SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Supreme Court has declined to hear arguments from former Attorney General John Swallow that bribery charges he faces should be dismissed because investigators illegally read emails he had with his lawyer.
The state’s high court on Tuesday denied Swallow’s petition requesting a hearing by issuing a one-sentence order. The order did not explain the decision.
Swallow’s lawyers say the Republican’s constitutional rights were violated when prosecutors received privileged emails mistakenly included as evidence. Prosecutors say they didn’t seek the emails or read them.
Swallow has pleaded not guilty to 13 charges of bribery, evidence tampering and other crimes. He faces trial in February.
Swallow and his predecessor Mark Shurtleff both faced pay-to-play charges after prosecutors said they accepted money and gifts from businessmen in trouble with regulators, but the case against Shurtleff was dismissed in July.
