The Utah Legislature’s move to call a special session and ask voters to change the state constitution to sidestep a Utah Supreme Court ruling that upset the Republican majority may just be the beginning.
Citing growing “frustration” among conservatives that Utah’s judges are “disconnected” from Utahns, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, told Utah News Dispatch last week more legislative action could be forthcoming to bring reforms to Utah’s judicial branch.
Legislative proposals that could surface as soon as the Utah Legislature’s next general session in January may include changing how Utah’s judges are sent to the bench, FOX 13 first reported. Currently, Utah’s judges are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, but Schultz said some members of the House want to explore making Utah’s judges elected by Utah voters.
“Is that something we should do here in the state of Utah? I’m not saying that it is. But the conversation’s coming,” he said. “The conversation’s going to happen.”
Schultz acknowledged Utah voters already have the ability to weigh in on Utah’s judges through retention elections, but he said oftentimes voters don’t know enough about those judges to make an educated decision on whether they should keep their jobs or not. He said legislation could also seek more “transparency around retention,” as well as consider term limits for Utah Supreme Court justices.
“Everything’s on the table right now,” Schultz said. “Moving the judiciary closer to the people is a trend that’s happening nationwide. And, you know, it’s starting to percolate here in Utah.”
The 2025 general legislative session is likely to “kick off a discussion,” the speaker said, but he added any changes could “take a couple years.”
“We don’t want to rush into any type of decision,” Schultz said. “We want to do what’s right. We want to go through a good process. We want the public to be involved in that process, and we’ll see what that looks like.”
Read the full story at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
