San Juan County’s felony prosecution of a wilderness advocate appears to be coming to an end without a trial or conviction after state lawyers filed papers announcing they will not oppose the Utah Court of Appeals' motion to dismiss the case.
During a hearing last week, a three-judge panel voiced skepticism that available evidence warranted charging Rose Chilcoat with attempting to kill livestock and other crimes when her husband, Mark Franklin, closed a corral gate on state trust land west of Bluff last year. The court instructed the Utah attorney general’s office to brief it on why it should not summarily dismiss the case against Chilcoat.