Utah judicial elections, 2012

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Elections, 2012
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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.

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]

In fact, 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. At times, these ratings are seen as rubber stamps, while other complain about negative results with no explanation. To learn more about controversy with 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]

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