Brooke C. Wells
Encyclopedia
Brooke C. Wells is a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court
for the District of Utah
. She was appointed to this position on June 4, 2003.
, and attended Oklahoma State for two years, but moved to Utah
before completing her degree there.
Wells had wanted to attend law school
, but did not think that pathway open to her but changed her mind after she served as secretary to Randy Dryer while he was the Student Body President at the University of Utah.
Wells graduated from the University of Utah
with an undergraduate degree in Political Science
in 1973. She enrolled in the University of Utah’s Master’s Degree program in Public Administration
and started taking classes, but no longer pursued the degree after she decided to attend law school
instead. She received her juris doctor
degree from the University of Utah’s S. J. Quinney School of Law in 1977.
. After she passed the Texas Bar Exam, she was hired as a legal services lawyer for Bexar County Legal Aid and provided civil legal assistance to indigent clients for two and a half years. However, she was eventually drawn to Utah again. She says she fully believes in the “theory that often times you have to leave someplace to find out how much you liked it and how much you want to return.”
Beginning in 1979, and for almost fifteen years thereafter, Wells represented criminal defendants as an attorney in Salt Lake City for the Utah Legal Defender’s Office. In 1994, U.S. Attorney Scott Matheson appointed her to Assistant U.S. Attorney, and she began her career as a legal prosecutor. Wells held the position of Chief of the Violent Crimes Section for eight and a half years until she was appointed as a federal magistrate
judge in Utah in 2003.
, when it started, to have a specialized mental health court docket for people coming out of federal prison with severe mental illness. The mental health defendants have an obligation to attend counseling, take prescribed medications, and report to the court on a weekly basis as a part of their plea in abeyance that keeps them out of prison. Wells said, “It’s a positive approach rather than a punitive approach…we’re a problem-solving group.”
For more information about this specialized mental health court, please see this article: http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfapr09/nf041309-7.htm
The second program is a specialized drug court docket for re-entry for people with severe drug abuse problems. She also chairs a state federal advisory board to attempt to identify and eliminate barriers to employment, where re-entering offenders can meet their obligations instead of returning to prison.
filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against IBM
for allegedly devaluing its version of the Linux operating system and breaching its obligations under various UNIX licensing agreements. Federal Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells was in charge of presiding over all discovery aspects of the case. She made several key rulings in the case regarding the scope of discovery, sanctions, and the scope of permissible claims allowed to be tried. The presiding trial judge upheld her rulings. The litigation has had many turns and twists, including detours to appeals and bankruptcy courts. The matter is still in litigation.
For a listing of orders and decisions by Magistrate Wells, see the opinions listed by the judge on the U.S. District Court, District of Utah, website at: https://ect.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/opinions.pl
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the District of Utah
District of Utah
During the American Civil War, the District of Utah was a subordinate district of the Army's Department of the Pacific.On August 6, 1862, the Department of the Pacific absorbed the District of Utah, the territory of the former Department of Utah which had been discontinued on July 3, 1861; the...
. She was appointed to this position on June 4, 2003.
Early Life & Education
Wells was raised in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and attended Oklahoma State for two years, but moved to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
before completing her degree there.
Wells had wanted to attend law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
, but did not think that pathway open to her but changed her mind after she served as secretary to Randy Dryer while he was the Student Body President at the University of Utah.
Wells graduated from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
with an undergraduate degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1973. She enrolled in the University of Utah’s Master’s Degree program in Public Administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and started taking classes, but no longer pursued the degree after she decided to attend law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
instead. She received her juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from the University of Utah’s S. J. Quinney School of Law in 1977.
Legal career
Although she took and passed the Utah bar exam following graduation from law school, Wells moved to San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. After she passed the Texas Bar Exam, she was hired as a legal services lawyer for Bexar County Legal Aid and provided civil legal assistance to indigent clients for two and a half years. However, she was eventually drawn to Utah again. She says she fully believes in the “theory that often times you have to leave someplace to find out how much you liked it and how much you want to return.”
Beginning in 1979, and for almost fifteen years thereafter, Wells represented criminal defendants as an attorney in Salt Lake City for the Utah Legal Defender’s Office. In 1994, U.S. Attorney Scott Matheson appointed her to Assistant U.S. Attorney, and she began her career as a legal prosecutor. Wells held the position of Chief of the Violent Crimes Section for eight and a half years until she was appointed as a federal magistrate
United States magistrate judge
In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...
judge in Utah in 2003.
High-Profile Clients as a Legal Defender
Wells litigated over 100 jury trials and more than 20 capital homicides during her time as a legal defender. Two of her more high profile clients were the following:Ralph Menzies
In 1987, Ralph Leroy Menzies was convicted of the kidnap and murder of Maurine Hunsaker, a mother of four abducted from her work at a Kearns gas station. Menzies was sentenced to the death penalty and is still on death row while numerous appeals are heard.Steven Ray Stout
Stout pleaded guilty on Sept. 27, 1989 to capital murder and second-degree murder. The victims were Bonnie Craft, his estranged wife’s mother (age 41) and her daughter Maureen Turner (age 18). Prosecutors argued that because Stout brutally killed the two West Valley citizens he should be given the death penalty. In response, Brooke Wells and Elizabeth Bowman, the two legal defenders assigned to the case had a psychologist testify that Stout suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome—a rare occurrence at the time. This was one of the first cases in which this defense was used, and it was deemed the “shell shock” defense. Stout, who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison.United States v. Eric W. Wicklund, 114 F. 3d 151 (10th Cir. 1997)
A Salt Lake City jury found Wicklund guilty of scheming to shoot his wife’s ex-husband, Robert Laumann, an Idaho trooper from Downey so that his wife, Paige, would no longer have to pay child support to Laumann, who won custody in their divorce. Ms. Wells was the prosecutor who obtained the conviction. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently reversed the decision, holding that the trial judge misinterpreted and misapplied the statute under which Wicklund was charged. Wicklund was sentenced to ten years in prison.United States v. Dean Zabriskie, 114
It was alleged that a Utah County attorney, Dean Zabriskie, helped a convicted child molester client elude authorities. The client, Gerry Curtis Branagan, had failed to attend his trial in Utah County and was thus convicted in absentia. It was alleged that Zabriskie hid and threw out stolen goods from Branagan’s residence in California. The jury found Zabriskie guilty of “concealing a fugitive from arrest and concealing and disposing of stolen goods.” Branagan was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and a $10,000 fine.Judicial career
From 2008 until the present, Wells has presided over two specialized federal court programs. The first program, called RISE (Reentry Independence through Sustainable Efforts), was the only program in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, when it started, to have a specialized mental health court docket for people coming out of federal prison with severe mental illness. The mental health defendants have an obligation to attend counseling, take prescribed medications, and report to the court on a weekly basis as a part of their plea in abeyance that keeps them out of prison. Wells said, “It’s a positive approach rather than a punitive approach…we’re a problem-solving group.”
For more information about this specialized mental health court, please see this article: http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfapr09/nf041309-7.htm
The second program is a specialized drug court docket for re-entry for people with severe drug abuse problems. She also chairs a state federal advisory board to attempt to identify and eliminate barriers to employment, where re-entering offenders can meet their obligations instead of returning to prison.
SCO v. IBM
On March 3, 2003, SCO GroupSCO Group
TSG Group, Inc. is a software company formerly called The SCO Group, Caldera Systems, and Caldera International. After acquiring the Santa Cruz Operation's Server Software and Services divisions, as well as UnixWare and OpenServer technologies, the company changed its focus to UNIX...
filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
for allegedly devaluing its version of the Linux operating system and breaching its obligations under various UNIX licensing agreements. Federal Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells was in charge of presiding over all discovery aspects of the case. She made several key rulings in the case regarding the scope of discovery, sanctions, and the scope of permissible claims allowed to be tried. The presiding trial judge upheld her rulings. The litigation has had many turns and twists, including detours to appeals and bankruptcy courts. The matter is still in litigation.
For a listing of orders and decisions by Magistrate Wells, see the opinions listed by the judge on the U.S. District Court, District of Utah, website at: https://ect.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/opinions.pl