SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A newly opened bill could pave the way for Utah’s Supreme Court to expand.
The bill file is titled “Judicial Officer Modifications,” and was opened Wednesday by House Majority Leader Rep. Jefferson Moss (R-Saratoga Springs), who tells ABC4 that the bill will “explore the potential of adjusting the number of justices on the Utah Supreme Court.”
“Over the past decade, we have seen growing caseloads, delays, and evolving legal complexities in Utah’s highest court,” Moss said via a statement. “The Legislature has the ability to adjust the court’s size in response to these growing demands,” Moss said.
There is no text of the bill yet so it’s unknown whether lawmakers are looking at expanding the number of justices to seven, nine, or some other number. There are currently 5 members of Utah’s Supreme Court.
Senate leaders acknowledged they’d heard about the proposal but were leery of commenting further.
“It’s an interesting bill file, we’ll see if it has legs,” said Senate President Stuart Adams (R-Kaysville).
ABC4 previously asked Governor Cox about expanding the court and other judicial reforms during a Jan. 21 taping of Inside Utah Politics.
“If (expanding the court) helps improve efficiencies, that’s something that I think may be worth looking at,” the Governor said then. “When it comes to electing judges, I would veto that. That would be the fastest veto you’ve ever seen from me.”
Utah’s legislative and judicial branches have had some tensions recently in the wake of some rulings on initiatives and the voiding of two amendments from being voted on.
Other judicial reforms aimed to limit injunctions by the trial courts and place limits on who has third-party standing to bring cases against the legislature are also in the works.
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