Utah Supreme Court
The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, and three justices. All justices are appointed by the governor of Utah, with confirmation by the Utah Senate. The five justices vote among themselves for the position of chief justice and associate chief justice, who each serve a term of four years.
Utah Supreme Court | |
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Since 1998, the Utah Supreme Court has met in the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse. The Court previously met in the Utah State Capitol. | |
Established | 1894 |
Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
Composition method | Executive appointment with legislative confirmation and retention elections |
Authorized by | Utah State Constitution |
Appeals to | Supreme Court of the United States |
Number of positions | 5 |
Website | Official site |
Chief Justice | |
Currently | Matthew B. Durrant |
Since | March 26, 2012 |
Jurist term ends | January 5, 2025 |
History
In 1850, the United States Congress passed "An Act to Establish a Territorial Government for Utah", Section 9 of which provided that "the judicial power of said territory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District Court, and Justices of the Peace".[1]
In 1998, the Utah Supreme Court moved into the Scott M. Matheson courthouse. The multimillion-dollar building was nicknamed the "Taj Mahal" by some critics over its cost.[2] Prior to that, the court met in the Utah State Capitol.[3]
Supreme Court Justices
As of November 2017, the justices are:
- Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant Appointed January 2000, became Chief Justice April 2012.
- Associate Chief Justice Thomas R. Lee Appointed June 2010, became Associate Chief Justice February 2012.[4]
- Justice Constandinos Himonas Appointed February 2015.[5]
- Justice John A. Pearce Appointed November 2015.[6]
- Justice Paige Petersen Appointed 2017.[7]
References
- 9 Stat. 453 (September 9, 1850).
- "BAR MAY ANTE UP TO ENHANCE COURTHOUSE". DeseretNews.com. 1997-03-08. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- Reavy, Pat (2010-06-15). "Security scarce at courthouse when Ronnie Lee Gardner murdered attorney". Deseret News. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- "Story Details - Governor Gary Herbert". www.utah.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- Manson, Pamela (February 13, 2015). "Judge Deno Himonas gets nod from Senate committee for Utah Supreme Court". Sltrib.com. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
- "Story Details - Governor Gary Herbert". www.utah.gov. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
- "Gov. Herbert picks judge with 'great intellectual firepower' to fill Utah Supreme Court vacancy". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Supreme Court of Utah. |
- Official website
- "Utah", Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School, OCLC 1078785565,
Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law Library