Utah Supreme Court

The court of State Street is now in session. We ask the Legislature to approach the bench and unpack their arguments for adding more justices to the Utah Supreme Court.

A bill separate from the Utah Supreme Court proposal wants to add more judges for district courts, the juvenile court and the Court of Appeals. It’s an idea with broader agreement.

Among other judiciary changes, lawmakers will consider expanding the Utah Supreme Court by two justices. “We apply a presumption of good faith to the work you do,” Chief Justice Matthew Durrant told lawmakers. “I hope you will accord us that same presumption.”

Republican leaders say expanding the state’s highest court from five to seven justices makes practical sense for a growing state, but others see it as flirting dangerously with court packing.

Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson says until the Utah Supreme Court weighs in, there will be a “cloud” over the state’s 2026 midterm elections.

One GOP lawmaker characterized a judge's ruling that redrew the state’s congressional map as a “gross miscarriage of justice.” The main point of the session was to buy time for an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.

GOP lawmakers want the Utah Supreme Court to overturn the new map before the 2026 midterms.

Threats to judges are nothing new, but political pressure after recent high-profile rulings risks courts becoming “arenas of political retribution,” according to the American Bar Association.

Nielsen has served as a judge on Utah’s Third District Court since 2024 and brings both private practice and public sector legal experience to the state’s highest court. He still has to be confirmed by the Utah Senate.

This means the lower court’s decision that tossed out Utah’s current congressional maps still stands.

The Utah Legislature has asked the Utah Supreme Court to block a recent lower court ruling that threw out the state’s current congressional map. Plaintiffs in the case called the petition “jarring irony.”

In rejecting the state's argument, Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson pointed to partisan redistricting in Texas and California for 2026 as evidence that redistricting can indeed be done in Utah in coming weeks.