David Leavitt Complaint Submitted with the Office of Professional Conduct

Criminal and Ethical Violations in the Fishinghawk Adoption and Tonah Fishinghawk's Prosecution

Aug 28, 2024

Today, I submitted a 4,434 word complaint to the Office of Professional Conduct in Utah regarding David Leavitt’s alleged criminal and ethical violations with regards to his adoption of Allisandra Fishinghawk and his later prosecution of her mother Tonah Fishinghawk. The report outlines the alleged bribery of Lawrence Jace Fishinghawk and Tonah Rae Fishinghawk in order to purchase Allisandra Fishinghawk for adoption, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1)(A) and (C), which prohibits offering anything of value to a public official with the intent to influence any official act or to do or omit to do any act in violation of the lawful duty of such official or person. Leavitt’s alleged acts constituted a violation of U.C.A. 76-7-203(2)(b), which bars “offer[ing}, giv[ing], or attempt[ing] to give money or another thing of value to a person, with the intent to induce or encourage a person to violate Subsection 2(a),” which outlaws the sale of a child “in consideration of the payment of money or another thing of value.”1

Leavitt’s actions in the criminal prosecution of Tonah Fishinghawk, and his later failure to extradite Fishinghawk from Oklahoma to face a warrant in Utah for violating her probation, constitute obstruction of justice. Under Utah Criminal Code 76-8-306(2)(b), (e) and (f), “an actor commits obstruction of justice in a criminal investigation or proceeding if the actor, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of any person regarding conduct that constitutes a criminal offense, prevents by…deception, a person from performing an act that might aid in the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of any person” and/or “harbors or conceals a person” and/or provides a person with…means of avoiding discovery or apprehension.”

The regulations in 1-3.2(d) Utah Prosecutors Best Practices, promulgated by the Utah Best Practices Committee, clearly state the following:

“Prosecutors should recuse themselves from any
investigation, prosecution, or other matter where
personal interests of the prosecutor would cause a
fair-minded, objective observer to conclude
that the prosecutor’s impartiality, judgment, or ability
to administer the law in an objective manner may be
compromised. These may include investigations or
prosecutions involving anyone who has a significant
personal, political, financial, professional, business,
property, or other similar relationship with the prosecutor.”

David Leavitt was still in the process of adopting Tonah Fishinghawk’s daughter Allisandra when his office negotiated a plea deal that reduced Fishinghawk’s felony count of child endangerment to a misdemeanor in April 2019. Leavitt’s personal interests with regards to the adoption of Allisandra Fishinghawk would cause any fair-minded objective observer to conclude that his impartiality and ability to administer the law in an objective manner might be compromised. For the purpose of adopting Allisandra Fishinghawk, Leavitt had represented himself as Tonah Fishinghawk’s uncle to one Utah court. During Tonah Fishinghawk’s criminal prosecution, Leavitt made no such representation to the Court, nor did he recuse himself and his office from her case. 1-3.5 of the Best Practices regulations requires the prosecutor’s office to appoint or seek a special prosecutor when “an actual or potential conflict of interest exists that would prevent a prosecutor’s office from investigating or prosecuting a criminal matter.”2

This obviously did not occur.

Leavitt’s actions with respect to the Fishinghawk adoption and prosecution were egregious enough to warrant an OPC complaint. An attorney is expected to “conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service and in the lawyer’s business and personal affairs.” In the two years that I have reviewed allegations within the Hamblin case and related matters, David Leavitt’s alleged nd proven conduct clearly does not meet the ethical or legal standard imposed upon attorneys by the Rules of Professional Conduct and the law.

As such, I submitted the OPC complaint today regarding the adoption of Allisandra Fishinghawk and the later prosecution of Tonah Fishinghawk and failure to prosecute Tonah Fishinghawk with respect to her probation violation. The report is included in image galleries for your consideration. Your support has made it possible to fight to see those named in the Hamblin Victims Statements face culpability for their alleged criminal and ethical misconduct.