Utah Courts Recent Press Notifications

Midvale, UT — The Salt Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on Aug. 31, 2016, to select candidates for vacancies in South Salt Lake, South Jordan, and Midvale City Justice Courts to replace Judge Catherine M. Johnson, Judge Clinton Balmforth and Judge Ronald C. Wolthuis, who will retire effective Jan. 1, 2017. The commission will begin the meeting at 8:15 a.m. at the Midvale City Offices, 7505 South Holden Street, Midvale City.

The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and refinements or improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 8:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Following the public hearing, the meeting is closed to allow commission members to select a slate of three to five candidates for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Melisse Stiglich at (801) 578-3844 to request an appointment. Information on the Justice Court Nominating Commission members is available at legacy.utcourts.gov.

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Midvale, UT — Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in Midvale City. The position will replace Judge Ronald Wolthuis who will retire effective Jan. 1, 2017.

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, candidates must be a resident of the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Courts’ website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the courts’ website. Please note that the application has been updated since June 2016. The annual salary range for the position is $104,000 – $107,000 with benefits. For additional information, contact Rori Andreason at 801-567-7207 or by email at randreason@midvale.com.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday Aug. 3, 2016 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Melisse Stiglich, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241, or faxed to (801) 238-7828. For an application or more information, email melisses@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the Mayor of Midvale JoAnn B. Seghini within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Seghini 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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Sunset City, UT — The Davis County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on Aug. 22, 2016, to select a candidate for the Sunset City Justice Court to replace Judge Jerald Jensen, who will retire effective Jan. 1, 2017. The commission will begin the meeting at 8:30 a.m. at the Sunset City Offices, 200 West 1300 North, in the Sunset Room.

The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and refinements or improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Following the public hearing, the meeting is closed to allow commission members to select a slate of three to five candidates for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Melisse Stiglich at (801) 578-3844 to request an appointment. Information on the Justice Court Nominating Commission members is available at legacy.utcourts.gov.

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South Salt Lake, UT — Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in South Salt Lake City. The position will replace Judge Catherine M. Johnson who will retire effective Jan. 1, 2017.

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, candidates must be a resident of the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Courts’ website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the courts’ website. Please note that the application has been updated since June 2016. The annual salary range for the position is $100,000 to $115,000 DOE with benefits. For additional information, contact Chief of Staff Charee Peck at cpeck@southsaltlakecity.com.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Melisse Stiglich, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241, or faxed to (801) 238-7828. For an application or more information, email melisses@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the Mayor of South Salt Lake Cherie Wood within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Wood 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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South Jordan, UT—Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in South Jordan. The position will replace Judge Clinton Balmforth, who will retire effective Jan. 2, 2017.

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, candidates must be a resident of the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Courts’ website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the courts’ website. Please note that the application has been updated since June 2016. The annual salary range for the position is $85,690.00 – $121,673.00 DOQ with benefits. For additional information contact Debbie Lyman at 801-253-5203 or by email at dlyman@sjc.utah.gov.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Melisse Stiglich, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241, or faxed to (801) 238-7828. For an application or more information, email melisses@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the Mayor of South Jordan, David L. Alvord, within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Alvord 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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Sunset, UT—Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in Sunset City. The position will replace Judge Jerald Jensen, who will retire effective Jan. 1, 2017.

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 the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

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 courts’ website. Please note that the application has been updated since June 2016. The annual salary range for the position is $23,100 to $27,000 with some benefits. For additional information, contact Linda Youngdell at 801-614-9102 or by email at linday@sunset-ut.com.

The deadline for applications is Monday Aug. 1, 2016 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the attention of Melisse Stiglich, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241, or faxed to (801) 238-7828. For an application or more information, email melisses@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the Mayor of Sunset, Beverly MacFarlane, within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor MacFarlane 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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Salt Lake City, UT — Judge Royal I. Hansen was presented with the 2016 Peacekeeper Award by the Utah Council on Conflict Resolution (UCCR) on Friday.

Judge Hansen has been an outspoken advocate for the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Utah Courts. For the past 11 years, Judge Hansen has served as Chair of the Utah Judicial Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution. His reputation as an insightful judge and judicial leader has been invaluable to the advancement of alternative dispute resolution in our community.

“Judge Hansen is highly deserving of the Peacekeeper Award. He is the third judge to receive this award in the sixteen years since it was established,” said Nancy McGahey, UCCR Board of Directors member, and member of the Peacekeeper Selection Committee. “Judge Hansen’s many contributions to raising awareness and advancing the use of alternative dispute resolution have led to widespread support within and outside of our judicial system. His efforts have also advanced the ethical foundations of ADR practices. The UCCR thanks Judge Hansen for leaving this legacy to our community.”

Judge Hansen was appointed to the Third District Court in July 2003 by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt. He serves Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties. Judge Hansen received a law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1975. (More information)

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Fairview, UT— The Sanpete County Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of the Honorable Mark Kay McIff to fill the Fairview City Justice Court vacancy. The position will replace Judge Ivo Peterson who will retire effective July 1, 2016.

Mark McIff is currently the Justice Court judge in the Sevier and Piute County Justice Courts. He is an attorney who practices law in the south central Utah area. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting (1995) from Southern Utah University in Cedar City, and a juris doctorate degree (1998) from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. McIff has held several positions, including Piute County Attorney, Wayne County Attorney, Deputy Sevier County Attorney, Deputy Garfield County Attorney, city prosecutor for several cities in the district, and chief criminal prosecutor for the Wasatch County Attorney’s Office in Heber City. He has served as the chair of the Sevier County Republican Party. He Resides in Richfield with his wife, Stacee, and two daughters.

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Kane County, UT— The Kane County Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Gary L. Johnson to fill the Kane County Justice Court vacancy. The position will replace Judge F. Kirk Heaton who will retire effective June 30, 2016.

Gary Johnson is a fourth generation Kane County native and has resided in Kanab for the majority of his life. Johnson graduated from Kanab High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Utah University. Johnson Served as judge for the Kanab City Justice Court from 1998 until the court was dissolved in 2014. Since then he has served as Judge Pro Tem for the Kane County Justice Court. He also served a two-year term as the tribal Judge for the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians.

Salt Lake City, UT — Utah Supreme Court Justice Matthew B. Durrant has been elected to serve a second term as chief justice by a unanimous vote of his fellow justices.

Justice Durrant was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in January 2000 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt. He was selected as Chief Justice in 2012 when then Chief Justice Christine Durham stepped down from that role, but chose to stay on the Utah Supreme Court.

Once elected by a vote of the justices, the chief justice serves a four-year term. The chief justice presides over the Utah Supreme Court, as well as the Utah Judicial Council, which oversees the administrative operations of Utah State Courts.

“I feel privileged to work with four colleagues who are not only exemplary jurists, but remarkable human beings. I am deeply honored by the trust they have placed in me,” Durrant said.

Before his appointment to the Utah Supreme Court, Justice Durrant served as a trial judge in the Third Judicial District. 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. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984, and has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.

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