Patricia Cassell donned a pair of suit pants, a change from her usual well-tailored skirt, and carried a yardstick into Summit County’s Third District Court in early October 2017 to deliver her closing arguments.
Cassell, who started as the chief prosecutor at the County Attorney’s Office a year earlier and announced her retirement this month, didn’t consider herself an actress but as a visual learner, she wanted to show the jury what the state believed happened to Jose Fernandez, a longtime Park City bartender who was shot to death in 2016, as lawyers for James Henfling claimed self-defense.
She stood before the jury at around 5 feet 5 inches tall, about the same size as the victim. Cassell went down to her knees and measured where her head was positioned. Four feet. It didn’t match ballistics evidence or autopsy information showing Fernandez was shot at close range as he was near the ground. So, she sat down.
Two feet. Still no match.
Cassell then slowly lowered herself to the floor of the courtroom and laid down on the ground until there was a correlation between her position and evidence that supported Fernandez was in a defensive posture when he was shot.
The prosecutor looked up after she finished her argument and saw jury members leaning forward out of their seats. She thought to herself, “I hope this worked.”
It did. Henfling was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for murder. It was the first homicide inside the Park City limits since 2003.
“I’m proud of the bulk of my work. I think I’m most proud that I’ve done it right. It’s not about me. It’s not about the press. It’s not about the noise you hear. It just has to be about the case, and making sure you do it right to protect the defendants’ rights and to protect the victims,” she said. “If you want to make change, you should be a prosecutor. You can potentially have a lot of power, and you can win 100 trials, but it shouldn’t be about that. It should be about justice.”
Cassell had only been with the County Attorney’s Office for about a year and started on the case about a month before it went to trial because another prosecutor had left. It was the second high-profile case she took on following the death of two 13-year-old boys who overdosed on a synthetic drug called “pink” in September 2016.
Former Summit County Attorney Robert Hilder appointed Cassell to be chief prosecutor that July, and her previous experience working in juvenile justice proved to be crucial to navigating the cases. Cassell knew the system well and became involved with the investigation and helped the families navigate the process.
The juvenile justice system is designed to do what’s in the best interest of the young offender, which often required Cassell to have hard conversations and deliver difficult news.
Cassell worked as a clerk at federal courts in North Carolina and Utah after graduating from Georgetown University Law School before joining the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office juvenile division to prosecute delinquency cases in the 1990s.
“It was probably, in some ways, the most difficult and also the most rewarding because I became the person who prosecuted all of the homicides committed by juveniles,” she said. “Juvenile courts don’t have jury trials, so there’s this kind of feeling that they’re baby prosecutors when they’re actually doing serious offenses. It’s tough.”
Cassell briefly left law to raise her children around 2005. She returned to work at the Sandy City Attorney’s Office, where she managed general felony cases such as robberies, theft and homicide. She later returned to the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office and became a supervisor who worked on adult and juvenile cases. Cassell also prosecuted cases in mental health and drug court.
The prosecutor had been seeking a change of pace when she learned about the position opening in Summit County.
Cassell found it was a natural fit. She was already acquainted with Hilder and she and her husband, Paul, a former federal judge and University of Utah criminal law professor, had recently bought a condo in the Park City area. She has led the criminal division of the County Attorney’s Office in the nearly eight years since.
The prosecutor has also been an active member of the Drug Court team, which helps offenders receive drug treatment and avoid jail time if they are successful. Cassell said she fell in love with the program because it gives people another chance to change their lives for the better and helps reduce recidivism.
She’s served as a contributing board member of the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice, the Utah Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, the Utah Sentencing Commission and the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, too.
But after two decades as a lawyer, Cassell is ready to step away from the bench. She said she often takes the work home with her, but she’s found a way to compartmentalize the worst details of the cases she’s been on.
“The facts are hard and you’re dealing with horrible, horrible situations. That’s the challenge: How do you keep doing this?” the prosecutor questioned.
Now at 61, Cassell feels ready to move on from her career. It’s hard for her to step away, particularly as she’s working on high-profile cases such as the Kouri Richins murder trial, but Cassell said she’ll never retire if she keeps waiting.
Instead, she wants to shift her priorities to focus on family, friends and traveling. Cassell is still interested in public service and plans to continue serving the community in other roles.
“I kind of just got to the point where I don’t want to miss out. I want to spend time with my family. I want to go skiing on a Tuesday morning,” Cassell said. “I’ve loved [working] but I’ve reached my capacity.”
She’s confident the committed team at the County Attorney’s Office will be able to pick up the slack until a successor is named. Cassell said a great prosecutor is someone who works hard, has a sense of justice and a desire to help other people. She’s confident the new hire will be well qualified.
“Our team will miss Trish immensely,” said Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson. “She is a brilliant and effective lawyer, a steady voice of reason, and an effective leader. She is also a lot of fun, and we will miss her laughter and presence around the office and courts.”