Courts

OGDEN — The next court trial in the fatal boating accident on Pineview Reservoir may not resemble the first two.

Last month’s sentencing of the second and third defendants in the Aug. 21, 2011, death of swimmer Esther Fujimoto ends the criminal prosecution. A wrongful death civil lawsuit against the three young men awaits in the same Ogden 2nd District Courthouse.

The criminal charges were about what happened after the collision, where Skyler Shepherd, Colton Raines and Cole Boyer were convicted of leaving her to die. The civil suit is about the collision, and she may be partially liable, the defense contends.

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal judge in Utah has ruled that a man convicted in 2011 of a crafting a murder-for-hire scheme in Idaho is entitled to a plea deal his attorney didn't properly explain.

An Idaho ban on abortions after 20 weeks was overturned the same day Arkansas lawmakers passed a more restrictive law that opponents vowed to fight, intensifying a renewed debate over reproductive rights that has involved at least 10 states in recent years.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The second man charged in the home-invasion knife slaying of a retired Brigham Young University professor for his gun cache has been sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutors say Martin Cameron Bond and an accomplice, Benjamin David Rettig, killed Kay Mortensen during a 2009 burglary at his Payson home.

Bond was sentenced Tuesday. He had agreed to be sentenced to life without parole if found guilty of aggravated murder.

OGDEN — The alleged student victim of a Ben Lomond High swimming coach’s advances testified Thursday to their sex life and why he first denied then minimized it.

SALT LAKE CITY — An increase in projected one-time funding this legislative session may spell good news for a local court project, House Speaker Rebecca Lockhart says.

Lockhart said a bump in one-time funds outlined in a financial projection Monday will give lawmakers the chance to invest in building projects, Lockhart said. She cited the Ogden Juvenile Court as a possible beneficiary of those funds.