More than 100 homicide cases. Over 25 capital murder cases. Fifty-two years defending the accused.

Few criminal defense attorneys have experienced the American justice system quite like Steve McCaughey.

In this episode of Legends in the Law, attorney and host Randy Spencer sits down with one of Utah's most experienced criminal defense trial lawyers to explore the murder trials, death penalty cases, courtroom victories, and difficult decisions that defined his remarkable career.

Steve began practicing law in Utah in the 1970s after attending the University of Nebraska College of Law. He joined Salt Lake's Legal Defenders Association, where he gained extraordinary courtroom experience, including trying 18 jury cases in a single year.

Soon after entering private practice, Steve took on his first capital murder case. The defendant was acquitted, beginning a career that would eventually include some of Utah's most notorious homicide prosecutions.

Defending the accused

Steve shares his experience representing defendants connected to the Ervil LeBaron family, including murder trials in Utah and California.

He recounts the Troy Kell prison murder case, in which a killing captured on video led to an unusual trial held inside a Utah prison. Steve explains the challenges of presenting mitigation evidence and what jurors later revealed about their decision to impose the death penalty.

He also discusses a homicide case involving the killing of a Utah law enforcement officer. After his client was acquitted of the homicide charge in state court, federal prosecutors brought a separate case that resulted in a conviction. The experience illustrates the complexity of reasonable doubt, jury deliberations, and criminal prosecutions involving overlapping state and federal authority.

Perhaps the most difficult case Steve ever handled was the capital murder prosecution of Taberon Honie. Steve discusses the decision to waive a jury for the penalty phase, the challenges of defending someone accused of extraordinarily violent acts, and the appeals that followed. Honie was executed in 2024.

What does winning really mean?

Steve challenges conventional assumptions about criminal defense. An acquittal isn't the only meaningful victory. In a death penalty case, persuading prosecutors to accept life without parole can mean saving a client's life.

He explains how attorneys prepare for both the guilt and penalty phases of capital trials, why he doesn't measure his career by a simple win-loss record, and why representing someone believed to be innocent can create even greater pressure than defending someone believed to be guilty.

Randy and Steve also discuss whether capital punishment is worth its financial and emotional cost, the Tyler Robinson prosecution following the killing of Charlie Kirk, and the changing role of forensic evidence, DNA, video, and digital discovery in modern criminal trials.

After 52 years in criminal defense, Steve McCaughey has retired from practice. But his experiences offer timeless lessons about reasonable doubt, constitutional protections, the right to counsel, and the responsibility of defending people accused of the most serious crimes.

A remarkable conversation about murder trials, justice, the death penalty, and a lifetime devoted to criminal defense.