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By Lyle Hillyard
Senator, District 25

I was recently invited by the courts to attend a summit sponsored by the American Bar Association to discuss the national and state specific problems of judges losing their independence (or at least the public perception of that attribute). Tom Wells, the current ABA President, and former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor were the hosts and keynote speakers. We met in North Carolina for 1 ½ days of meetings and discussions. Each State was invited to bring a team representing the courts, the executive and the legislative branches. They mentioned that 37 states were represented. The Utah team was made up of Chief Justice Christine Durham, Ron Gordon, head of CCJJ, representing the Governor, Rep. Kraig Powell and myself from the legislature, Dan Becker and Rick Schwermer from the court administrator’s office, and Nate Alder, current president of the Utah State Bar. As I visited with the people there, I was very impressed with the quality of the people. Here is a rundown of the problems discussed.

The main concern was about the cost of hotly contested judicial races, both partisan and non-partisan. The spiraling costs and the source of this money astound me. In a recent race for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court, the total spent by the two candidates was $9.3 M.

The second concern was about the negative political attacks on nominees. We have seen this in the past and I am sure that we will see it in the future. Most candidates avoid answering what they consider “political” questions and unless someone has a history as either a judge or an elected official, it is hard to guess how they will decide specific issues. That has become the focus of many federal and state judicial confirmation proceedings. The Utah Constitution forbids “partisan political” considerations and again the issue in Utah has never been a political issue when a candidate has been review by the nominating committee, the Governor, or the Senate.

Another area of concern was the recent State budget cuts, with the dropping tax revenue and the impact it is having with the court’s ability to function. Some states are raising filing fees (Utah, for one), but that is having an unintended consequence. People who cannot afford filing fees can file a different document and, if accepted by the Court, they can proceed without paying the filing fees. These same people often end up not being able to afford an attorney, so the judge must operate with one, and often both, sides acting as their own attorney without any real knowledge of the process or how to act.

The last issue will be a serious concern in Utah. We already have four district court judges retiring and one way to help cover the budget reductions is to not replace them, or at least delay the new appointment. This will be felt by the remaining judges in that specific district. Judges are overworked and cases are not being heard. We have good judges in Utah but we need to make sure that everyone who needs access to justice has it and faces a judge who has the time and the tools to quickly address the problem and render a just and effective ruling.

As always, I am open to any comments on how to better the access to those who really need it.

By the way, I was glad to learn that Chief Justice Durham is the President-elect of the National Conference of Chief Justices. That is a real honor to her and to the State.

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