Utah Supreme Court
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| Utah Supreme Court |
|---|
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| Sitting justices |
| Christine Durham Michael Wilkins Matthew Durrant Jill Parrish Ronald Nehring |
| Former justices |
| Utah on Judgepedia |
Contents |
The Utah Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Utah. It was established in 1894 when Utah became a state, partly growing out of an earlier territorial Supreme Court that was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1850. The court is composed of five members -- a Chief Justice, an Associate Chief Justice, and three Justices -- who serve renewable ten-year terms.
Case load
According to the 2002 Annual Report by the Utah Supreme Court, civil appeals consisted of 49% of the court's caseload, administrative agency consisted of 4%, criminal appeals were 10%, interlocutory appeals consisted of 10%, writs of certiorari were 15% of the case load, and other cases consisted of 12%.[1]
Jurisdiction
The Utah Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to answer questions of state law certified from Federal Courts and to issue extraordinary writs. The Court has appellate jurisdiction to hear first degree and capital felony convictions from the District Court and civil judgments other than domestic cases. It also reviews formal administrative proceedings of the Public Service Commission, the Tax Commission, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Board of Trustees, the Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining, and the State Engineer. The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction over judgments of the Court of Appeals by writ of certiorari, proceedings of the Judicial Conduct Commission, and both constitutional and election questions. The court has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. It also adopts rules of civil and criminal procedure and rules of evidence for use in the state courts and manages the appellate process. The Court also governs the practice of law, including admission to practice law and the conduct and discipline of lawyers.
The court's justices
Selection of justices
Justices of the court are chosen using a gubernatorial commission process. The Utah appellate judicial nominating commission has eight members. Seven of the members are appointed by the governor. The eighth member of the commission is the state's chief justice or someone chosen by the chief justice. This member of the commission is a non-voting member. The appellate court nominating commission screens applicants for any vacancies that occur on the court. It is then required to submit a list of names with between five and seven nominees to the governor. The governor is required to appoint a nominee from the list to fill the vacancy within thirty days. If the governor fails to do so, the court's chief justice makes an appointment from the list. The Utah senate must then confirm or reject the appointment within sixty days.[2]
The initial term of office is until the first general election is held more than three years after the appointment. Subsequent terms are ten years after which a retention election is held. The Utah Constitution says that "Selection of judges shall be based solely upon consideration of fitness for office without regard to any partisan political consideration.'"[3]
Qualifications
To be considered a qualified candidate, a person must be a citizen of the United States and have been a resident of the state of Utah for no less than five years. Additionally, the candidate must be at least 30 years of age, and must be admitted to practice law in the state.
Current justices
Listed in order of when they were appointed to the court.
| Name | Appointed | Term expires | Appointed by | Governor's Political Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christine Durham | 1982 | 2014 | Scott Matheson | Democrat |
| Michael Wilkins | 2000 | 2014 | Mike Leavitt | Republican |
| Matthew Durrant | 2000 | 2014 | Mike Leavitt | Republican |
| Jill Parrish | 2003 | 2016 | Mike Leavitt | Republican |
| Ronald Nehring | 2003 | 2016 | Mike Leavitt | Republican |
Chief justice
The justices vote amongst themselves for the Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice positions, who each serve a term of four years. Since Utah achieved statehood, there have been 39 chief justices of the court. The first was Charles S. Zane, who served in this position on the court from 1896-1899, having previously been a chief justice of the preceding territorial supreme court. The current chief justice is Christine Durham. She was chosen for this position by her peers on the court in April 2002. She is one of more than twenty Female chief justices of state supreme courts. Michael Wilkins is the associate chief justice.
History of the court
Before statehood, Utah was known as the State of Deseret. This territory provided for a three member Supreme Court. In 1850, Utah was admitted to the Union. Section 9 of the legislative act, the Organic Act, that created the state stated, "the judicial power of said territory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District Court, and Justices of the Peace." According to the Organic Act, the Supreme Court of Utah was to act as an appellate court. Upon changing into a state Supreme Court, the jurisdiction changed. The original jurisdiction covered writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, and habeas corpus. In all other cases, the court had appellate jurisdiction; it was not a trial court.[4]
Since the court was established, it has had forty justices. As of 2008, the annual salary of a justice on the court is $145,550.[5]
Matheson Courthouse
The court general conducts its sessions at the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. However, it occasionally gathers in other locations.
Typical schedule
The Court generally sits the first and third Mondays of each month to decide procedural and substantive matters presented on a law and motion calendar. Following presentation of oral arguments by attorneys, the justices hold a conference and vote to either grant or deny the motions. Three of the five justices sit on the law and motion panel, allowing two justices to devote more time to writing opinions. In the first week of every month, the Court schedules oral arguments. After attorneys argue their cases before the Court, the justices hold a conference, and one justice is assigned to write an opinion. Writing assignments are rotated to distribute the caseload as equally as possible. The justices may also elect to write separate concurring or dissenting opinions.
Staff
The justices are assisted by law clerks, staff attorneys, a Clerk of the Court, and a staff of legal secretaries and front office clerks. Law clerks are recent law school graduates who do legal research on issues before the court. The staff attorneys screen the cases to be heard by the court and the Clerk of Court is responsible for processing legal matters filed with the court.
External links
- Official website of the Utah Supreme Court
- History of the Utah Supreme Court
- Opinions of the court from 1996 on
- Utah Courts: Caseload
- Utah Courts: Caseload stats
References
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