The trend started in 1978 with the appointment of Christine Durham to the 3rd District Court bench. She was the first female judge in the state and four years later was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court, where she now serves as the chief justice.

More than 10 years later, when Laycock took the bench in 2001, there were 17 female judges in Utah's judicial system. The number of women judiciaries has now grown to 27, or 23.68 percent of the judges.

Until Thursday, the day Judge Judith Billings' retirement took effect, there were five female appellate judges. Another 10 women serve as district court judges, nine are juvenile judges and there are three female commissioners.

Johnson is one of the newest appointed female judges in Utah, after being recently approved by the Senate. And this month, she trades her position as a deputy prosecutor for Spanish Fork city to take the bench in an Orem courtroom.

"I became interested in (a judge's position) when I was in law school," Johnson said, citing an internship in 3rd District as what piqued her attention.

"A good judge does an extremely valuable service in the community," she said. "I thought that at some day I'd like to try to have that opportunity as well."

But like Laycock, Johnson doesn't see her gender as something that will change the way she rules.

"I don't see that a woman should do the job any differently than anybody else," she said. "And I think it would be wrong to try to approach it with some sort of female perspective."

"If on the other hand," she continued, "being a role model to other females has a purpose, then I do think that's an important thing. I have two young daughters and (for them to) see women be able to choose a career and succeed in any career, to me that does serve an important function."

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