- Gov. Spencer Cox appointed Stephen Dent and Jay Jorgensen to Utah's Supreme Court.
- The nominees fill two new seats after lawmakers expanded the court to seven.
- Senate hearings and votes are scheduled for June 17 to confirm the appointments.
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox appointed a U.S. attorney and a senior church counsel to fill two new seats on the Utah Supreme Court.
The governor named Stephen Dent, the deputy criminal chief in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah, and Jay Jorgensen, a senior attorney for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as his nominees to fill two new positions on the court after lawmakers expanded the number of justices from five to seven.
Cox said the "rigorous" vetting and nominating process gives him "tremendous confidence that the appointee I've chosen will serve the people of Utah with integrity, humility and independence, and that they will apply the law faithfully according to the Constitution and the oath they will be taking."
Both nominees will still need to be approved by Utah's Republican-controlled Senate in the coming weeks.
Jorgensen and Dent were introduced at the Capitol on Tuesday. Prior to working for the church, Jorgensen worked for Coupang Inc. and as an executive vice president and global chief ethics and compliance officer for Walmart. He graduated from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School and clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court and for then-Judge Samuel Alito on the Court of Appeals. Alito now serves on the U.S. Supreme Court.
"If I'm confirmed by the Senate, I pledge to do my best to fulfill this role and to do it as a judge should," he said. "Judges don't make policy decisions. We don't create the rules that govern our communities. Rather, judges have a limited role of applying the text of the Constitution and laws that the people themselves make."
Dent is a graduate of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Utah Law Review. Before working for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah, he practiced at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP.
"I am humbled and honored to be nominated to serve as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court. I thank Gov. Cox for entrusting me with this profound responsibility," he said. "If confirmed, I pledge to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of a fair and neutral judge. I pledge to work hard to maintain the highest ethical standards and to treat litigants with respect and dignity."
Jorgensen and Dent are just the first two appointees Cox will have the opportunity to select this year. Justice Diana Hagen stepped down last month as state lawmakers planned to investigate an alleged relationship, and Chief Justice Matthew Durrant said he plans to retire at the end of August.
The Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission is already accepting applications to fill Hagen's seat.
The expansion of the court comes at a time of high tension between the judicial branch and lawmakers, after Republicans in the Legislature criticized recent court rulings on redistricting and abortion.
Cox acknowledged the "rift" between the branches of government, and said it's "easy and rational for smart people, for wise people, for people who love and care about our state to reach different conclusions when it comes to individual court cases."
"That doesn't meant that they're violating their oath of office," he said. "It just means that we have differences of opinion."
Daniel Woodruff, KSLAsked about the tension, Dent told reporters he thinks it's "important for judges to understand their role, to exercise judicial humility and then when there is disagreement, to not be disagreeable."
"I don't know them, but I can't see any reason why not to be friends," Jorgensen said about lawmakers.
Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, who chairs the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee, said lawmakers plan to vote on the appointments on June 17, and will hold two public hearings to vet the appointees before then.
He said he doesn't have any concerns about either nominee, but said senators will consider any public comment submitted by the deadline on June 16.
"We take any comments we get very seriously," he said.
Weiler said he still "absolutely" believes the high court is independent of the Legislature, even after recent high-profile disagreements.
"I think that the fact that they continue to rule the way that they see is right, against what ... the speaker of the House and the Senate president want shows that they are independent," he said.
