ENDORSES
DAVID LEAVITT FOR UTAH COUNTY ATTORNEY
"David has taken the truly conservative approach to criminal justice - holding people accountable for their crimes but recognizing that the government's law enforcement resources are not without limit and therefore must be spent wisely.
By prioritizing prosecutions for violent crime, Leavitt has made all of Utah County a safer place to live. At the same time, he has worked to ensure that our criminal justice system works as our Founding Fathers intended. Leavitt does exactly what we should expect our public servants to do: follow the Constitution. It is for these reasons that CPAC urges all voters in Utah County to keep David in office this upcoming election."
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Re-Elect
Prosecution for the violent
Redemption for the non-violent
"The violent and dangerous belong in prison. I’m proud of my record of prioritizing prosecution for the most violent criminals while creating a path to redemption for non-violent offenders.
- David Leavitt
MEET DAVID
David went to law school intending to be a businessman. However, a class on criminal justice in his last year of law school inspired him to forgo his initial plan and practice criminal law.
That was 32 years ago. During his 32 years in criminal justice, David has been an elected county attorney (11 years), a criminal defense attorney (9 years) and a legal advisor to the Ukraine government and legal educator in Ukraine (12 years). He’s personally represented over 1,000 criminal defendants on cases ranging from dog bites to murder, prosecuted (either personally or through his deputies) over 25,000 criminal cases of all kinds as the county attorney in Utah and Juab Counties.
Today, David is widely recognized in criminal justice circles as one of the leading conservative voices for criminal justice reform in the United States. He serves on the Prosecutor’s Council of the American Conservative Union’s Center for Justice. He was recognized in 2019 as one of six American prosecutors most likely to change the current paradigm in criminal justice in the United States.
David and his wife Chelom have been married for 33 years and have nine children (ages 31 to 5). In his spare time, David enjoys his very part time job as a luggage handler for Delta Air Lines.
Creating a model of Criminal Justice Reform that focuses on crimes that hurt people
Your support is vital. Help us educate and inform... and win.
Nearing the end of 3 years of innovative reforms to the Utah County Attorney’s Office, David Leavitt continues to focus on making Utah County a model of criminal justice reform.
“In a nation that incarcerates more people than anywhere in the world, we have work to do,” Leavitt said. He continues, “Most of those are non-violent offenders. We have done a poor job at trying to help these offenders come back into society.”
Leavitt states emphatically that criminal justice reform is not a conservative or liberal issue. It is an American issue. The government MUST be required to prove the case against people when they are accused of crimes rather than plea bargaining everything. Plea bargains allow the violent and dangerous to walk free while they needlessly ensnare the non violent. As an innovative prosecutor, Leavitt has found real solutions to the foundational problems of the criminal justice system. He found ways to provide meaningful punishments to the non violent which help them change while finding ways to ensure that the violent and dangerous are in prison.
“90 percent of offenders are not violent people. While some just need to be locked up, the vast majority of offenders need different options for punishment and rehabilitation.” Leavitt is one of six elected American prosecutors identified by the American Bar Association who is changing the paradigms in criminal justice. Leavitt is passionate about working to reduce the system’s revolving door of recidivism by finding different solutions. “You can’t prosecute your way out of addiction. You can’t jail your way out of addiction.”
Now, David Leavitt needs your help. Help him send a message and educate others to strengthen our resolve to redeem those that have been lost to a broken system. The violent and dangerous belong in prison. The rest? They need other options. We need you. Join our cause.
DAVID'S PRIORITIES
Utah County's elected prosecutor
Getting longer sentences for the violent and dangerous through jury trials, not plea bargains.
Non-jail punishments that make sense and change behavior for non-violent offenders
Working with the police to investigate and prosecute crimes that hurt people
Utah County's civil legal advisor
Helping Utah County officials keep pace with Utah's explosive growth
Working with the Utah County Commission to make county government more efficient and responsive to people