State Sen. Chris Buttars of West Jordan has been getting a lot of attention lately for racially charged comments made on the floor of the Senate. But the plot is thickening.

On Monday, Buttars was removed from his post as chairman of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Commission by Senate President John Valentine of Orem. The move came just three days after public disclosure of a letter -- bitter and angry in tone -- that Buttars sent last summer on official letterhead upbraiding 4th District Judge Derek Pullan in Utah County for a decision the judge had made in a local real-estate dispute.

Valentine knew about the letter last year and even helped edit it. But he removed Buttars from his post only after the letter was disclosed in the Salt Lake Tribune.

The letter upbraided Pullan about a ruling the judge had made in the Mapleton case of Wendell Gibby, a local doctor and real estate developer.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Buttars is Gibby's friend, raising questions about the propriety of the letter. The dispute in Mapleton involves property owned by Gibby that he wants to build houses on, and public access to a trail that has long run through the property.

Buttars's letter bashing Pullan's decision in the long-running case was placed into the court record by the judge, and it subsequently came to the attention of Utah's Judicial Council, the oversight body chaired by Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham. In June, the council forwarded the letter to Valentine with the implication that it could represent an improper tampering with the independence of a judge.

Ethics rules in the Legislature explicitly state that "Members of the Senate or House shall not exercise undue influence on any government entity." The Buttars letter is highly critical of Pullan and could be read as an attempt to pressure him in the Gibby case.

The Tribune quoted Richard Schwermer, an administrator of the state courts, as saying, "We gave the letter to President Valentine for the Senate to deal with internally." He added, "If we have issues, we let him know. ... It was an issue. We let him know about it." Schwermer said that no recommendation was made.

But Valentine already knew about the letter -- in fact he had seen a draft before it was sent. According to a statement issued from the Senate, "An early draft of the letter was circulated among several concerned individuals. The senate president was one of those and he offered some suggested edits. Independently elected senators, however, do not need permission or approval from the senate president to send mail."

Valentine defended Buttars. "Sen. Buttars really, truly believed that there had been an injustice," he told the Herald on Wednesday. "You don't have the singular ability to say things without having your hat on as a senator."

The city of Mapleton sought to use its power of eminent domain to protect public use of a trail that runs through Gibby's property. Pullan issued a ruling in favor of Mapleton. In May 2007, Gibby and Mapleton signed a memorandum of understanding that would give the city the strip of land and Gibby would be allowed to build a subdivision on his property. Discussions over density of the subdivision are ongoing.

Buttars strongly criticized Pullan's ruling in favor of Mapleton. (See related sidebar.)

"Acting upon your own bias as a long term county attorney you created law in a vacuum," Buttars wrote to Pullan. Buttars went on the emphasize how he had supported Pullan's appointment over the objections of critics, and how he now regretted that decision. Buttars wrote that his committee had feared appointing "an activist judge" who would be "incapable of being fair" -- yet, to Buttars, that's exactly what it got. The commission screens judicial appointments in Utah.

"At best this decision conflicts with the values you espoused when confirmed to this important position; and at worst, it exposes a flaw in the most important quality a judge's character can posses, integrity," Buttars wrote. "Either way, I am embarrassed in this case to have supported your appointment."

Buttars is sponsoring a bill that changes how judges are reviewed.

The Tribune reported earlier this week that the Buttars letter had also "touched off another wave of protest -- this one in the legal community." It quoted John Baldwin, executive director of the Utah Bar Association as saying, "We started to get messages and e-mails and letters from lawyers who were concerned and supporting the judge as a good jurist."

The newspaper also said that the Bar Association was concerned enough to schedule a conference call to discuss what to do. But Valentine announced the removal of Buttars before that could happen. Buttars was replaced by Sen. Greg Bell.

Valentine would not say whether he removed Buttars for reasons tied to the Pullan letter. Buttars has been under fire for comments on a bill that many believed were racially charged. Senators in a floor debate had likened a difficult bill to a baby, and had used a biblical reference about Solomon dividing a baby. Buttars continued the analogy but created a firestorm by saying: "This baby is black. ... It is a dark, ugly thing."

Though he apologized for the remark minutes after it was made, the NAACP of Salt Lake continues to call for his resignation. Buttars appeared at Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday and asked the congregation's forgiveness, which was granted.

Gibby, who met Buttars through his work as a lobbyist for the Utah Coalition for Patient Rights, said several legislators, including Buttars, were upset with Judge Pullan for ruling that Mapleton could condemn land for a trail, even after a law was passed saying otherwise.

"I think it's kind of silly that we're beating Buttars for this," Gibby said. "I think Buttars is the hero."

In Pullan's ruling for Mapleton City, he said the city could condemn the trail by considering it a 10-foot-wide, one-way emergency access road or calling the strip of land a park. In his heated letter to Pullan, Buttars said this "conveniently allows you to get around what had been clarified by the Legislature with a 59 to 13 vote. ... Not exactly the judicial humility you espoused in your confirmation hearing."

Gibby said he was also given a copy of the letter before it was sent to Judge Pullan and did not feel it had any inappropriate content, but he was nervous about irritating the judge over his case and stayed in the background. Gibby suggested that the letter did him no favors, and could have actually harmed his case.

"If I wanted him to help me, I would have asked him to write it before the decision was made," Gibby said.