Utah Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2022)
| Utah Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Himonas vacancy |
| Date: March 1 ,2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Diana Hagen |
| Date: March 29, 2022 |
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) appointed Diana Hagen to the Utah Supreme Court on March 29, 2022. She assumed office on May 18, 2022. Hagen succeeded Justice Deno Himonas, who retired on March 1, 2022, to return to private practice.[1][2] Hagen was Gov. Cox's first 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: Diana Hagen
At the time of her appointment to the Utah Supreme Court, Hagen was a judge on the Utah Court of Appeals. She joined that court in 2017 after being appointed by Governor Gary Herbert (R) in 2017.[4] Before that, Hagen worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah from 2001 to 2017. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and her J.D. from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.[5]
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:[6]
- Fourth Judicial District judge Jennifer Brown
- Utah Court of Appeals judge Diana Hagen
- Utah Court of Appeals judge Ryan M. Harris
- Salt Lake City Justice Court judge Clemens Landau
- Brigham Young University Law School professor D. Carolina Núñez
- Utah Court of Appeals judge Jill Pohlman
- Fourth Judicial District judge Derek Pullan
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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 Himonas' retirement, the Utah Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ John A. Pearce | Appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Thomas Rex Lee | Appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) in 2010 | |
| ■ 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[8] |
| 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 Himonas
- See also: Deno Himonas
Justice Deno Himonas joined the Utah Supreme Court in 2014. He was appointed to the court by Governor Gary R. Herbert (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Himonas served as a judge on the Third Judicial District Court by Governor Olene Walker (R) in June 2004 and served on the court until his confirmation to the state supreme in February 2015. Prior to his judicial service, his career experience included working as a litigator with the law firm of Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough[9]
Himonas earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 1986 and his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1989.[9]
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
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas retires, plans return to private sector," accessed March 1, 2022
- ↑ 2KUTV, "Gov. Cox announces appointee to Utah Supreme Court," March 29, 2022
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ utahpolicy.com, "Governor appoints Hagen, Harris to the Utah Court of Appeals," June 22, 2017
- ↑ Desert News, "Herbert names 2 to Utah Court of Appeals," June 23, 2017
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "7 nominees announced for Utah Supreme Court vacancy," March 2, 2022
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Utah Courts, "Judges' Biographies: JUSTICE CONSTANDINOS HIMONAS," archived February 8, 2015
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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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