Month: September 2023

Park City, Utah — The next regularly scheduled meeting of Utah’s grand jury panel of judges will be on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at the Park City 3rd District Courthouse, located at 6300 Justice Center Road, Park City UT.¹

The purpose of the meeting is to hear testimony, if any, to determine whether a grand jury should be summoned based upon evidence of criminal activity. The panel of judges will hear, in secret, individuals claiming information that justifies calling a grand jury. Individuals appearing before the panel of judges will be placed under oath. An individual who testifies must be prepared to provide evidence to support a claim that justifies calling a grand jury. The Attorney General, a county attorney, district attorney, or special prosecutor appointed under U.C.A. section 77-10a-1 can also present evidence of criminal activity. Controversies between individual parties, civil matters, and matters that are subject to criminal appeal will not be considered.

Those wanting to testify before the panel of judges should contact Keri Sargent, Assistant District Court Administrator, Administrative Office of the Courts, at (435) 633-5549 by Monday, October 2, 2023, at noon, to schedule an appointment and arrange to receive further specific instructions. Any individual needing special accommodation during the hearing must notify panel staff at least three business days prior to the hearing. If no appointments are scheduled by the appointed time, the meeting will be canceled without further notice.

The current members of the grand jury panel of judges are: Supervising Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills, 3rd District Court; Senior Judge Lynn W. Davis, 4th District Court; Judge Angela Fonnesbeck, 1st District Court; Judge Matthew Bell, 5th District Court; and Judge Paul Parker, 3rd District Court. Additional information regarding the grand jury panel of judges is available at the Utah Court’s website² or in the Utah Code.³

1 Utah’s grand jury statute requires a panel of judges selected from throughout the state to hold a hearing in each judicial district every three years.

2 http://www.utcourts.gov/calgrandjury

3 https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title77/Chapter10A/77-10a-S2.html?v=C77-10a-S2_2018050820180508

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Summit County, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a justice court judge who will serve Summit County, Utah. The position will replace Judge Shauna Kerr who will retire in December.

To be considered for a justice court judgeship in Summit County, candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a Utah resident for at least three years, and have a degree from a law school that would make one eligible to apply for admission to a bar in any state in the United States. In addition, applicants must be a resident of Summit County, an adjacent county, or the judicial district in which the justice court is located either upon appointment or within a reasonable time following appointment.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Court’s website at www.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the court’s website (www.utcourts.gov/admin/jobs).  The salary range for the position is $122,628 to $157,664 per year and includes benefits. For additional information about working for Summit County, email David Warnock, Director of Personnel Management for Summit County, at dwarnock@summitcounty.org.

The deadline for applications is Monday, October 23, 2023 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the  attention of Jim Peters, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City,  UT, 84114-0241. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. For questions about the justice courts or the process for filling this position, email Jim Peters, Justice Court  Administrator, at jamesp@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the  Summit County Council within 45 days of its first meeting. The Summit County Council will then have 30 days in which to make a selection. The selection must then be certified by the Utah  Judicial Council.

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Grantsville, Utah—The Grantsville Nominating Commission has selected three nominees for the  justice court judge position that will serve Grantsville, Utah. The final candidate will replace Judge  Ron Elton who retired this month. 

Following are the nominees followed by place of employment and residence:  

∙ Judge Bryan J. Memmott, J.D., Justice Court Judge for Plain City, South Ogden, South  Weber, Uintah/Huntsville and Woods Cross, resident of Fruit Heights,  

∙ Jaime D. Topham, J.D., Attorney at Law, resident of Grantsville, and  

∙ Colin R. Winchester, J.D., retired, resident of Tooele.  

A comment period will be held through September 29, 2023. A final candidate will then be  selected by the Grantsville City Mayor, Neil A. Critchlow, within 30 days. His selection must then  be ratified by the Grantsville City Council. To submit written comments about any of the  candidates, please email James Peters, Justice Court Administrator, at jamesp@utcourts.gov.  

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Murray, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a justice court judge position that will serve Murray, Utah. The position will replace Judge Paul Thompson who will retire in May.

To be considered for a justice court judgeship in Salt Lake County, candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a Utah resident for at least three years, and have a degree from a law school that would make one eligible to apply for admission to a bar in any state in the United States. In addition, applicants must be a resident of Salt Lake County, an adjacent county, or the judicial district in which the justice court is located either upon appointment or within a reasonable time following appointment.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Court’s website at www.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the court’s website (www.utcourts.gov/admin/jobs).  The salary range for the position is $142,590 to $183,330 per year and includes benefits. For additional information about working for Murray, email Doug Hill, Chief Administrative Officer, at dhill@murray.utah.gov.

The deadline for applications is Monday, October 9, 2023 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the  attention of Jim Peters, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City,  UT, 84114-0241. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. For questions about the justice courts or the process for filling this position, email Jim Peters, Justice Court Administrator, at jamesp@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the  mayor of Murray, Brett Hales, within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Hales will then have 30 days in which to select a finalist. His selection must then be ratified by the Murray City Council and certified by the Utah Judicial Council.

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