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Judge's nomination rejected

If his judicial temperament was "praised" by Waddoups and Butters, why did they vote against his nomination?

This guy is an activist judge. Good to stop any progress upward.

I can't believe Chris Buttars chose not to confirm the judge because of the judge's temperment. Wasn't it Buttars' temperment that got him into so much trouble last year? Unbelievable.

They "criticized" his temperament. That is why they voted against him.

You see, the Judicial Commission is run by Democrats. The Legislature is run by Republicans. Does that help?

But, on the merits, Utah could do better than this judge. Just my uninformed, biased, silly little opinion.

I think that it was a travsity that Judge Hilder was not confirmed. By accounts of the vast majority of lawyers and litigants who have appeared before him, he was a good, fair minded judge.
The senate's actions here will have nothing but negative effects for the future. First, this shows that senators will champion the uninformed cause of the minority and will disregard the majority if they feel threatened enough. Second, these confirmation hearings have dissuaded a number of qualified attorneys and judges from seeking appointment. They know now that everything they have done will be not only be scrutinized (as it should be), but will be misconstrued and blatantly misrepresented and that very few senators have will look into the actual facts of what occurred. Third, this deals a great blow to judicial independence. Judges are supposed to operate independent of the other branches of government because, unlike the legislature, they are not suppose to be subject the changing whims of the public. Finally, we all miss out by not having Judge Hilder on the appellate bench. He is an intelligent, thoughtful, fair judges and no one was better qualified than he.

Unbelievable. Judge Hilder is one of the finest people now sitting on the bench. Chris Buttars and his ilk oought to be ashamed. His judicial temperment is exceptional. I have never heard anyone complain of improper temperment. Again, unbelievable.

I am one of the highest paid lawyers in the state. I have impeccable credentials. I appear in our state and federal courts every day. This "no" vote on Judge Hilder simply shows that the public is uninformed and the legislature is uninformed about how our courts work and function. Judge Hilder is "the" single best judge on our state court trial bench. Now, I fear we may get an inferior candidate, simply to please a bunch of fools who know nothing about the law, and who enjoy making angry a wonderful judge. It simply illustrates that Utah is indeed a backwater full of hillbilly legislators.

You speak with anyone who has ever had the opportunity of being in Judge Hilder's courtroom and you will find universal praise for judicial tempermant. Apparently our Senate does not appreciate such qualifications, but instead nitpick tough decisions that a judge has to make daily in order to use those decisions against him. It is a travesty of far reaching affects. One wonders if a judge such as Judge Hilder could not make it through the Senate, what other judge possibly could?? All we will now have are lawyers from sterile, insulated law firms who have never had to make a tough legal decision as our future appellate judges. Lovely.

If Buttars and Waddoups voted against him, it is highly likely that Hilder is intelligent, fair-minded, even-tempered and highly qualified.

One can only wonder what dim-witted, reactionary, blowhard will end up on the appeals court.

That post by "Smart Lawyer," the highly paid, impeccable one, really helps. It changed my mind immediately.

Lyle Hilliard would have voted against him, but privately said that he feared retribution. Hilder is a bright judge, but does not have the right temperament. There are much brighter, much better candidates. Hilder did have, however, the full court press forced by the pressure from the liberal bar association leadership. We pay dues so that they can lobby for their own benefit. Hilder would have been a bad choice.

Maybe we ought to pay more attention to Messrs. Buttars and Waddoups. If anyone knows anything about intemperance, it's those two!

By the way, what is Buttars doing on the Judicial Commission anyway? He should have been kicked off permanently after he improperly sent a letter to Judge Pullan about one of his decisions

First, to the commenter who said what judge could possibly be confirmed under this system, try all of the others. This is the first one in recent memory not to be concerned. Second, I don't know Judge Hilder's record, etc, and won't comment on whether he should have been confirmed, but the Senate doesn't exist to rubber-stamp these appointments. I, for one, am glad that the Senate at least tries to vet the judges that come before it, especially since a judge, once confirmed, is tough to get out almost no matter how bad because the voters get virtually worthless information on retention candidates (see, e.g. Glasmann)

Unbelievable is right!! Another horrible decision by Buttars. This situation is so unfortunate- he shouldn't be in a position to make this kind of decision. The Utahn's who voted for Buttars should be ashamed.

This is an unfortunate situation. Judge Hilder is a good judge.

if the liberals are for him then I'm against him. If he is an activist judge then that takes the power from the people and puts it into the hands of non-elected, non-legislative-power-holding people who should not have that power. I'm glad for this process, and the Senators do understand this issue.

anyone else find it wholly inappropriate that Hilder's divorce apparently played a role in his rejection. I'm appalled that they would even address someone's marital status in what amounts to a job interview. Am I alone in this?

About time we had a guy with guts in government. Liberal Judges ruling that the University of Utah is a sovereign entity above the law of the State is nonsense...they are chartered by the state. Go Buttars!