Utah Courts Recent Press Notifications

Emery County, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a part-time justice court judge position that will serve Emery County. The position will replace Judge Steven L. Stream who will retire on July 1, 2022.

To be considered for a justice court judgeship in Emery 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 earned a high school diploma or GED. In addition, candidates must be a resident of Emery 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 salary range for the position is $27,780 to $50,004 per year. For additional information, contact Mary Huntington, Emery County Human Resources Director, at (435) 381-3578.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, May 31, 2022 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 its nominees to the Emery  County Commission within 45 days of its first meeting. The Emery County Commission 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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Moab, UT – The next regularly scheduled meeting of Utah’s grand jury panel of judges will be on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at the Grand County Courthouse, located at 125 East Center Street, Moab UT 84532.¹

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.

Due to the continuing public health concerns regarding COVID-19, individuals (including members of the panel of judges) may choose to appear at the meeting remotely using video conferencing software. Individuals who have arranged to testify will appear for individual appointments either:

• at the courthouse, where panel staff will be present to facilitate the individual’s testimony to the panel of judges (including operating video conferencing software, if necessary); or
• from a location of the individual’s choosing using remote video conferencing software, the details of which will be communicated to the individual by panel staff.

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, May 30, 2022, 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 Eric A. Ludlow, 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://legacy.utcourts.gov/cal/grandjury

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

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Salt Lake City, UT—The Salt Lake County Nominating Commission has selected five nominees for a judicial vacancy that will serve Salt Lake City, Utah. The position will replace Judge John  Baxter who will retire in July of 2022.

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

• Yvette Donosso, J.D., attorney at law, resident of South Jordan,

• Lisa Garner, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Cottonwood Heights,

• Jonathan Jemming, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Millcreek,

• Jojo Liu, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City, and

• Todd Olsen, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City.

A comment period will be held through April 28, 2022. A final candidate will then be selected  by the Salt Lake City Mayor, Erin Mendenhall, within 30 days. The selection must then be certified by the Utah Judicial Council. To submit written comments about the candidates, please contact Amy Hernandez at amymh@utcourts.gov.

Salt Lake City, UT – The Utah Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments at the S.J. Quinney College of Law on Thursday, March 31, 2022 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Arguments will be held at 383 South University Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, in the Moot Courtroom.

The judicial panel comprised of Judge Diana Hagen, Judge Gregory Orme, and Judge Ryan Harris will hear the following cases:

Fox v. Fox, 20200949-CA – 9:30 a.m.

Viertel v. Body firm Aerobics, 20200841-CA – 10:00 a.m.

Hearings are open to the public. For more information contact Lisa Collins, 385-628-9166.

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Salt Lake City, UT—The Salt Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on March 21, 2022 to review applications for a justice court judge position that will serve Salt Lake City, Utah. The position will replace Judge John Baxter who will retire in July of 2022. The Commission will begin the meeting at 7:00 a.m. The meeting will be held online through this  meeting link:

https://utcourts.webex.com/utcourts/j.php?MTID=m06bf94d1271e86296e8896ed94b90a72

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 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 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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Washington Terrace, Utah—The Weber County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Paul H. Olds to fill the justice court judge position that  serves Washington Terrace, Utah. The position will replace Judge Patrick Lambert who retired in July of 2021.

Judge Olds holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Utah in Political Science and Philosophy. In December of 1993, he graduated from the University of Nebraska  College of Law. He has practiced law in Northern Utah for the past 27 years. For nine of those  years, Judge Olds served as an Assistant City Attorney for the cities of Ogden and Riverdale. In addition to that service, he served as the public defender for the cities of Clearfield and Harrisville.  As private defense counsel, he has handled matters in most of the justice and district courts in Northern Utah. For ten years Judge Olds taught criminal and business law courses at Weber State University.

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Farr West, Utah—The Weber County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Paul H. Olds to fill the justice court judge position that serves Farr West, Utah. The position will replace Judge Patrick Lambert who retired in July of 2021.

Judge Olds holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Utah in Political Science and Philosophy. In December of 1993, he graduated from the University of Nebraska  College of Law. He has practiced law in Northern Utah for the past 27 years. For nine of those years, Judge Olds served as an Assistant City Attorney for the cities of Ogden and Riverdale. In addition to that service, he served as the public defender for the cities of Clearfield and Harrisville.  As private defense counsel, he has handled matters in most of the justice and district courts in Northern Utah. For ten years, Judge Olds taught criminal and business law courses at Weber State University.

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Utah County, Utah—The Utah County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the  appointment of Judge Kelton Shawn Patten to fill the justice court judge position that serves Utah County, Utah. The position will replace Judge Scott Cullimore who retired in April, 2021.

Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Patten served as the public defender in the Utah Fourth District Court, American Fork Department, the Highland/Alpine Justice Court, and the Santaquin/Goshen Justice Court. Judge Patten received his J.D. from the University of Nevada, Boyd School of Law. He also received both an M.B.A. and a Bachelor’s degree in engineering/technology from Brigham Young University.

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Parowan, Utah—The Iron County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Matthew Carling to fill the justice court judge position that serves Parowan,  Utah. The position will replace Judge Brent Dunlap who resigned his position.

Matthew Carling earned his BA in Spanish from BYU, and an MBA and JD from Creighton University. Judge Carling has practiced law in Utah since 1999. He has been a prosecutor,  defense attorney and a judge pro tempore. Judge Carling has appeared in the Utah Appeals Court  and Utah Supreme Court. He is admitted to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

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Daggett County, Utah—The Daggett County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Jeri Allphin to fill the justice court judge position that serves Daggett County,  Utah. The position will replace Judge Charlene Hartmann who retired in December of 2021.

Jeri L Allphin joined the Utah State Bar Association in 1998. After serving as a law clerk in the Fourth District Court in Provo, she joined the law firm of Esplin and Weight as a trial attorney. In 2003, she joined Utah Valley University as the Sr. Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. After leaving UVU in 2016, she joined the firm of Seiler, Anderson, Fife and Marshall in Provo, Utah. She became a licensed Realtor in 2014 with the brokerage of Value 1st Realty. Judge Allphin received a bachelor degree in Business Management from Utah Valley University and her law degree from J Reuben Clark Law School.

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