SALT LAKE CITY — A new bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature would demand more court records be easily accessible to the public, but also imposes some new restrictions on judges.
House Bill 540, sponsored by Rep. Logan Monson, R-Blanding, was filed Wednesday demanding audio recordings of court proceedings and some court records be made available to the public. Currently, court records are available on a website that requires people to pay for copies. The judiciary does already livestream some proceedings.
The bill, which is backed by House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, seeks to model that on the legislature's website where bills, hearings and other legislative actions are public and searchable.
"As a legislature we’re transparent about all the meetings we have, all of our disclosures and things are transparent and we’re looking to bring that over to the same level. Its a bipartisan issue," Rep. Monson told reporters.
The Administrative Office of the Courts told FOX 13 News it is working with the legislature on the bill.
But another provision would require judges to disclose some financial ties and affiliations, while also imposing a "cooling off" period of two years if they leave the bench to go work for a private law firm. Speaker Schultz called out instances of several former Utah Supreme Court justices who went on to work for law firms that are involved in litigation against the state.
"They are private attorneys that have walked off the bench and suing the state of Utah and asking their former colleagues to rule on cases where they’re benefiting financially from it. We think it’s wrong," Speaker Schultz said.
In recent years, former justices Christine Durham, Deno Himonas and John Pearce left the bench and worked at a firm that has been involved in several legal challenges to laws the legislature passed. Durham no longer works there. Himonas declined to comment in an email to FOX 13 News. Former Justice Tom Lee went to work with attorneys that have defended the state in past litigation. Before becoming a judge and then later the Utah Supreme Court, Justice John Nielsen worked at a law firm with Lee that also did some work on cases involving the state.
Speaker Schultz defended Justice Nielsen saying "there's rules around when you recuse yourself" for judges.
The bill is the latest in a series that have gone after the judiciary, partly in response to rulings that the Republican supermajority on Utah's Capitol Hill have disagreed with. Governor Spencer Cox signed the bill that expanded the Utah Supreme Court to seven justices and increased the number of judges on the Court of Appeals and the district courts. Other bills are currently making their way through the legislative session.
On Tuesday, a group formed of attorneys and advocates named "Co-Equal Utah" sent a letter to lawmakers expressing concern about the bills. The group also announced its opposition to HB540.
"This is now the tenth bill targeting the judiciary this year," Co-Equal Utah said in a statement. "By tying hiring decisions to whether a firm sues—or may sue—the state, the provision effectively pressures firms to avoid future litigation against the government."
"This approach raises serious separation-of-powers concerns and creates the appearance of retaliation against an independent branch of government. We urge lawmakers to reject this provision and protect Utah’s constitutional balance of powers."
