Senate confirms a 3rd District judge

The Utah Senate confirmed Vernice Sophia Trease Friday as a 3rd District Court judge.

Trease was praised by members of the Senate's judicial confirmation committee, including its chairman, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, who noted she will be the state's first Samoan judge.

"This is a great little lady," Buttars said. "Don't be taken back by her size. She's a giant."

Another committee member, Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, also referred to Trease's diverse background. "We don't want judges just because they're an ethnic group," Bell said, but "people who can have a connection to a minority group."

Trease, who joked after she was confirmed 26-0-3 that she "might need a couple of phone books to see over the bench," thanked everyone who helped her since she "started as a young, wet-behind-the-ears lawyer over 18 years ago."

She has worked with the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association for nearly two decades and has helped represent Brian David Mitchell, who has been charged with kidnapping Elizabeth Smart.

Trease will succeed Judge Dennis Fuchs, who is retiring.