Chief Justice Durham urges Justice Court reforms, modernization and funds to retain court clerks

Chief Justice Christine M. Durham addressed a joint convention of the Utah Legislature in the restored Capitol chamber, reporting on court modernization efforts and urging lawmakers to back reforms aimed at Justice Courts, technology upgrades and staffing improvements.

Durham said the Judicial Council’s recent work on Justice Courts produced three guiding principles: decisions about creating or maintaining Justice Courts should remain with local government; Justice Courts must be fair and impartial rather than revenue generators; and they must be presided over by highly competent, well‑trained judges. "I want to emphasize that this is not a proposal for state government to take over Justice Courts," she said, urging members to focus on the bill language sponsored by Senator Lyle Hilliard.

The chief justice cited performance measures and public feedback as evidence the courts are improving: the Judicial Council’s snapshot survey of about 1,800 court users showed 93% said they understood what happened in their case, 95% said they knew what to do next, 90% felt both sides were treated the same and 94% said they were treated courteously. Durham pointed legislators to the courts’ public data portal at www.utcourts.gov for full results.

She highlighted efforts to expand online services and lower costs for litigants. Durham said the court’s online form system, known as OCAP, generated 8,000 filings last year and that online forms now account for roughly 42% of divorce filings. "One of the best features of the information on our website is that it's organized so that it can be looked at by district, by county and even by individual courthouse," she said.

On technology, Durham described recent steps including electronic warrants—allowing judges to review and act on law-enforcement warrant requests remotely—and a program to extend electronic filing to all civil cases before the end of the session.

Durham also described the Judicial Council’s Justice Courts study, undertaken because of growth in the number of Justice Courts, the types of cases they handle and public concerns about uniformity and revenue perception. She said Justice Courts handled almost 70% of the roughly 860,000 cases filed last year and that the courts collectively generated about $72,000,000 in revenue last year with projections around $84,000,000.

Turning to human resources, Durham warned of troubling turnover among deputy court clerks: "Fully 41% of new Deputy Court Clerks leave the state courts before reaching 1 year of service," she said, noting many leave for higher pay in local justice courts. She described those positions as among the lowest pay scales in state government and asked the Legislature for funding to provide market comparability adjustments to improve retention and court efficiency.

On judicial retention and evaluation, Durham said the judiciary does not think the existing evaluation program is in need of change but acknowledged legislative interest in an independent commission to administer the process. She urged that any commission be truly independent and adequately funded.

Durham closed by reiterating the judiciary’s commitment to access, fairness and collaboration with the Legislature and invited lawmakers to attend court proceedings in the restored Capitol courtroom. The joint convention accepted her address and Representative Clark moved that the complete text be spread upon the House and Senate journals; the motion passed by voice vote and the convention adjourned.