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Chief Justice Durant urges Utah Senate to safeguard rule of law and expand access to justice
Summary
Chief Justice Durant told the Utah Senate that fidelity to the rule of law is essential and urged lawmakers to approve judicial pay and additional judges. He described two access initiatives: licensed paralegal practitioners and online dispute resolution to help unrepresented litigants.
Chief Justice Durant addressed the Utah State Senate, framing his remarks around the ‘‘rule of law’’ and urging lawmakers to support judicial salaries, additional judges and access‑to‑justice programs.
"No one is above the law and no one should be beneath its protections," Durant told senators, saying public trust requires laws that are "publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated." He used an historical anecdote about Walter Arnold to illustrate how law and technology shape legal systems.
Durant said the Third Judicial District — covering Salt Lake, Tooele and Summit counties — lacks sufficient judges. "The weighted caseload shows that 6.7 additional judges are needed in the Third District," Durant said, and noted the Judicial Council asked the legislature to fund four new judges this session. He urged the body to adopt recommendations from the judicial compensation commission and to consider pay increases for clerical staff.
Durant described two initiatives aimed at helping people who cannot afford lawyers. First, the licensed paralegal practitioner program (LPP) will create a new, lower‑cost class of legal professional authorized to provide limited legal assistance in landlord‑tenant disputes, debt collection and family law. "Once licensed, LPPs will be able to provide legal assistance and advice in three areas of law affecting a large number of people," he said, adding the first LPPs are expected to begin work later this year.
Second, Durant outlined the courts' rollout of online dispute resolution (ODR) for small claims matters, which allows parties to negotiate asynchronously and, when appropriate, reach computer‑generated settlements without a courthouse appearance. He said the West Valley City Justice Court launched a pilot in September 2018 and that more than 600 cases had been filed through ODR in the program's first four months. The National Center for State Courts will conduct an independent evaluation after a year.
Durant asked senators to consider the larger context: declining access to civil justice in national measures and the need to invest in systems that produce timely, fair outcomes. He closed by asking the Senate to support measures that preserve public confidence in courts and help connect more Utahns to effective legal remedies.
The Senate received the remarks, moved out of the Committee of the Whole and returned to the day's legislative calendar.
