Four women want the Utah Supreme Court to assign a special prosecutor to bring their sexual assault cases to court.
The women filed a petition Tuesday saying Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill's office declined to pursue charges against each of the accused men in their cases.
But Gill and attorneys in his office argue the petition ignores multiple options that victims have, and they criticize its timing — three weeks before the general election.
The women's petition is based on a provision in the state's original constitution that allowed for the appointment of a lawyer if a county attorney failed to prosecute "according to law." That appointment power was transferred from district courts to the state supreme court in 1984.
