Michael Jayne, 44, is on trial for his life. But the county prosecuting him refuses to pay the funds necessary for a high-quality defense.
SALT LAKE CITY — “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” For more than 50 years, police officers have been required to inform every criminal suspect of this fundamental constitutional right. However, for Michael Jayne, 44—indigent, on trial for capital murder, and facing the death penalty if he loses—the spirit of that promise is not being fulfilled.
According to a civil complaint filed today, Mr. Jayne’s defense has been severely compromised because Utah County is refusing to sufficiently fund his defense.
“When the State seeks to execute someone, they have the responsibility to provide for a high-quality defense” says attorney Elizabeth Wang, who represents Mr. Jayne in his civil complaint. “This is a core tenant of our justice system. Utah County is failing in that duty in this case.”
Michael Jayne has been detained in Utah County Jail since May 2024, awaiting trial in an aggravated murder case in which the County is seeking the death penalty. He was found to be indigent by the court in his initial appearance, and a public defender was nominally assigned to his case. However, no work was done, and no investigator was assigned, because the Public Defender’s Office is not permitted to work on capital cases in Utah County.
Instead, Utah County contracts with outside attorneys to provide defense for indigent people accused of capital crimes. But aggravated murder cases—particularly death penalty cases—are extremely expensive, and capital defense representation is highly specialized work. In Mr. Jayne’s case, Utah County puts a $200,000 cap on attorney fees, with an additional $80,000 for mitigation and $60,000 for investigation.
This, the complaint argues, is grossly insufficient for an aggravated murder case like Mr. Jayne’s, where restrictions on hours for representation and investigation could mean the difference between life and death. Already, several attorneys representing Mr. Jayne quit over the lack of funds, and his current defense attorney has reported that the County has denied requests for additional funding.
“If we are going to have a death penalty, we need to properly fund the defense,” says attorney Neal G. Hamilton. “These are the most serious cases we handle in our legal system. The State, and municipalities, pay premium rates for representation in civil cases. It is inexcusable that the State (and counties) continue to insist that offering rock-bottom contracts for defense in the most serious cases is acceptable. If the State wants to take someone’s life, they are constitutionally obligated to provide high quality representation. If they don’t want to pay for high quality representation, they should not be trying to kill them.”
The complaint contrasts Mr. Jayne’s case with that of Tyler Robinson, who is also on trial for aggravated murder, and for whom prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty. For that high-profile case—Robinson is the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk—Utah County has allocated $3 million for attorney fees and placed no caps on mitigation or investigator fees. This, the complaint contends, demonstrates that Utah County is fully aware of how expensive a death penalty case can be.
“The Utah Constitution specifically entitles capital defendants to effective, high quality legal representation,” explains Wang. “Utah County is apparently willing to provide that when eyes are on them for Tyler Robinson’s trial, but it appears they have no interest in allowing Mr. Jayne to mount a full defense.”
As of 1998, the State of Utah has an Indigent Aggravated Murder Defense Fund, which provides for the provision of constitutionally effective defense for indigent individuals. However, counties must opt in and contribute to the fund in order to benefit from it, and Utah County has declined to do so.
The complaint and the accompanying motion for a preliminary injunction ask the court to enjoin Utah County from further violations of Mr. Jayne’s rights, and for the provision of high quality and timely funding for his defense.
“They’re trying to rig the game against our client,” says attorney Jordan Poole. “Utah County is responsible for both sides of this trial, and one side is trying to kill Mr. Payne while the other is being starved of the resources necessary to defend his life. It’s not fair, it’s not legal, and it’s not going to stand.”
Mr. Jayne is represented by Elizabeth Wang, Tara Thompson, and Jordan Poole of the civil rights law firm of Loevy + Loevy, and attorney Neal G. Hamilton of Hamilton Defense.