Utah Chief Justice urges treatment-first approach, expanded court-led mental-health coordination and asks for modest budget increase

Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant told a joint convention of Utah legislators that the state’s courts should play a convening role in coordinating local treatment, mobile crisis teams and receiving centers to keep people with mental illness out of jails and prisons.

In a wide-ranging State of the Judiciary address, Durrant praised judges and court staff, described the emotional impact of drug-court graduations and said treatment-based responses are central to the state’s criminal-justice reforms. He said the court system has about 17 mental-health courts and intends to bring stakeholders together across counties to map services, identify gaps and share promising practices.

“Everyone is prominent to somebody,” Durrant said, repeating a theme from his remarks and urging lawmakers to remember individuals affected by the justice system when making policy decisions.

Durrant also highlighted an access-to-justice shortfall: rising numbers of self-represented litigants and a longstanding gap between legal need and available help. The courts have developed online tools, an online dispute-resolution program for claims under $11,000, a self-help center that fields calls and texts statewide, and a new licensed-paralegal-practitioner role to expand affordable help. He said those efforts are important but insufficient.

To expand capacity and maintain services the judiciary requested just under $1,200,000 in ongoing funding and $450,000 in one-time funds. Durrant told lawmakers the bulk of the request is for technology and staffing: fixing a failing sound system at the West Jordan courthouse, hiring additional IT staff to manage a growing number of public-facing applications and adding six central-office positions. He also asked for funds to extend the self-help center’s hours from four to five days per week and for a half‑time child‑welfare mediator.

Durrant said the judicial council has retained an outside consultant to evaluate court operations and employee responsiveness and that he expects the evaluation to guide improvements.

He closed by thanking the Legislature for prior support and by urging continued partnership on mental‑health initiatives, treatment access and technology investments.

What’s next: Durrant said the courts will kick off a statewide mental‑health convening in August and invited legislative participation.