Samuel Alba (born 1947) is a former

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

for the

United States District Court for the District of Utah The United States District Court for the District of Utah (in case citations, D. Utah) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Utah. The court is based in Salt Lake City with another courtroom leased in thstate courtho ...

Early life and education

Alba was born in 1947. Alba graduated from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

in 1969 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

.Judge Samuel Alba: Humanities and Social Sciences' Distinguished Speaker
(November 16, 2010). Utah State University. He graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1972.

Career

From 1972 to 1977, Alba worked at the Federal Public Defenders' Office in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. From 1977 to 1980, Alba worked at the Phoenix

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Gama, Iniguez, Guerrero & Albaal, where he practiced in the area of

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit (t ...

and

criminal defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

.First 50 Celebrating Diversity in the Law
. Utah Minority Bar Association. On October 8, 1980, Alba was admitted to the Utah State Bar. From 1980 to 1987, Alba worked as first assistant and then chief of the criminal section at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. From 1987 to 1992, Albra was a shareholder at the Salt Lake City firm of Yeates, Prince, and Geldzhaler, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense.

Federal judicial service

Alba was a federal

magistrate judge The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

for the United States District Court for the District of Utah from August 1992 to 2012. He was chief magistrate judge from 2003 to 2008. He served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services, and is co-chair of the building committee for the District of Utah. He retired from the bench on June 30, 2012. Alba has been involved in several notable court cases: * In 2008, Alba conducted pretrial matters in the

Elizabeth Smart kidnapping Elizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts ...

case, and ordered

Brian David Mitchell Elizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts ...

, the man charged in the kidnapping, to undergo a

mental competency evaluation In the United States criminal justice system, a competency evaluation is an assessment of the ability of a defendant to understand and rationally participate in a court process. Competency was originally established by the Supreme Court of the U ...

to determine he was fit to stand trial before the case went before Judge

Dale A. Kimball Dale Albert Kimball (born November 28, 1939) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Early life and education Kimball was born in Provo, Utah, grew up on a dairy farm in Draper, Uta ...

. * In 2009, following a

plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

, Alba sentenced two men, Rulon Kody Sommerville and Kevin Shumway, to a year of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

in a case in which some two dozen people from San Juan County were charged with stealing ancient artifacts from

federal lands Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...

. * In 2010, Alba approved a plea deal in the high-profile Bugman Pest and Lawn case, in which the

fumigation Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful micro-organisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (s ...

company and its ex-employee Coleman Nocks faced federal charges of unlawful use of a registered

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

that was connected to the deaths of two young girls in

Layton, Utah Layton is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 81,773, with 2022 estimates showing a slight increase to 84,665. Layton ...

. After accepting the plea deal, the case went to U.S. District Judge

Dee Benson Dee Vance Benson (August 25, 1948 – November 30, 2020) was a Senior United States district judge and chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. He was briefly a professional soccer player. He was nominated as ju ...

. * In 2010, Alba presided over ''Phillips Electrical v. BC Technical'' case, involving claims of

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

, and misappropriation of trade secrets, among others. After an evidentiary hearing, Alba issued a 117-page report and recommendation on the

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, finding that defendant had intentionally destroyed evidence, recommending that the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's complaint be stricken and default entered against the defendant, and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees in the sum of $294,694. Alba's report and recommendation was adopted in its entirety by Judge

Clark Waddoups Clark Waddoups (born April 21, 1946) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Education and legal career Waddoups received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University ...

in February 2011.Brad Harris
Two Cases Feature Extreme Sanctions for Preservation Failures; Both Cite a Failure to Issue a Legal Hold as Key Factor
(April 4, 2011). Legal Hold Pro Tracker. On 2005, the Utah Minority Bar Association honored Alba as one of the first 50 minority lawyers in Utah. In 2009, Alba was included in ''Latinos in Utah'', book recognizing the contributions made by Latinos in the State of Utah.Magistrate Samuel Alba
''Latinos in Utah''. In 2010, Alba delivered a speech entitled "The Changing Face of Law in Latin America" as part of

's College of Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Speaker series.

Personal life

Alba was married to Nancy Alba until she died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in 1992. Alba later married Anne Swensen. He has four children and eight grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alba, Samuel Utah State University alumni Living people Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni United States magistrate judges Utah lawyers 1947 births Hispanic and Latino American judges

Early life and education

Career

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References