Utah
Utah’s highest court is the Utah Supreme Court. The court has three justices, one associate chief justice, and one chief justice, who is chosen by majority vote of the members of the court for four-year terms. (Source: Utah Constitution)
Judicial Selection
The governor nominates a Utah Supreme Court justice from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by a majority of the state senate. After at least three years on the court, a justice may stand for a 10-year term in an unopposed yes/no retention vote at the time of Utah’s next general election. Justices may seek additional terms in the same retention process. To fill an interim vacancy, the governor nominates a candidate from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by a majority of the state senate. There are no term limits. The mandatory retirement age is 75.
State Constitution
Utah’s first and only state constitution was adopted in 1895. As of January 1, 2026, it had 131 amendments. (Data on file with John Dinan, Wake Forest University.)
The Utah State Constitution Is ‘Distinctively Undistinctive’
Filters
The Quiet Campaign Against Direct Democracy
As citizens have increasingly employed their powers to make or change law, state officials have used a variety of tactics to make doing so more difficult.
Hemani Is Not the End of Drug-and-Gun Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that it was unconstitutional to disarm a person based on regular marijuana use contains lessons for state judges, policymakers, and litigants.
Are State Courts More Protective of Transgender People than Federal Courts?
As the U.S. Supreme Court deals another blow to trans rights, a new survey finds that almost 55 percent of related state cases from 2022 to 2024 had a positive impact on trans lives.
A Territorial Death Penalty Case Carries a Warning for the States
A federal court of appeals case from the U.S. Virgin Islands shows how Congress could take charging decisions away from state prosecutors and impose capital punishment for state crimes.
State Constitutions Must Better Protect Children
State and federal law fails children caught in custody battles, sometimes with tragic results.
A New Way Some State Courts Limit Abortion Rights
Hostile courts are increasingly using procedural hurdles to limit access to abortion, allowing them to avoid explicitly grappling with questions over reproductive rights.
250 Years of State Constitutions
Early state charters are essential to understanding the American founding.
The Many Versions of State Constitutional Lockstepping
The practice of interpreting state constitutions identically to their federal counterpart is often criticized in blanket terms. But the ways state courts lockstep vary widely.