Utah Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 2022)
| Utah Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Lee vacancy |
| Date: June 30, 2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Jill Pohlman |
| Date: June 28, 2022 |
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) appointed Jill Pohlman to the Utah Supreme Court on June 28, 2022. Pohlman succeeded Justice Thomas Lee, who retired on June 30, 2022, to explore other opportunities in the legal field. Lee was originally scheduled to retire on July 31, 2022.[1][2] Pohlman was Gov. Cox's second nominee to the five-member supreme court.
At the time of the vacancy, midterm vacancies were filled via assisted appointment. The governor would appoint a replacement from a list of seven names recommended by a nominating commission. The nominee then must attain approval from the Utah State Senate. New appointees would serve for at least three years, after which they would be required to run in a yes-no retention election. If retained, supreme court justices serve subsequent terms of ten years.[3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Utah Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Jill Pohlman
At the time of her appointment to the Utah Supreme Court, Pohlman was the associate presiding judge on the Utah Court of Appeals. She joined that court in 2016 after being appointed by Governor Gary Herbert (R). Before that, Pohlman was in private practice and a partner with Stoel Rives LLP in Salt Lake City, Utah. She earned her bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Utah in 1993 and her J.D. from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1996.[4]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
Finalists
The Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission recommended seven finalists to Gov. Cox:[5]
- Third Judicial District judge Matthew Bates
- Third Judicial District judge James Gardner
- Third Judicial District judge Dianna Gibson
- Utah Court of Appeals judge Ryan M. Harris
- Utah Court of Appeals judge Jill Pohlman
- Salt Lake City Justice Court Judge Clemens Landau
- BYU Law School Professor Carolina Nunez
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Utah
The five justices of the supreme court are selected through assisted appointment. The governor selects a nominee from a list of recommended candidates from a judicial 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.[6]
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.[6]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by peer vote. The chief justice of the supreme court serves in that capacity for four years.[6]
Vacancies
When a vacancy occurs on the court, 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.[6]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Utah Supreme Court
Justices
Following Lee's retirement, the Utah Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ John A. Pearce | Appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Diana Hagen | Appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ Matthew Durrant | Appointed by Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) in 2000 | |
| ■ Paige Petersen | Appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) in 2017 |
About the court
| Utah Supreme Court |
|---|
|
| Court Information |
| Justices: 5 |
| Founded: 1894 |
| Location: Salt Lake City |
| Salary |
| Associates: $241,200[7] |
| Judicial Selection |
| Method: Assisted appointment (governor-controlled commission) |
| Term: 10 years |
| Active justices |
| Matthew Durrant, Diana Hagen, John A. Pearce, Paige Petersen, Jill Pohlman |
Founded in 1894, the Utah Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Matthew Durrant. In 2018, the court decided 212 cases.
As of September 2022, all five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.
The Utah Supreme Court is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In Utah, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Lee
- See also: Thomas Rex Lee
Justice Thomas Lee joined the Utah Supreme Court in 2010. He was appointed to the court by Governor Gary R. Herbert (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Lee worked as a full-time professor at Brigham Young University law school and practiced law with the firm Parr, Brown, Gee & Loveless.[8]
Lee earned a B.A. in economics, summa cum laude, from Brigham Young University and a J.D., with high honors, from the University of Chicago. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Harvie Wilkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and then for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court.[8]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ KSL.com, "Thomas Lee retires from Utah's Supreme Court, but still has big plans," July 3, 2022
- ↑ Office of Gov. Spencer J. Cox, "WATCH: GOV. SPENCER J. COX APPOINTS JUDGE JILL M. POHLMAN TO UTAH SUPREME COURT," June 28, 2022
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ Utah Courts, "Judges' Biographies - COURT OF APPEALS JUDGES," accessed July 6, 2022
- ↑ Office of Gov. Spencer J. Cox, "NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR UTAH SUPREME COURT VACANCY," accessed July 6, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Utah Courts, "Judges' Biographies: SUPREME COURT JUSTICES," accessed July 6, 2022
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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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