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Denise Lindberg
Denise Posse Lindberg was a judge for the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County, Utah. She was appointed to the court by former Governor Michael Leavitt in November 1998 and retired from the bench on January 1, 2015.[1][2]
Education
Lindberg earned her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Utah. She went on to receive her J.D. degree from Brigham Young University in 1988.[1]
Career
Lindberg served as a law clerk for Judge Monroe G. McKay of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court. She then practiced appellate and healthcare law in Washington, D.C., and in Salt Lake City. Lindberg was then appointed to the Third Judicial District by Governor Michael Leavitt in November 1998.[1]
Elections
2008
Lindberg was retained to the Third Judicial District in November 2008.[3]
Notable ruling
FLDS property trust case 2009
Judge Lindberg ruled "that several people who want to intervene in the court-supervised handling of the United Effort Plan Trust have no legal standing to do so". The United Effort Plan was established by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) Church, led by Warren Jeffs. It reportedly had $114 million in assets, but was no longer in the church's control. A state court took it over after allegations of mismanagement were leveled against Jeffs. Individuals seeking to replace a court-appointed special fiduciary manager for the plan were rebuffed in Lindberg's three page ruling, as were "potential beneficiaries of the trust [that] have previously been found to not have legal standing".[4]
FLDS property trust case 2011
In 2005, the State of Utah took control of the FLDS Church’s United Effort Plan Trust because of allegations of mismanagement by sect leader Warren Jeffs. Last February, Judge Dee Benson ruled that the state’s takeover was unconstitutional and violated the group’s First Amendment rights to practice their religion. Benson’s decision on April 8th gave back temporary control to the FLDS Church.[5]
Benson’s decision made it the first time since 2005 that the polygamous sect would control the $110 million trust that holds most of the land, homes, and businesses in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hilldale, Utah, as well as some Canadian properties.[5]
Judge Lindberg issued an order for the state to maintain control over the trust and further ordered Bruce Wisan, the man overseeing the trust for the state, to resist the federal order. Lindberg told the federal court that returning the control back to the church would “cause irreparable harm to those who, directly or indirectly, have relied on the decisions of the state court over the nearly six years that Judge Lindberg has overseen the trust at issue.”[5]
As a result, Judge Benson ordered Judge Lindberg to appear in his courtroom on April 15, 2011. He wanted an explanation of her decision admonishing the trust administrator of the FLDS to not comply with Benson's federal order which gave the group temporary control of a property trust.[5]
Judge Lindberg refused, leading Judge Benson to threaten to use the U.S. Marshals to haul her into his courtroom.[6]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Utah Courts.gov, "Denise Posse Lindberg Biography," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ Utah Policy.com, "Governor appoints Gardner to the 3rd District Court," December 15, 2014
- ↑ Utah Elections, "2008 General Election Results," accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Deseret News, "Judge rules for court supervision in UEP case" July 18, 2009
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Salt Lake City Examiner, "Federal judge orders Utah judge to appear in court" April 15, 2011
- ↑ Newport Television LLC, "UPDATE: In the battle of the judges, score one for Judge Lindberg" April 16, 2011
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Utah • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Utah
State courts:
Utah Supreme Court • Utah Court of Appeals • Utah District Courts • Utah Juvenile Courts • Utah Justice Courts
State resources:
Courts in Utah • Utah judicial elections • Judicial selection in Utah
