Party dissident takes aim at stalking injunction
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 12:56 a.m. MST
The Utah Supreme Court must determine if a case of boiling bad blood between GOP politicos warranted one Republican couple to take out a civil stalking injunction against party dissident Michael Ridgway.
During oral arguments held Tuesday, an attorney for Ridgway argued his client had every right to attend political functions and voice disagreement with political rival Mark Towner, despite a civil stalking injunction imposed by a district court judge.
Attorney Troy Booher said Ridgway never went to the couple's home or anything of the like, but rather had several heated confrontations with them during Republican functions.
"They're heated political debates, that's the whole point," Booher said, adding Ridgway never made physical threats against the couple. He argued the district judge unjustly granted the stalking injunction by ordering Ridgway to stay 20 feet away from the Towners and limit his speech about them.
Peter Stirba, attorney for the Towners, said the district judge was right to grant the injunction because the couple thought Ridgway could be violent.
The couple claim there were two incidents, 18 months apart, in which Ridgway confronted them for voting in Republican functions in a way that Ridgway did not approve. In between, there were moments of "amicable" meetings but also numerous e-mails and text messages criticizing Mark Towner and calling him a "liar. The turning point, however, came in April 2006 during the Salt Lake County Republican Convention where Ridgway passed out a letter critical of Mark Towner as he gave a speech in support of his run for a state senate seat. Afterward, another party member told Ridgway to apologize for passing out the letter, indicating he had broken party rules.
Ridgway apologized to Towner but Towner claims it was in a "derogatory" way. Towner said "cheap shot, Mike" and Ridgway started arguing while Towner started to leave the room. Carrie Towner said Ridgway started arguing with her and moving toward her in a threatening manner. In court testimony, Carrie Towner said she tried to protect her daughter. "I put my arms around her and put my hand out to Mike and said, 'Don't talk to him Leslie, he gets violent,' and I turned around and tried to get her out of the way."
Mark Towner resigned from his position in the Republican Party one month later. Ridgway was booted from his party offices. In March 2007, Ridgway was arrested and spent 120 hours in jail after he attempted to attend a county GOP executive committee meeting and police were called.
Booher argued that two confrontations 18 months apart cannot be considered continuous as stated in the statute, especially since there were "amicable" meetings between the two men during that time.
Stirba said the Towners had heard from about 20 other people who had encountered Ridgway's temper.
Justice Matthew Durrant said he noted that the Towners did not make any claims of bodily injury or emotional distress in their court application. Stirba said the couple did later testify that they felt they were in danger.
Because the district court did not file any findings of fact in the case, the justices will have to review transcripts of hearings before coming to a decision. A written ruling is expected in the coming months.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com
