Here are the nominees being considered for 2 new seats on expanded Utah Supreme Court

The Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission has selected 12 nominees that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox may choose from when deciding how to fill two new seats on the Utah Supreme Court. 

The Utah Legislature earlier this year expanded the state’s highest court from five justices to seven, while also adding two Court of Appeals judges and three new district court judges. The bill, SB134, came with a price tag of about $6.5 million to fund the new judges, staff, and construction of new Utah Supreme Court chambers. 

The nominees for the vacancies, according to a news released issued by the governor’s office, include: 

• Christopher Ballard, who currently works as general counsel and chief of staff for the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
• Christopher Bates, a shareholder of Kirton McConkie. 
• Matthew Bates, a 3rd District Court judge. 
• Matthew Bell, a 5th District Court judge.
• Samuel Chiara, an 8th District Court judge. 
• Stephen Dent, assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
• William Hains, deputy division director of criminal appeals for the Utah Attorney General’s Office. 
• Jay Jorgensen, senior counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 
• Derek Pullan, a 4th District Court judge. 
• Stanford Purser, solicitor general for the Utah Attorney General. 
• E. Blaine Rawson, a 2nd District Court judge.
• Ryan Tenney, a Utah Court of Appeals judge.

The court expansion came amid tension between the Utah Legislature and the judiciary, after Republican lawmakers have expressed frustration with the court’s rulings against them — particularly in an anti-gerrymandering lawsuit that resulted in a court-ordered congressional map that turned one of the state’s four red districts blue. 

While advocating for the court expansion, Utah’s GOP legislative leaders have argued it wasn’t to politically influence the court, but rather to encourage more nuanced decision-making. 

Utahns have the opportunity to weigh in on the list of nominees through written comments submitted to the Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission. Comments can be submitted by emailing judicialvacancies@utah.gov or by mailing the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, P.O. Box 142330, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2330.

The deadline to submit a comment is noon on May 10. 

After reviewing public comments, the nominating commission may then request further information or conduct an investigation of the nominees. 

After the public comment period, the names will also be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to select appointees. They will then be subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate. 

The all-male list of nominees could change the dynamics of the Utah Supreme Court, which is currently made up of a majority of women. The court’s current justices are: Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, Associate Chief Justice Jill Pohlman, Justice Paige Petersen, Justice Diana Hagen, and Justice John Nielsen.

Both Pohlman and Hagen are up for a retention election in November. 

In recent weeks, Hagen has been caught up in a scandal after records were released by the Utah House showing the Judicial Conduct Commission had conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations that she had an alleged affair with an attorney involved in the state’s high-profile redistricting lawsuit. 

The JCC dismissed the allegations on the basis that they lacked “sufficient evidence,” and it did not conduct a full investigation. After the records were released to the media, Cox and the state’s top Republican legislative leaders called for an independent investigation. 

Other new judge positions

So far, a pool of nominees have been selected for one of the other lower-court positions created by the Utah Legislature’s court expansion.

For one new 4th District Court judge, the 4th District Judicial Nominating commission has selected the following nominees: 

• Joshua Esplin, assistant director and trial attorney for the Utah County Public Defenders Association. 
• Brian Miller, deputy county attorney for the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
• Samuel Pead, assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office 
• Meagan Rudd, a partner and attorney for The Rudd Firm P.C. 
• Ryan Stack, deputy county attorney and prosecuting attorney for Summit County.

Nominations for the other two new district court judge positions (for the 3rd District Court and 5th District Court) are still pending. 

The selection process for the two new Court of Appeals judges has also yet to take place. The application process is expected to start 10 days after the governor selects appointees for the Utah Supreme Court.

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