Justice Court Reform Task Force JUDICIAL COUNCIL • UTAH

Judge Paul Farr, Chair Jim Peters, State Justice Court Administrator Michael Drechsel, Assistant State Court Administrator TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP Justice Courts Governor’s Office Judge Paul Farr (CHAIR) Senator Kirk Cullimore Ron Gordon Third District Justice Court – Sandy, Herriman, Alta Senate District 9 General Counsel Justice Courts Utah House of Representatives Comm. Criminal & Juvenile Justice Judge Brent Dunlap Representative Craig Hall Kim Cordova, Executive Director Fifth District Justice Court – Cedar City, Parowan House District 33 Joanna Landau, Director - Office of Indigent Defense Services Board of Justice Court Judges Utah League of Cities & Towns Defense Attorneys Judge Brian Brower Roger Tew Ann Marie Taliaferro Second District Justice Court – Sunset, Clearfield, Morgan Senior Policy Advisor Utah Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers Utah Supreme Court Utah Association of Counties Prosecutors Paul Burke Commissioner Jerry Taylor Ryan Robinson Advisory Committee on Rules of Appellate Procedure Garfield County Commissioner Statewide Association of Prosecutors Utah Court of Appeals Civil Attorneys Prosecutors Judge Ryan Harris George Sutton Anna Anderson Court of Appeals Jones Waldo Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office District Courts Judge Roger Griffin Jim Peters Cathy Dupont Michael Drechsel Fourth District Court – American Fork Task Force Staff: Justice Court Administrator Deputy State Court Administrator Assistant State Court Administrator EVOLUTION OF JUSTICE COURTS

Creation of Justice Courts HB0160 Law degrees required for judges in largest counties Dissolution of Circuit Courts Utah Supreme Court – Simler v. Chilel Expansion of Justice Court Jurisdiction Right to a jury trial in small claims cases

Nehring Commission Implemented: Judicial selection and retention. Code of Judicial Administration Salary protections for judges. Rule 9-109: Creation of presiding judges Partially implemented: Advisory Committee of the Utah Fixed salary for judges. Supreme Court – Procedural Not implemented: Reforms for Justice Courts Transition to full-time courts. Internal judiciary subcommittee At least a 4-year degree for all judges. looking at de novo appeals and other Make judges state court employees. areas of reform Utah Judicial Council Justices Audio Utah Supreme Court of the recordings Justice Court Reform Task Force Peace required

1850-1989 1989 1996 2007 2011 2016 2018 2019 JUSTICE COURT APPEALS

Elimination of de novo appeals in favor of an on-the-record appeal requires changing justice courts to “courts of record”

Then the following apply:

Utah Constitution, Art. VIII, Sec. 1: Utah Constitution, Art. VIII, Sec. 8: The governor fills appointments on courts of record. “Courts not of record shall also be established by statute.” Utah Constitution, Art. VIII, Sec. 7: Either a constitutional amendment would be required to eliminate All judges of courts of record shall be admitted to practice law. this requirement, or some type of tiered system would be required where some cases (misdemeanors and small claims, for Utah Constitution Art. VIII, Sec. 10: example) would be heard “on-the-record,” while other cases Judges of courts of record may not practice law, which essentially (traffic and infraction) would not. requires full-time judicial positions. REFORM PROPOSALS (to date)

CONFERENCE OF STATE COURT ADMINISTRATORS BOARD OF JUSTICE COURT JUDGES Law degree for all judges On-the-record appeal On-the-record appeals Law degree for all judges Independent appointment process (already implemented) Expand jurisdiction to include Class A’s Court Governance (bring justice courts under the AOC) Remove geographic restriction for application Transition to all full-time judges TASK FORCE MEMBERS Established a fixed salary for judges Small claims online dispute resolution More fully utilize magistrate capacity Small claims jurisdiction (geographic and subject matter) Bring justice courts under the AOC umbrella Collection of racial statistics Utah Code to clarify justice courts are part of the state judiciary Pretrial release practices Standardize budget and budget process Fine and sentencing practices Consolidate part-time clerical positions Indigent defense practices Evaluate best structure to accommodate these recommendations TASK FORCE NEXT STEPS

• Receive and consider additional proposals and feedback • Aggregate and study relevant data • Prepare report and recommendations for future action • Future task force meetings: Task force meetings are scheduled each month through May 2021. The schedule is available on the committee website below.

To learn more visit http://www.utcourts.gov/utc/jc-reform/ or email [email protected]