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Utah Supreme Court chief justice stepping down, plans to stay on the court

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By Dennis Romboy, Deseret News

Published: Monday, Jan. 23 2012 3:05 p.m. MST

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham gives the State of the Judiciary address in the Senate chambers, Jan. 24, 2011, in Salt Lake City. She announced Monday she'll step down as chief justice but will remain a Supreme Court justice.

Tom Smart, Deseret News

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Summary

Saying it is time for new leadership, Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham will relinquish her position this spring but not her seat on the panel.

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“I am extremely proud to look back at all that we have accomplished, and look forward to all that we are poised to accomplish.”

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham

SALT LAKE CITY — Saying it is time for new leadership, Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham will relinquish her position this spring, but not her seat on the panel.

"It has been my honor and privilege to lead Utah's judiciary through a challenging and productive decade," she told Utah lawmakers Monday in her annual State of the Judiciary speech. "I am extremely proud to look back at all that we have accomplished, and look forward to all that we are poised to accomplish."

Durham, 66, will step down at the end of March. The five-member court unanimously selected Associate Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant to serve a four-year term as chief justice beginning April 1.

Durrant is blessed with great ability, intellect and sense of humor, she said. "I know that he will provide superb leadership in the years to come."

In an interview after her speech to the House and Senate, Durham said there's no particular reason for giving up the post now. "Ten years seemed like a good period of service," she said.

As chief justice, Durham heads the Utah Judicial Council, which is the policy-making body for the state courts. It monitors bills that could impact the judicial system and proposes an annual budget to the Legislature.

"We have a surprise a week during the legislative session," she said.

Durham doesn't have a vote in that role but said she is frequently consulted about legislation affecting the courts. She also meets with House and Senate leadership each year.

But "there's no tradition in Utah of the chief justice being the chief lobbyist," she said.

Durham, who has served on the court since 1982, said she won't miss all the administrative meetings she attends, though "I will miss being on the inside of what's going on."

In terms of matters before the court, she said there's no difference between the chief justice and the associate justices. Durham said she doesn't know how much longer she will serve but noted the state's mandatory retirement age is 75.

Durham noted that Utah experienced economic downturns and recession for more than half of her 10 years as chief justice.

"I am inclined to think that, on occasion, a bad crisis is a terrible thing to waste, and Utah's court system has used the stress of recent years as a catalyst for solving problems creatively and perhaps more quickly that we might have been able to do otherwise," she said.

Durham said she is "cautiously optimistic" about the Legislature's upcoming budget deliberations and is not seeking additional resources, with one exception: a bill that would define and expand the court's self-help center.

As a pilot program, she said, the center has supported thousands of Utahns who find themselves in court with no access to legal services.

"This part of our workload has grown exponentially during the recession, as you can imagine," Durham said.

E-mail: romboy@desnews.com

Twitter: dennisromboy

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Featured Comments

See all 2 comments »
rawlshea
Salt Lake City, UT

When I was in law school (1972-75) the Utah Supreme Court was the brunt of several bad jokes. Beginning with Gov. Rampton and fortunately following through with each subsequent the Utah Supreme Court improved. chief justice Durrant will raise the More..

  • 4:19 p.m. Jan. 23, 2012
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AlanSutton
Salt Lake City, UT

I disagree with rawlshea.

With Ms. Durham as the Chief Justice, the Utah Supreme Court has had more than its share of bad decisions. For example, just a few years ago the U. S. Supreme Court overturned a Utah Supreme Court decision 9 to 0, More..

  • 10:22 a.m. Jan. 24, 2012
  • Top comment
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About the Author
Dennis Romboy

Dennis Romboy

Dennis Romboy is a reporter for Deseret News where for the past 20 years he has covered a variety of beats including state and local government, human services and the 2002 Olympics. He spent six years as a special more ..

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