Chief Justice Durham tells Utah Legislature courts must 'learn' to meet rising needs, asks for pay and program funding

Chief Justice Christine Durham addressed a joint convention of the Utah Legislature on the state of the judiciary, urging lawmakers to back funding requests that she said are critical to court performance and public confidence.

"Being a judge is a little bit like being a permanent student," Durham said, framing the judiciary as a "learning organization" that depends on information, responsiveness and continual adaptation. She recounted participating in the IOU immersion program for foster-care cases and described seeing "more fathers or those claiming to be fathers in the courtroom than there were children" in one juvenile docket she observed.

Durham told legislators that every judicial district in Utah now has at least one drug court and that the Judicial Council has issued new standards for their operation. "We need resources to expand those efforts," she said, noting the governor's proposed budget includes funding to support expansion and asking lawmakers for their support.

She highlighted divorce mediation, required statewide by a bill sponsored last year by Representative Ferry, as an example of a successful reform. "Since it went statewide last May, of 746 cases that have been mediated, 84 percent were completely resolved by the parties," Durham said, using the statistic to argue mediation improves satisfaction and outcomes.

Durham raised concerns about judicial recruitment and compensation, citing a court survey and data showing turnover and near-term retirements. She said the nominating commission received fewer applicants than expected for recent vacancies and noted that the governor has included an 11 percent compensation increase in his budget proposal; she asked the Legislature to support that increase to attract high-caliber applicants.

On child welfare, Durham referenced a legislative audit that found the Guardian ad Litem office underfunded and lacking "hands on" policy oversight. The Judicial Council has created an independent oversight committee and Durham said the funding requested in this year's budget follows the audit's findings. "Without a positive response, it seems clear that services to children and the quality of their in-court representation will deteriorate as caseloads continue to grow," she said.

Durham described other initiatives and studies: a pilot program request to improve services for self-represented litigants; expanded public information and outreach via the courts' website (www.utcourts.gov); performance measures based on the National Center for State Courts; review of presiding-judge roles; and a new study of probate and guardianship practices to improve services for elderly people and people with disabilities.

She also noted that one Utah juvenile court has been designated a national model for implementing new delinquency case-management guidelines and urged assessment of performance on delinquency matters.

Durham closed by reminding legislators the courts handle large caseloads annually and stressing public trust and professional service: "To the professional, dedicated judges and staff working in Utah's courts, we handle over 800,000 cases every year," she said. She ended with a quotation attributed to John F. Kennedy about liberty and learning.

Procedural votes: earlier in the session Representative David Clark moved that the House and Senate resolve into a joint convention and Committee of the Whole for the purpose of hearing the Chief Justice; that voice motion passed. Later Senator Bramble moved that Durham's remarks be spread upon the House and Senate journals and that the convention be dissolved; that motion also passed by voice vote.

The joint convention was then dissolved and the Legislature returned to its ordinary session business.