Utah Supreme Court Justice John A. Pearce is standing for retention election on November 3, 2020. Pearce was appointed by former Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R).
Herbert appointed four of the five justices currently sitting on the court. Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) appointed the other.
The governor of Utah appoints the five justices of the supreme court with the assistance of the Utah Judicial Nominating Commission. The governor has majority control over membership on the seven-member judicial nominating commission. The governor appoints six of these members, no less than two and no more than four of whom may be lawyers. Two of the lawyer members must be appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the Utah State Bar. The Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice appoints the final member of the commission, who does not vote.
New justices must face a retention election during the next general election after they serve at least three years on the bench. Justices then stand for retention every ten years. Since 2008, justices facing retention elections have won 98% of the time. In Utah, there has not been a single justice that lost retention during this same time frame.
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