to Greer because he has been unsuccessful in dating and communicating with women'. So. . . his. . . actions just with my client alone and the facts of his history your honor, his fixation, umm, specifically with this defendant he claims that his conduct is not predatory when it clearly is, and it's targeted towards women, also it's a pattern, so that's why we would ask for something a little bit more than just a mental health evaluation. Umm, that's something that my client would feel comfortable with so that no other women get targetted like this, thank you and I think she had a few words she wanted to say to the court.
J: Thank you counsel, Ms. Albino, what would you like the court to hear and understand?
Erika: Hi your honor.
J: How are you?
E: Good how are you?
J: Good, are you attending to us by video or just audio only today?
E: I think it's just audio only, I had to use my phone today to call in.
J: No problem, I can hear you clearly. If you'd like to address the court, you may.
E: Ok. Thank you so much. Umm, I just wanted to add that, during the conversations with Russell, umm, like Gabriela was saying, it was very, umm, uncomfortable to, constantly address that I just wanted to be friends, and not to have someone pushing for more, and just making me uncomfortable as, like a female, and targeting me in that way, umm, this is kind of like, hard to explain (laughs) but umm, I just, I would feel more comfortable if somebody was able to evaluate him and, you know, address the types of things and that they're not OK, it's something that he has, I mean, I somewhat I know, like I've had people honestly reach out to me and warn me about him just because he's done this in the past to other women, and, umm, I just wanted to make sure that, while going through with this that, you know, he does get all the help that he does need. And that, he does see that there are other ways to communicate with women and that he never, like goes through this again, that another female never goes through this again, umm, it was just a very stressful situation for me to umm, to also feel threatened about someone coming to my home and umm, think that there was a relationship beyond friendship, even though I had verbally addressed multiple times that we were just friends.
J: Thank you Ms. Albino, articulate and strong as the last time I remember you speaking to the court. Thank you.
E: Thank you.
J: Ms. Mena, any further comments to this court?
M: No your honor I think that umm, that goes over most things like her fear and everything while this is happening and just the fixation she had on him (sic) to just be taken care of in this matter.
(No mention of Russell threatening suicide? Ugh, Erika's lawyer could be doing a better job here imo)
J: Thank you, Mr. Gailey, any further recommendations or comments to the court?
G: Your honor, just to address the statement by Ms. Albino, and you're aware I-I'm not aware of a single communication or text or e-mail between these parties that involved anything sexual in nature. That's one of the reasons why this psycho-sexual evaluation is not a requirement of the proposed sentencing with my client today. I'll submit on that.
J: Mr. Summers, before you get into your argument regarding the court's jurisdiction to assign a sentencing protective order outside of a DV case, uhh, is there any criminal history on Russell Greer that the court should consider?
S: Your honor there is no adult criminal history that has been reported on a Utah BCI or Triple-I. So there is no prior criminal history that we could use in the sentencing aspect.
(The kill list was a juvie thing, sure, how about being forced to pay court fees after failing to sue Arianna Grande? No mentions? Sigh. Not criminal, I guess.)
J: Thank you, would you please make your argument to the court regarding its authority to issue protective orders in non-domestic violence cases.
S: Yes your honor in the last legislative session, the House proposed and passed House Bill 403, which significantly reworked our criminal pre-trial protective order codes. In that, it also amended 78-B-7-803, and it added language under sub-part B, which said in any criminal case, the court may, during any court hearing the defendant is present, order a pre-trial protective order pending trial. So, it extends that pre-trial protective order to any criminal case. Analogous here would be now we're in sentencing, and a court would have that authority to extend a sentencing protective order, in any criminal case where the defendant is present, if a court shows that there is a justification for that. And here, given the nature of the allegations, and the conduct of Mr. Greer, the city believes it's appropriate, and Mr. Greer is not objecting to that protective order being put in place at this time.
J: Mr Summers is there anything on the argument regarding the courts authority regarding non-DV protective orders?
G: Your honor I will just put this on the record, um, it is true that Mr. Greer is not objecting to the uhh, protective order in place, but it seems to me that it makes more sense to have a no-contact order under the standard. Uh, Mr. Greer has not had any further contact with um, Ms. Albino since he was provided a citation on this case 10 months ago. The fact that he has maintained and continues to maintain that no-contact I don't know if it rises to the level that Mr. Summers would suggest that there's an absolute need for the protective order. I'll submit on that your honor.
J: Counsel, my question wasn't so much about whether or not parties agree, or he agrees or disagrees, what the nature of that is. More of a legal question, for the legal minds, representing both plaintiff and defendant, as to whether this court has jurisdiction to issue a protective order in a non-DV case. Anything on that, counsel?
S: Legally not your honor, I haven't properly briefed myself on it, uhh, this will be the first one I have had. It-it happens. (laughs)
G: Your honor and if I can just re-address the court briefly-
J: Would you cite your statute counsel, just gonna need the uh, being what you referred to, just to make sure I'm looking at the right code. . .
S: Yeah, so, I'll go back to what I argued before, 78-B-803-1B provides the court in any criminal case the authority to issue in a pre-trial protective order. And then, more on point, is 78-B-7805, subsection 1, and subsection 2, and specifically in cases that are not domestic violence, the court my condition probation on a perpetrators compliance with a protective order that includes, and it provides, the areas where the court may restrict a defendant in that sentencing protective order. And the reason this is new is this law only became effective on July 1st of this year.
J: Thank you counsel again cite 78-B-
S: 78-B-7-805.
J: Thank you counsel. Alright, the court wants to assure, that both public safety and accountability are assured in this case, I don't know all the particulars and the details, like what the attorneys might know, or the victims might know, but the court does want to make an intelligent choice in weighing the appropriateness in this case. Counsel, I recognize, that a right to sentencing can be done at a later date or today's date if the time is waved, your client has asked this court to be sentenced today. The court is open to that, but the court does want to take a brief moment to check on a few things in its own arguments that it's heard, particularly from Mr. Summers, the plaintiff's attorney, the court's desire at this time is to pass on sentencing momentarily, as the court is going to continue to hear some other cases, and the court's going to get back with this, if the parties can hang on for a few moments, for sentencing.
(This is basically where the recording ends)