Judges in northern Utah are about three times as likely to put someone convicted of a third-degree felony behind bars as judges in the southeastern part of the state, raising questions about whether justice is being equally applied statewide, according to a new legislative audit.
From 2017 to 2025, a defendant sentenced in the 7th District — covering Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan Counties — was sent to prison or jail 24% of the time for a third-degree felony, auditors found. Judges in the state’s six northern counties sentenced convicts to prison or jail roughly 75% of the time, for the same severity of crime.
Judges have broad discretion when it comes to sentencing, but auditors said the Judicial Council, which oversees the courts, does not regularly monitor disparities in sentencing and could not provide an adequate explanation for why they exist.
“We are concerned, of course, at the level of variation observed here,” Jordan Green, one of the staff auditors, told lawmakers Wednesday, “because, simply put, justice shouldn’t depend on the district you’re in or the judge assigned to your case.”
House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, suggested that someone might want to consider not committing a crime in a district with a high rate of prison sentences versus one with a lower rate.
Read the full article by Robert Gehrke at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.