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Utah Supreme Court elections, 2024
| 2024 State Judicial Elections | |
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The term of one Utah Supreme Court justice expired on January 5, 2025. One seat was up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was July 15, 2024.
One of five justices on the Utah Supreme Court is up for retention election— Matthew Durrant. If retained, supreme court justices serve subsequent terms of ten years. Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) appointed Durrant to the supreme court and this was his second retention election.
Heading into the election, all five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.[1]
Candidates and results
Durrant's seat
Utah Supreme Court
Matthew Durrant was retained to the Utah Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 77.3% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
77.3
|
958,760 | ||
No |
22.7
|
281,663 | |||
Total Votes |
1,240,423 | ||||
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Candidate profiles
There were no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles would have appeared here as candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Utah
About the Utah Supreme Court
- See also: Utah Supreme Court
The Utah Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Utah. It was established in 1894 when Utah became a state, partly growing out of an earlier territorial supreme court that was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1850. The court is composed of five members—a chief justice, an associate chief justice, and three justices—who serve renewable 10-year terms.[2]
Political composition
This was the political composition of the court heading into the 2024 election.
| ■ Matthew Durrant | Appointed by Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) in 2000; retained in 2014 | |
| ■ Diana Hagen | Appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ John A. Pearce | Appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert (R) in 2015; retained in 2020 | |
| ■ Paige Petersen | Appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) in 2017; retained in 2022 | |
| ■ Jill Pohlman | Appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R) in 2022 |
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Utah
Each of the five justices on the Utah Supreme Court serves terms of 10 years. In the case of a vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of seven names recommended by a nominating commission. The nominee then must attain approval from the Utah Senate. New appointees serve for at least three years, after which they must run in a yes-no retention election. If retained, supreme court justices serve subsequent terms of ten years.[3]
Qualifications
To serve on the Utah Supreme Court, a judge must be:
- a citizen of the United States;
- a state resident for at least five years;
- admitted to practice law in the state;
- at least 30 years old; and
- no more than 75 years old.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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
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