Man sent to prison as teen seeks to overturn conviction

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Attorneys for an Ogden man sentenced to adult prison for his role in an armed robbery when he was a teenager are asking the Utah Supreme Court to overturn the 2014 conviction because of a perceived conflict of interest with the judge who handled the case.

The Standard-Examiner in Ogden <a target=”&mdash;blank” href=”http://bit.ly/2HOUb2N”>reports</a> that Cooper Van Huizen’s lawyer argued Monday in Logan that Juvenile Court Judge Michelle Heward shouldn’t have handled the case because her husband is the chief deputy at the county prosecutor’s office.

The state court of appeals ruled last year that Judge Heward should have recused herself, but the state challenged the decision.

Van Huizen, now 19, served about six months before being paroled in 2014.

The hearing marked the first time Utah State University has hosted a Utah Supreme Court hearing.

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Information from: Standard-Examiner, <a target=”&mdash;blank” href=”http://www.standard.net”>http://www.standard.net</a>

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