Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in January 2000 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt. At the time, he was serving as a trial judge in the Third Judicial District. Justice Durrant has served as the Supreme Court representative on the Utah Judicial Council and as Associate Chief Justice. He was the founding chair of the Supreme Court's Professionalism Committee and has chaired the Judicial Council's Technology Committee. In addition, Justice Durrant chaired the Supreme Court Committee charged with the revision of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Justice Durrant received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984. After a clerkship with Judge Monroe G. McKay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Justice Durrant joined the Salt Lake law firm now known as Parr, Waddoups, Brown, Gee, & Loveless, where he was a shareholder at the time of his appointment to the district bench. Justice Durrant also has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. 1/12

Judge David N. Mortensen was appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals in May 2016 by Gov. Gary R. Herbert. Prior to his appointment, Judge Mortensen served as a trial judge in the Fourth District Court for almost ten years where he served multiple terms as the presiding judge and associate presiding judge. Judge Mortensen graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1993. Judge Mortensen was in private practice as a trial attorney before becoming a judge. He is a member of the A. Sherman Christensen Inn of Court. He has taught as an adjunct professor at The J. Reuben Clark Law School. Judge Mortensen previously served as a member of the Utah Judicial Council and as a member of the Board of District Court Judges. Judge Mortensen received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the Government and Politics Legal Society of the J. Reuben Clark Law School. Judge Mortensen is currently the Chair of the Court Facilities Planning Committee, and is a member of the Utah State Court's Technology Committee. Judge Mortensen also currently serves on the Judicial Conduct Commission and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. 8/20

Judge Keith C. Barnes was appointed to the Fifth District Court in February 2014 by Gov. Gary R. Herbert. He serves Iron, Washington, and Beaver counties. Judge Barnes graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University and received a law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1994. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Barnes was a partner at Barnes Law Offices, Jensen, Graff & Barnes, and Park, Park, & Barnes. He has served as a member of the Southern Utah University National Advisory Board, Utah Radiation Control Board, and as a board of director at Allegiance Direct Bank. 4/15

Judge Suchada P. Bazzelle was appointed to the Fourth District Juvenile Court in January 2007 by Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. She serves Utah County. Judge Bazzelle graduated from the University of Colorado in 1990 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and received a law degree from Brigham Young University in 1994. Judge Bazzelle worked in private practice from 1994 to 1998, focusing on family law and general litigation. From 1997 to 2000, she served as the Director of Legal Education for Westminster College. Judge Bazzelle began working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem in 1997 and joined the Office of the Guardian ad Litem in August 2000, where she served in the Third District Juvenile Court until her appointment to the bench. She served as a member of the Board of Juvenile Court Judges from 2008 to 2014 and was the Board chair from 2010-2011. Judge Bazzelle has also served as Presiding Judge of the Fourth District Juvenile Court from 2014-2018. In 2019, Judge Bazzelle was appointed as the Juvenile Court representative for the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. She has conducted a child welfare adult drug court and a juvenile delinquency drug court, and is currently serving as the judge for a Safe Babies Court, which is a pilot program focusing on better serving children zero to three years of age. 6/21

Judge Brian E. Brower was appointed to the Clearfield City Justice Court in August 2015 and to the Sunset City and Morgan County Justice Courts in December 2016. Judge Brower earned a Bachelors degree in English Literature with a minor in Criminal Justice from Weber State University. He then graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Upon graduation and passing the bar, Judge Brower was hired as a Deputy County Attorney for the Weber County Attorneys Office. He later served as both the Murray City Prosecutor as well as the Layton City Prosecutor before being appointed as Clearfields City Attorney in 2007. He served as City Attorney for eight years prior to appointment as the City's Justice Court Judge.9/17

Judge Samuel P. Chiara was appointed to the Eighth District Court by Governor Gary Herbert in August 2013. He serves in Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah counties. Judge Chiara received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He graduated magna cum laude receiving a juris doctorate degree from J. Reuben Clark Law School, BYU, in 1997. Prior to his appointment, Judge Chiara practiced at a firm in Price, Utah. He practiced first with Keith Chiara and later as a partner in Chiara & Torgerson. His practice included criminal defense, domestic, probate, contract, property, parental defense, and personal injury law. Judge Chiara also served as defense counsel for the Carbon County Drug Court. Judge Chiara was awarded the Utah State Bar Litigation Section Judicial Excellence Award in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. He served on the Board of District Court Judges from 2017-2020 and currently serves on the Judicial Council on the Policy and Planning Committee. 5/21

Judge Augustus G. Chin was appointed to the Holladay Justice Court in August 2011. The Holladay Justice Court serves the cities of Holladay and Cottonwood Heights. Judge Chin received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah College Of Law. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Spanish from the University of Utah. Prior to attending law school he was a civilian employee with the Department of the Army, working as a maintenance management production controller/ planner at the Tooele Army Depot. He served a law clerk-bailiff and law clerk for 3rd District Judge Tyrone E. Medley. Judge Chin was a prosecutor for the Salt Lake City Prosecutor's Office and the Summit County Attorney's Office. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Chin worked as a criminal defense attorney for Wasatch Advocates and Rasmussen and Miner. Judge Chin served as president of the Utah State Bar from 2006 to 2007, as a Utah State Bar Commissioner from 2001 to 2008, president of the Utah Minority Bar Association from 1998 to 1999, president of the Law-Related Education Board 2011-2013, and president of the Utah Bar Foundation. He was also a member of the Utah Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professionalism and Civility from 2002 -2015. Judge Chin is a member of the Board of Justice Court Judges and is Chair of the Trust & Confidence Committee. In 2016 he received the Justice Court Service Award. He was named the Minority Bar Association Lawyer of the Year in 2007, received the Scott M. Matheson Award for Service to Law-Related Education in 2003, and the University of Utah College Of Law Young Alumnus of the Year Award in 2000.11/16

Judge David M. Connors was appointed to Utah's Second District Court by Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. and took office in January 2008. He serves Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties. Judge Connors earned a law degree from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School where he was a member of the Law Review and graduated magna cum laude. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University. Immediately after law school, Judge Connors served as a law clerk with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York. After his clerkship, Judge Connors was in private practice for nearly 30 years, most of which with the Utah office of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, L.L.P., where he served as head of the Utah litigation group. Judge Connors is a past chairman of the Business Law Section of the Utah State Bar and has served as a board member of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the Davis County Council of Governments, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and several charitable foundations, including the Davis Education Foundation. He also served as Mayor of Farmington City from 2002 to 2006, after previously serving eight years on Farmingtons city council. He served as presiding judge of the Second District from 2018-2020, and also serves as an officer of the ABA Judicial Divisions National Conference of State Trial Judges.11/18

Judge Ryan B. Evershed was appointed to the Eighth District Juvenile Court in August 2013 by Gov. Gary R. Herbert. He serves Duchesne, Uintah, and Daggett counties. Judge Evershed gained valuable experience in Juvenile Court when he represented the Child Protection Division of the Utah Attorney General's Office in court cases involving child abuse, neglect, and dependency. In 2008, Judge Evershed opened his own practice, which specialized in family, criminal, and juvenile law. Judge Evershed received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toledo College of Law. 5/15

Judge Farr was appointed to the Sandy City Justice Court in 2012. Judge Farr received an A.S. in History from Dixie State College, a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Weber State University, and a J.D. from Brigham Young University. Judge Far has been a member of the Utah State Bar since 2000. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Farr was a partner in a Salt Lake City law firm. He has previously worked for the Utah Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and in private practice. 6/11

Judge James D. Gardner was appointed to the Third District Court in December 2014 by Governor Gary Herbert. He serves Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties. Judge Gardner graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 1997. He then graduated cum laude with a juris doctorate degree from Duke University School of Law in 2000. Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Gardner was a partner at Snell & Wilmer in its Salt Lake City office, where he maintained a broad-based civil litigation practice in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Judge Gardner was admitted to practice before the Fourth, Sixth, Tenth and Federal Circuits, the United States Supreme Court, and all state and federal courts in Utah. Judge Gardner is a member of the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct, the New Lawyer Training Program Committee, and the A. Sherman Christensen Inn of Court. Judge Gardner is located in the West Jordan Courthouse.4/18

Judge Elizabeth A. Lindsley was appointed to the Third District Juvenile Court in September 2002 by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt. She serves Salt Lake, Tooele, and Summit counties. Judge Lindsley received a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh College of Law in 1990. She served as a law clerk at the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office until 1991, when she became a deputy county/district attorney until appointed to the bench. Prior to her judicial appointment, she prosecuted juvenile delinquency and abuse/neglect cases in Third District Juvenile Court. Judge Lindsley is a member of a number of professional organizations. Currently, Judge Lindsley is a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedures, a member of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, and a member of the Board of Juvenile Court Judges.8/16

Judge Thomas Low was appointed to the Fourth District Court in December 2009 by Gov. Gary R. Herbert. He serves Juab, Millard, Utah, and Wasatch counties. Judge Low received a juris doctorate, with honors, from Brigham Young University, where he was admitted into the Order of the Barristers. He also received a bachelor of arts degree from Brigham Young University. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Low served six years as the Wasatch County Attorney. He was named County Attorney of the Year in November 2008, and was identified as a member of the 2009 Utah Legal Elite by Utah Business magazine. Prior to his service as a county attorney, he served as a deputy Wasatch County attorney, where he prosecuted felony cases, and as an attorney in private practice in Provo. Judge Low is a member of the Utah Sentencing Commission and of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. 10/13

Justice Paige Petersen was appointed to the Utah Supreme court in December 2017 by Governor Gary Herbert. Before joining the Supreme Court, she was a district court judge in the Third Judicial District, which serves Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties. Justice Petersen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah in 1995, after first obtaining an associates degree from the College of Eastern Utah in Price. She received her law degree from Yale Law School in 1999. After graduation, she clerked for two years in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. After her clerkship, she joined the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, practicing civil litigation. She then transitioned to criminal law, serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. There, she handled cases involving organized crime and international narcotics trafficking. Petersen then prosecuted war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, where she was a member of the trial team responsible for successfully prosecuting the former Serbian Chief of Police for ethnic cleansing and mass murder in Kosovo. She then returned to Utah and joined the U.S. Attorneys Office in Salt Lake City, where she prosecuted violent crimes for three years before taking the bench. 11/17

Judge Kara L. Pettit was appointed to the Third District Court in September 2014 by Governor Gary R. Herbert. She currently serves full time in Salt Lake County. She is a member of the Judicial Council and also serves on the Grand Jury Panel. Judge Pettit is also a member of the Utah Bar's New Lawyer Training Program Committee and is on the Bar's subcommittee responsible for preparing the questions for the landlord/tenant portion of the Bar's licensed paralegal practitioner examination. Judge Pettit graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa, magna cum laude, in 1988. From 1988-1992 she was an internal auditor for 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. She obtained her law degree from the University of Utah's College of Law in 1995. From 1995-1999, she was a deputy prosecuting attorney for the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Boise, Idaho, serving in various capacities, including the misdemeanor, juvenile, child protection, and felony divisions. In December 1999, she joined the law firm of Snow, Christensen & Martineau, where she practiced civil litigation until being appointed to the bench in 2014. Prior to her appointment on the bench, Judge Pettit volunteered with several organizations or projects over the years, including the Ada County Human Rights Task Force, pro bono Guardian Ad Litem program, pro bono Legal Clinic at Guadelupe School, and The Road Home Development Committee. 1/19