Utah Courts Recent Press Notifications

Salt Lake City, Utah—Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant announced today that Judge Mary T. Noonan has been appointed as the new State Court Administrator for the Utah State Courts.
“Judge Noonan is a proven leader who brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge, both as a jurist and as an administrator. We are fortunate to have someone of her extraordinary abilities lead the Administrative Office of the Courts,” said Chief Justice Matthew Durrant.
Noonan served on the Juvenile Court bench in the 4th District for 15 years after being appointed by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt in 2003. She served on the Board of Juvenile Court Judges and is a founding member of the Wasatch/Summit County Children’s Justice Center. She has also served as a member of the Utah Court Improvement Project and as a member of steering committees for family drug court, juvenile drug court, and Division of Child and Family Services rocket docket.
Before her appointment to the bench, Noonan served as division chief of the Utah Attorney General’s Office Child Protection Division. She served as the section chief of the southern division of the Child Protection Division from July 1998 through May 2002. From 1994 through 1998, Judge Noonan worked for the Utah Department of Human Services as the director of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services and as the director of the department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
“The Utah Courts lead nationally in providing the public access to justice under the law. I look forward to continuing to serve alongside our remarkable judges and employees,” Noonan said.
Judge Noonan has served as the courts’ interim administrator since mid-January. She is the first woman to serve as Utah’s court administrator.

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Salt Lake County, Utah—Applications are being accepted for justice court judges pro tempore. This position is considered voluntary without compensation. The judge pro tempore will oversee the small claims cases for a given justice court. Both the Salt Lake City Justice Court and the Sandy City Justice Court are seeking judges pro tempore.

To be considered for this position, 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 been admitted to the practice of law in Utah for a minimum of four years.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Court’s website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. A small claims judge pro tempore application must be completed and is available on the court’s website (legacy.utcourts.gov/admin/jobs). For application information, contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or by email at amymh@utcourts.gov. For scheduling and other court-specific information, contact Tammy Shelton (Salt Lake City Justice Court) at Tammy.Shelton@slcgov.com and Melisse Stiglich (Sandy City Justice Court) at melissejs@utcourts.gov.

The deadline for applications is Monday, Aug. 19, 2019 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Amy Hernandez, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. If appointed, a judge pro tempore assigned small claims cases shall complete a small claims orientation program within one year after appointment and thereafter complete at least three hours of small claims education annually.

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Hyde Park and North Logan, UT—The Cache County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Matthew Lorz to fill the Hyde Park and North Logan Justice Court vacancy. The position replaces Judge David Marx who retired effective May 1, 2019.
Judge Lorz graduated from Utah State University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Management. Following his undergraduate studies, Mr. Lorz attended Florida Coastal School of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate in 2010. Mr. Lorz also attended and completed his last semester of law school at S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah as a visiting student. Upon receiving his law degree, Mr. Lorz was admitted to the Utah State Bar in Oct. of 2013.

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Salt Lake City, UT—The Salt Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Katherine Peters to fill the Salt Lake City Justice Court vacancy. The position replaces Judge L.G. Cutler who retired effective Feb. 28, 2019.
Judge Peters attended the University of Utah where she received a Bachelor of Science. She attended the University of Chicago-Kent College of Law where she received a Juris Doctorate. She has worked for 17 years as a prosecutor for the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

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Woods Cross, UT—The Davis County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on July 29, 2019 to review applications for the vacancy in the Woods Cross Justice Court. The successful candidate will replace Judge Reuben Renstrom who retired effective May 31, 2019. The Commission will begin the meeting at 12 p.m. at the Farmington Juvenile Courthouse located on 800 W State St, Farmington, UT 84025. The meeting will be held in the large conference room.
The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission members to review applications for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or amymh@utcourts.gov to request an appointment.

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South Weber, UT—The Davis County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on July 29, 2019 to review applications for the vacancy in the South Weber Justice Court. The successful candidate will replace Judge Reuben Renstrom who retired effective May 31, 2019. The Commission will begin the meeting at 8 a.m. at the Farmington Juvenile Courthouse located on 800 W State St, Farmington, UT 84025. The meeting will be held in the large conference room.
The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission members to review applications for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or amymh@utcourts.gov to request an appointment.

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Utah State Courts Advise Residents Not to Give Out Personal Information

Salt Lake City, Utah— The Utah State Courts is advising residents to be aware of a phone scam from someone claiming to be an FBI agent, but using a state court number as the caller ID.
According to reports, the scammer calls saying the prospective victim is a person of interest in a disappearance case; that they need to take a survey; and then need to pay a sum of money to keep their survey answers confidential.
The number being “spoofed” in the caller ID is the main number for the 3rd District Courthouse in West Jordan.
If someone receives a call, they are encouraged to hang up and call their local law enforcement agency to report it.
The Utah State Courts will never threaten a person over the phone with arrest, or ask to pay fines or fees using pre-paid gift cards, or wire transfer.

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Tooele, UT— The Tooele County Courthouse will be closed all day tomorrow, June 19, while Tooele City repairs two water main lines.
Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant signed an order Tuesday directing the closure of the courthouse for one day.
The public is advised that court operations for Tooele will continue in temporary locations for that day:
• Emergency court filings, such as protective orders, can be filed at the Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake City, or at the West Jordan Courthouse, 8080 South Redwood Road, West Jordan
• Those who have questions about their criminal matter can contact their probation officer, or call 435-833-8040
• If you have a District Court filing that is due June 19, please call 801-233-9771

The Tooele County Courthouse will reopen and be back in operation on Thursday, June 20 .

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Salt Lake City, UT—The Utah Judicial Council is seeking public comment on four court commissioners who are up for retention for a four-year term, as required by Utah Code of Judicial Administration Rule 3-201. Individuals who wish to comment on the court commissioners are encouraged, but not required, to provide their names and contact information. The comment period closes on June 15, 2019.

The court commissioners up for retention and the email addresses to which comments should be sent are as follows:

Commissioner Christina L. Wilson
First District Court
Second District Court
Comments to brettf@utcourts.gov and larryw@utcourts.gov

Commissioner Catherine S. Conklin
Second District Court
Comments to larryw@utcourts.gov

Commissioner Thomas R. Morgan
Second District Court
Comments to larryw@utcourts.gov

Commissioner Joanna B. Sagers
Third District Court
Comments to peytons@utcourts.gov
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South Weber, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in South Weber. The position will replace Judge Reuben Renstrom who will retire effective May 31, 2019.

To be considered for a Justice Court judgeship in Davis 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, candidates must be a resident of Davis County or an adjacent county for at least six months immediately preceding appointment.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Court’s website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the court’s website (legacy.utcourts.gov/admin/jobs). The annual salary for the position is $11,932 with no benefits. For additional information, contact David Larson at (801) 479-3177 or by email at dlarson@southwebercity.com.

The deadline for applications is Monday, Jun. 10, 2019 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Amy Hernandez, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. For an application or information, email amymh@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to South Weber Mayor Jo Sjoblom within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Sjoblom then has 30 days in which to make a selection. The selection must then be certified by the Utah Judicial Council.

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