Colorado woman asks 10th Circuit to revive fight over political retaliation in Utah

Rosalie Chilcoat asked a 10th Circuit panel to revive her civil rights suit against San Juan County, Utah, alleging officials retaliated against her environmental activism by elevating a cattle-tampering accusation into felony charges that were ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence. County commissioners held an off-the-record meeting about her prosecution shortly after her 2017 detention, a meeting her attorney says violated open-meetings rules and left no minutes to examine.

A lower court found insufficient evidence the county government directed the prosecution and granted summary judgment for the county. Chilcoat's attorney argued the timing, the closed meeting, and one commissioner's documented hostility toward her should let a jury infer county involvement, while the county's attorney called the theory speculation stacked on speculation.

Circuit judges pressed both sides on whether circumstantial evidence, absent any actual record of what was discussed, can carry a case to trial. No ruling was issued from the bench.

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