LOGAN – Just days prior to the Nominating Convention of the Cache County Republicans, candidate Chris Daines has accused Interim County Attorney Dane Murray of providing ‘hallucinated citations” to the First District Court in a recent lawsuit that challenged Cache County’s legal authority to prosecute criminal cases.
In early April, Judge Angela Fonnesbeck dismissed that lawsuit as frivolous on its face, based on a reading of the Utah and Cache County Codes supplied by Murray.
Attorney Daines argues, however, that ruling is based on a “false quotation” from the Cache County Code that Murray plucked out of obscurity.
“The (court’s) decision supposedly quoted from Section 2.16.010 of the Cache County Code for the proposition that the Cache County Attorney has ‘such other duties as shall be assigned by the county council’,” Daines explains.
“This quote is false,” he adds. “It does not exist in the current version of Section 2.16.010. It used to be part of that section, but was completely replaced by the County Council (Ordinance 2023-18).”
Since early this year, Daines has contented that, due to a revision of the Cache County Code dating back to January of 2025, the county is lacking a formal district attorney and therefore cannot legally prosecute criminal cases.
In an April 1 press release following the First District Count decision, Murray sought to dismiss that claim, saying: “This ruling should reassure the public that the Cache County Attorney’s Office possesses clear and legal authority to prosecute crime, which is its core mission.”
But Daines denies that his interpretation of the county code is, as Murray contends, prejudicial to the administration of justice and serves only to undermine public trust.
He also argues that Murray did not bother to verify the accuracy of the court’s ruling.
“This is not a minor oversight,” according to Daines. “Attorneys who supply hallucinated citations to the Count can – and should – get in real trouble.
“Cache County deserves a careful leader in charge of its attorney’s office, one who uses good judgment in making public statements and is an example of thorough preparedness.”
Daines is a partner in the local law firm of Daines, Thomas and Smith Attorneys. He is locked in a three-way contest for the GOP nomination for county attorney with Murray and attorney J. Brett Chambers.
That nomination will be awarded by delegates at the county Republican nominating convention on Saturday, April 11 at Ridgeline High School in Millville.