Scott N. Johansen
Scott N. Johansen is a former Seventh Judicial District juvenile court judge for Carbon County, Emery County, Grand County, and San Juan County, Utah.[1] Johansen was first appointed to this position in January 1992.[2] He retired on January 1, 2016, after receiving criticism for ordering a foster child to be taken away from a same-sex couple. Read more about this case below.[3]
Education
Johansen received his J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark College of Law at Brigham Young University in 1977.[2]
Career
Johansen worked as an attorney for the firm of Frandsen, Keller & Jensen from 1977 to 1979. He has also served as city attorney for multiple cities and towns in Carbon, Emery, and Sanpete Counties and is a past president of the Utah Association of Counties.[2]
Noteworthy cases
Criticism after ruling to remove foster child from same-sex couple (2015)
- See also: Utah Seventh Judicial District
Judge Scott Johansen ruled on November 11, 2015, to remove a foster child from a same-sex couple, saying that the baby would be better off with a heterosexual couple. Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland were married in 2014. They took in a 1-year old baby girl as a foster child in August 2015, and planned to adopt to her with the approval of the girl's biological mother. According to Hoagland, the judge said, "through his research he had found out that kids in homosexual homes don’t do as well as they do in heterosexual homes."[4] The attorney of the baby's biological mother, Mandie Torgerson, said that Johansen did not cite his research but said that there were "a myriad" of studies supporting his decision.[5]
The director of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services said his office must comply with the court order, but was having his attorneys look at the order to ensure that removing the child wouldn't be breaking the law. Peirce and Hoagland said they intended to appeal the decision. Judge Johansen's office said that he could not comment on the case.[5]
Following the backlash of his decision, Judge Johansen temporarily reversed his ruling on November 13.[6] Concerned that he could still prevent them from keeping the child, Peirce and Hoagland requested that the judge be disqualified. Johansen said that the couple did not have legal standing to make him do so, but he nevertheless stepped down from the case on November 16. Judge Mary Manley was assigned the case.[7]
Elections
2014
Johansen was retained to the Seventh District with 76.2 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. [8]
2008
Johansen was retained to the juvenile court in November 2008.[9]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Utah Courts, "State Courts Directory," accessed November 13, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Utah Courts, "Judge Scott N. Johansen Bio," accessed November 13, 2015
- ↑ ABC News, "Utah Judge Retires After Criticism in Gay Foster Parent Case," January 4, 2016
- ↑ Washington Post, "Utah judge removes lesbian couple’s foster child, says she’ll be better off with heterosexuals," November 12, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 KUTV, "Foster parents say child removed from their home because they are gay," November 11, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Utah Judge Drops Order on Lesbians’ Foster Child," November 13, 2015
- ↑ Durango Herald, "Utah judge steps down from gay foster case," November 16, 2015
- ↑ Utah Elections, "2014 Candidate Filings," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ Utah Elections, "Election Results," accessed November 13, 2015
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
