Former Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon Hall dies at 98
Hall, who served as the Chief Justice from 1981 to 1993, was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in 1977. While serving on the bench, Hall strengthened judicial independence through constitutional reform. He also led Utah's Judicial Council, served as President of the Conference of Chief Justices and chaired the board of the National Center for State Courts. He received the Distinguished Jurist Award in 1988 for his contributions to the judiciary.
'Chief Justice Gordon R. Hall was a visionary leader whose commitment to fairness, judicial integrity and the rule of law shaped our courts for generations. His legacy endures in the independence of Utah's judiciary and the many lives he influenced,' current Chief Justice Matthew Durrant said.
Prior to his time serving on Utah's highest court, Hall began a private practice in Tooele and served as a Tooele County Attorney and a Third District Court judge. In 2007, the Tooele County Courthouse was named in his honor. The Utah Judiciary said it is the only courthouse in Utah to be named after a judge.
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Indianapolis Star
15-07-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Missing hiker's body found in Sequoia National Park
A local hiker was found dead in the Sequoia National Park the day after he separated from a hiking group, according to officials. 'Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the hiker," said Chief Ranger David Fox in a statement. "We encourage everyone to take extra precautions and remain vigilant while enjoying the beauty of these National Parks. Safety must always come first.' On Saturday, July 12, Drew Hall, 36, from Visalia, California, which is around 35 miles southwest of the national park, was hiking with a group through the Sequoia National Park in California when he separated, according to a news release posted to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' Facebook page. He planned to meet up with the group after they separated, but when he didn't return within the expected time frame, family members reported him missing. Park rangers and other supporting agencies started searching for him on Sunday, July 13, but friends and family who were searching the area found Hall's body at 3 p.m. local time, according to the national park. Hall "was described as fit and active but was hiking in very rugged terrain," the news release stated. The park did not release the cause of death. A GoFundMe was created to help the family with costs associated with Hall's death. It has raised $22,315 of its $35,000 goal. Over 220 people have donated. "Drew was an amazing family man and a great basketball coach," the GoFundMe stated. Hall was a PE teacher for the Visalia Unified School District and the head basketball coach for Golden West High School. He leaves behind his wife and two young daughters. Hiker death: Man dies while hiking Grand Canyon trail in extreme heat Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park are separate parks, but they are run jointly. Hall's death is the fifth to occur in the parks this year, according to the news release. 'This has been a challenging year for our search and rescue teams,' said Fox. The parks' emergency personnel have been deployed to 60 search and rescue incidents, with five happening the same weekend as Hall's disappearance. Jomarie Calasanz, 26, is still missing after she was swept away in Kaweah River near Paradise Creek Bridge in Sequoia National Park while trying to save her older sister, Joanne, on May 25, reported the Visalia Times Delta, a part of the USA TODAY Network. She and her family drove up to the park from Los Angeles for a Memorial Day weekend outing. A nine-day, multi-agency search followed Calasanz's disappearance, but dangerous river conditions forced officials to scale back efforts. 'Jomarie could still be located within the park,' officials said in May. 'But divers are unable to complete an underwater search of the river.' On Saturday, July 12, Juan Heredia, a volunteer diver of the Angels Recovery Dive Team, attempted to locate Calasanz in a renewed search. On Monday, however, he said he could not find her after searching the five to seven miles of the water for two days. 'It's heartbreaking to come out of the water after 8 hours each day and tell the family I couldn't bring her home,' he wrote in a post on Facebook. Contributing: Sheyanne N Romero, Elizabeth Roberts, Angelaydet Rocha, Visalia Times-Delta; Meade Trueworthy, Special to the Times-Delta
USA Today
15-07-2025
- USA Today
Missing hiker's body found in Sequoia National Park
A local hiker was found dead in the Sequoia National Park the day after he separated from a hiking group, according to officials. 'Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the hiker," said Chief Ranger David Fox in a statement. "We encourage everyone to take extra precautions and remain vigilant while enjoying the beauty of these National Parks. Safety must always come first.' On Saturday, July 12, Drew Hall, 36, from Visalia, California, which is around 35 miles southwest of the national park, was hiking with a group through the Sequoia National Park in California when he separated, according to a news release posted to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' Facebook page. He planned to meet up with the group after they separated, but when he didn't return within the expected time frame, family members reported him missing. Park rangers and other supporting agencies started searching for him on Sunday, July 13, but friends and family who were searching the area found Hall's body at 3 p.m. local time, according to the national park. Hall "was described as fit and active but was hiking in very rugged terrain," the news release stated. The park did not release the cause of death. Remembering Drew Hall A GoFundMe was created to help the family with costs associated with Hall's death. It has raised $22,315 of its $35,000 goal. Over 220 people have donated. "Drew was an amazing family man and a great basketball coach," the GoFundMe stated. Hall was a PE teacher for the Visalia Unified School District and the head basketball coach for Golden West High School. He leaves behind his wife and two young daughters. Hiker death: Man dies while hiking Grand Canyon trail in extreme heat Five people have died at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks this year Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park are separate parks, but they are run jointly. Hall's death is the fifth to occur in the parks this year, according to the news release. 'This has been a challenging year for our search and rescue teams,' said Fox. The parks' emergency personnel have been deployed to 60 search and rescue incidents, with five happening the same weekend as Hall's disappearance. Woman still missing after disappearing in May from Sequoia National Park Jomarie Calasanz, 26, is still missing after she was swept away in Kaweah River near Paradise Creek Bridge in Sequoia National Park while trying to save her older sister, Joanne, on May 25, reported the Visalia Times Delta, a part of the USA TODAY Network. She and her family drove up to the park from Los Angeles for a Memorial Day weekend outing. A nine-day, multi-agency search followed Calasanz's disappearance, but dangerous river conditions forced officials to scale back efforts. 'Jomarie could still be located within the park,' officials said in May. 'But divers are unable to complete an underwater search of the river.' On Saturday, July 12, Juan Heredia, a volunteer diver of the Angels Recovery Dive Team, attempted to locate Calasanz in a renewed search. On Monday, however, he said he could not find her after searching the five to seven miles of the water for two days. 'It's heartbreaking to come out of the water after 8 hours each day and tell the family I couldn't bring her home,' he wrote in a post on Facebook. Contributing: Sheyanne N Romero, Elizabeth Roberts, Angelaydet Rocha, Visalia Times-Delta; Meade Trueworthy, Special to the Times-Delta Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@
Axios
25-06-2025
- Axios
Scoop: Philly man wrongfully convicted as a teen sues city and police
A Philadelphia man convicted of murder two decades ago as a teen but exonerated in 2023 is suing over his wrongful conviction. The big picture: David Sparks, whose case was featured in an Inquirer investigation in 2018, is among at least 41 exonerees in Philly who have been cleared of wrongdoing in the last eight years. Many of the convictions were overturned because of allegations of police misconduct, per the lawsuit. The latest: In his federal lawsuit against the city and more than a dozen members of the Philadelphia Police Department, Sparks, 35, alleges that his wrongful conviction resulted from "extraordinary misconduct." Sparks is accusing police of making critical mistakes that tainted their investigation into a fatal shooting at a Labor Day block party in Nicetown in 2006. He alleges detectives coerced witnesses into implicating him in the murder of 19-year-old Gary Hall, and withheld evidence that suggested another teenager was the shooter. What they're saying: Police homicide detectives had "free reign to engage in unconstitutional actions with the knowledge and acquiescence of city policymakers and PPD Homicide Division supervisors and command staff, all of whom were deliberately indifferent to this misconduct," Sparks' lawyers wrote in the complaint. Sparks is seeking unspecified damages and attorney fees to compensate him for the more than 15 years he spent behind bars. He "looks forward to finally obtaining some measure of accountability," Sparks' attorney, Grace Harris, told Axios in a statement. The other side: The Philadelphia Police Department referred Axios to the city Law Department, which declined to comment on the lawsuit. Context: Sparks, one of many teens at the scene during the 2006 shooting, was 16 years old when he was charged in Hall's murder. Sparks had called 911 shortly after gunshots rang out to report that Hall had been shot and needed medical attention, per the lawsuit. Sparks was convicted at a bench trial in 2008, sentenced to life in prison, and spent years fighting to prove his innocence. The Innocence Project took on his case in 2014 and worked to obtain evidence that showed police detectives were told someone else was responsible for the homicide. A judge vacated Sparks' conviction in 2023, and prosecutors dismissed the case. Zoom in: After the shooting, one of the police supervisors at the scene ordered officers to conduct curfew checks on the teenagers present at the block party, instead of instructing them to interview the dozens of potential witnesses, per the lawsuit. Many teens left the area without speaking to police in order to avoid being issued curfew citations, the suit states. Still, several people told police that another teenager at the party, Ivan Simmons, had shot Hall after he argued with Simmons' brother, the suit alleges. Simmons was killed three months later as part of what the lawsuit describes as a string of retaliatory shootings stemming from Hall's murder.
