AG Reyes’ Judgment Called into Question Yet Again After Selecting Solicitor General with History of False Statements in Court

In a striking development that once again underscores poor judgment by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, his newly appointed Solicitor General Melissa Holyoak, agreed to pay $3,750 fine after being castigated by a federal magistrate judge in Florida for false statements in a case involving road safety. The judge suggested even a first-year law student would have known the false statements and representations were inappropriate.

Melissa Holyoak faced possible sanctions for making “patently false” statements in a class action lawsuit involving tire safety standards. Holyoak filed an erroneous objection to a settlement agreement, which the judge deemed as an effort by Holyoak to intentionally “mislead the parties and the Court on a material matter in a case of national importance, which impacts the safety of every man, women and child who travels on American roads.”

Reyes knew about Holyoak’s missteps and still appointed her as Solicitor General. This is just another example of Reyes’ poor judgement. Earlier this year AG Reyes was caught in a scandal after his office gave a $20 million no-bid contract to a private data harvesting company called Banjo whose leader has ties to the KKK. Not long after, AG Reyes publicly sided with political allies who were named in a lawsuit by the Trump DOJ for committing fraud totaling more than $15 million.

“Sean Reyes continues to surround himself with people who are no good for Utah families—Holyoak’s appointment to Solicitor General follows a pattern of poor decision making by Reyes,” said Farah Melendez, DAGA Political Director. “Utahns deserve an AG with good judgment who we can trust to appoint honest, principled people. That leader is Greg Skordas.”