Utah judicial elections, 2012

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Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2012
Judicial election dates

The Utah judicial elections consisted of a retention election on November 6th.

Judges in Utah compete in retention elections. Judges on the District Courts, Justice Courts and Juvenile Courts serve four-year terms.

## Utah judicial elections summary, 2012

|  |  Supreme  |  Appellate  |  Trial

|
|
|

Total candidates  |  0  |  |  26
Unopposed candidates  |  0 |  |
Judges facing retention  |  0 |  |  26
Judges retained |  0 |  |  26
Judges re-elected |  |  |
Judges not re-elected |  |  |
New judges elected |  |  |
Partisan or Nonpartisan |  | Retention |

## Judges up for retention[edit]

### First Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

BurbankJeffrey Burbank A| Yes| 48,199| 87.8%A
AllenKevin K. Allen A| Yes| 47,377| 86.3%A

### Second Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

ConnorsDavid M. Connors A| Yes| 139,337| 80.6%A
FrostJanice Frost A| Yes| 140,923| 81.1%A
DeCariaMark R. DeCaria A| Yes| 140,922| 81.0%A
DiRedaMichael D. DiReda A| Yes| 139,768| 80.7%A
HadleyScott M. Hadley A| Yes| 143,720| 82.4%A
WestW. Brent West A| Yes| 142,813| 81.6%A

### Third Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

BoydenAnn Boyden A| Yes| 275,722| 79.4%A
QuinnAnthony Quinn A| Yes| 265,722| 76.9%A
NolanC. Dane Nolan A| Yes| 268,769| 77.7%A
BehrensCharles D. Behrens A| Yes| 271,250| 78.6%A
LindsleyElizabeth Lindsley A| Yes| 274,605| 79.0%A
HansenRoyal I. Hansen A| Yes| 268,474| 77.4%A

### Fourth Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

JohnsonChristine S. Johnson A| Yes| 136,844| 82.7%A
PullanDerek Pullan A| Yes| 139,104| 83.9%A
NoonanMary Noonan A| Yes| 138,010| 83.4%A

### Fifth Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

LudlowEric A. Ludlow A| Yes| 52,476| 84.7%A
WestfallG. Michael Westfall A| Yes| 51,200| 82.9%A
ShumateJames L. Shumate A| Yes| 52,301| 83.5%A

### Sixth Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

BagleyMarvin D. Bagley A| Yes| 18,194| 82.6%A

### Eighth Judicial District[edit]

Candidate| Incumbent| Retention vote:| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

PetersonEdwin T. Peterson A| Yes| 13,882| 84.2%A
SteeleLarry A. Steele A| Yes| 14,370| 86.7%A

## In the news[edit]

### Utah evaluation commission releases retention rankings[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: Judges seeking retention are judged on September 13, 2012.

The Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission has released its reports and recommendations for judges standing for retention in 2012. The commission was created by the Utah State Legislature in 2008 in an effort to provide essential information to voters on judges up for retention. This year, the commission used surveys of attorneys, court staff and jurors to rate judges. In addition, they utilized courtroom observation ratings by volunteers.[1]

These aspects were compiled by the commission to determine whether a judge meets the minimum performance standard. All judges ranked this year met that standard, and all twenty-six were recommended for retention by the commission.[2]

Only two judges were not recommended unanimously. Those were Judges Christine S. Johnson and Shauna L. Kerr. In the report on Judge Johnson, 80 out of 88 attorneys questioned recommended her retention. Also, in ratings on specific categories of performance (such as legal ability, communication, integrity and judicial temperament), Johnson scored in the 99-101st percentile in comparison with her peers. Results from jurors placed her within the 94-98th percentile.[3]

For Judge Kerr, 34 out of 35 attorneys recommended her retention in surveys. For individual categories, 3.94 was her lowest average score, which was in legal ability. The commission determined that a score of 3 was needed to meet performance standards. Furthermore, when asked for a word to describe the judge, 139 out of 140 responses were positive.[4]

Leading up to an election, commissions and bar associations across the nation release rankings of judicial performance. To learn more about recommendations this year, read JP Election Brief: Ready for the next round of primaries.

### Utah 2012 retention elections[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: 2012 Retention Elections on July 5, 2012.

This year, Utah has 25 trial court judges standing for retention. At least one judge from each Judicial District is eligible for retention, excepting the Seventh District.[5]

For the first time, the Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission will help voters decide whether to retain their judges. It will survey attorneys, jurors and court staff who interact with the judges, and utilize a method of courtroom observation as well.[6]

## See also[edit]

* Utah judicial elections

## External links[edit]

* Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission website

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, Frequently Asked Questions
2. ↑ Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission website Information collected by looking through each evaluation
3. ↑ Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, The Honorable Christine S. Johnson
4. ↑ Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, The Honorable Shauna L. Kerr
5. ↑ Utah judicial elections, 2012
6. ↑ Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, Frequently Asked Questions

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