Utah lawmakers take steps to censure judge who drew House speaker’s ire

Utah lawmakers pushing a judge to resign over comments he made in a child pornography case took another step Monday to express their disapproval.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz has repeatedly called out 7th District Judge Don Torgerson for his remarks about the 22-year-old defendant’s privilege in a hearing last year and for handing down probation instead of more time behind bars. 

“Our hope was that Judge Torgerson would just resign,” Schultz told reporters Monday. He called Torgerson’s comments “wrong, and it boils my blood that people want to justify what he said. That’s unjustifiable.”

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Schultz, R-Hooper, said lawmakers considered impeachment but not everyone agreed the judge’s actions fit an impeachable offense. He said he’s calling attention to the case in hopes that voters, who will decide whether to retain Torgerson in two years, take notice.  

A spokesperson for the Utah Courts did not immediately return requests seeking comment on behalf of Torgerson. 

During the sentencing hearing in May, he referenced the defendant’s privilege twice, KSL-TV reported. The judge also said he had seen worse depictions of child sexual abuse than the evidence before him, adding he didn’t mean to minimize the crimes. 

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A House panel voted unanimously Monday to advance HR8, a measure to admonish and censure Torgerson that expresses their opinion but without carrying a penalty or the force of law. 

The committee voted to alter the resolution before approving it, removing mention of the judge handing down a “lighter” sentence. They made the change after Michael Drechsel, assistant state court administrator, said the Legislature had a hand in shaping the punishment, which included credit for about three-and-a-half months the man served. 

“There’s nothing in this resolution that indicates the truth of the matter,” Drechsel said. 

He noted the Legislature adopts recommendations on penalties for judges to consider and said the sentence in question “was squarely in the middle of those sentencing guidelines.” 

Moreover, Drechsel told the committee, the prosecutor dismissed 18 of 20 first-degree felonies and reduced the remainder to second-degree felony sentences, pushing the case into territory where the presumed penalty is probation, not prison.  

The House resolution doesn’t require approval from the Senate, but leaders of that chamber weighed in during a Monday news conference. 

Sen. Mike McKell, majority assistant whip, called the resolution “misguided.” 

“Yes, absolutely, the judge said some dumb things,” said McKell, R-Spanish Fork. But he questioned why a prosecutor wanting a harsher penalty agreed to drop the felony counts that were dismissed. 

Asked why the measure is a House resolution and not a shared effort with the Senate, Schultz said McKell and Torgersen are friends. McKell told reporters Monday that he knows the judge. 

The most recent public official admonished by lawmakers was former state school board member Natalie Cline, who was censured in 2024 after posting a high school basketball player’s picture online and publicly questioning her gender.  

The condemnation of Torgerson coincides with Republican lawmakers’ recent moves to reshape the judiciary after a series of court decisions derailing their agenda on issues like redistricting and abortion. They created a new court this year to hear constitutional challenges and expanded the Utah Supreme Court from five justices to seven. Gov. Spencer Cox has signed both measures into law. 

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