Chief justice announces retirement, leaving Cox chance to overhaul Utah Supreme Court

SALT LAKE CITY — Chief Justice Matthew Durrant announced Friday he is retiring from the Utah Supreme Court.

He will officially retire on Aug. 31 after 14 years as chief justice and 26 years since joining the Utah Supreme Court. Durrant is the longest-serving chief justice in Utah's history.

His departure means Utah Gov. Spencer Cox now has four vacancies to fill after already nominating a new justice on the court seven months ago in October.

Durrant said serving Utah and working with other judges and court employees "has been the honor of a lifetime."

"I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to help strengthen the administration of justice in Utah," he said.

He was appointed in January 2000 by Gov. Michael Leavitt. Before his position on the Supreme Court, Durrant served as a 3rd District Court judge beginning in 1997. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1984.

In 2024, Durrant was elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization designed to strengthen and support state courts.

Cox called Durrant a "deeply respected jurist, consummate public servant and genuinely extraordinary person."

"For decades, he set aside private life and personal gain, devoting himself fully to the people of Utah and to the faithful administration of justice. His integrity, humility, and devotion to public service have left a lasting mark on our state, and Utah is better because he chose to serve," Cox said in a statement.

4 vacancies

Cox will now have a chance to overhaul the high court. It comes at a time when there has been rising anger from some GOP leaders toward Utah Supreme Court decisions on abortion and redistricting. The governor nominates judges but the Utah Senate confirms them.

The Supreme Court will now have four vacancies after the Utah Legislature voted to increase the number of seats from five to seven earlier this year. Justice Diana Hagen resigned from her seat earlier this month following a complaint to the state's Judicial Conduct Commission alleging she had an improper relationship with an attorney who argued cases before the court.

Justice John Nielsen was confirmed to the Utah Supreme Court in November to fill a spot left by the resignation of Associate Justice John Pearce.

Associate Chief Justice Jill M. Pohlman and Justice Paige Petersen will be the only two remaining members on the high court. Both were appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert.

Innovation and conviction

During his time as chief justice, Durrant was recognized for modernizing the courts and improving public access, a statement from the courts said. He oversaw the creation of the Office of Fairness and Accountability, which seeks to make the judicial branch of the government "more open, fair and efficient."

The Utah State Bar said he brought a wisdom and integrity to the bench, and that the legal profession and its organization are "better for his involvement."

"What he built here, in the culture of the courts, in the careers he shaped, in the decisions that now anchor our jurisprudence, will not fade. Utah was fortunate to have him," the attorneys said.

He led by example, mentored other attorneys and judges and made all who appeared before him in court feel like they had been heard, the Utah State Bar said. Those who worked with him, the statement said, could tell Durrant's title did not matter to him but the work did.

"Few judges leave a mark on a state's legal system the way Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant has," the bar said. "He understood that the courthouse must be a place where ordinary people feel the law is working for them, not just a forum for those who can afford to navigate it. That conviction shaped his approach to administration, to technology, and to the culture of the court itself."

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