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Utah chief justice urges outcome‑focused courts, highlights drug courts and racial‑fairness task force
Summary
In a State of the Judiciary address to the Utah House, the chief justice highlighted a shift toward problem‑solving courts (notably drug courts), cited striking recidivism figures, and said a Judicial Council task force will issue racial and ethnic fairness recommendations this spring.
Chief Justice (Utah State Supreme Court) delivered the State of the Judiciary to the Utah House, telling legislators the courts are moving from a narrow process focus to an outcome orientation that, in his view, can "reinvgorate the confidence of the public in their judiciary." He opened by recognizing other Supreme Court members, Judge Russell Bench of the Court of Appeals and state court administrator Dan Becker, and noted the court is in transition as two justices depart.
The chief justice urged lawmakers to support programs that pair legal process with problem‑solving interventions. "Less than 1 out of 10 graduates from Utah Drug Courts have gone back to drug use and crime," he said, contrasting that with his estimate that offenders who receive only punishment "reoffend in at least 7 out of every 10 cases." He said Representative Swallow, Senator Montgomery and Governor Levitt had proposed "several million dollars" to expand drug courts and that the Judicial Council "heartily supports that proposal."
Beyond drug courts, the chief justice described local restorative initiatives — mentoring programs in Salt Lake, juvenile outreach in Utah County, a Salina pumpkin patch maintained by juveniles whose proceeds go to victim restitution, and volunteer mediators and CASA volunteers statewide — as examples of courts working with communities to address the causes behind crime.
On family law, he summarized a Judicial Council recommendation that mediation and other dispute‑resolution methods be used more often before family law cases reach judges. The council plans a new standing committee on Children and Family Law to develop implementation steps, and he said two legislators would be invited to serve on that committee.
The chief justice also told the House the Judicial Council's Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Fairness had conducted 27 public hearings with more than 1,200 participants and would issue recommendations later in the spring; some suggestions may become legislative proposals. He said the courts concur with a recent Constitutional Revision Commission review that concluded Utah's selection, retention and discipline processes were working as designed, and pledged continued efforts to earn public trust.
The House later moved to "spread the remarks of Justice Howe on the pages of the House Journal," a motion the chamber approved by voice vote.
The address closed with an appeal for continued legislative support and for members to learn more about court programs, including volunteering for CASA or mentoring initiatives.
