SALT LAKE CITY — There was an air of tension in the House chamber as members of the Utah Supreme Court filed in for the annual State of the Judiciary address to the state legislature.
Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant tried to break the ice.
"I was tempted to say I'm going to ask you to hold your applause to the end of the speech, but I'm afraid that's overly optimistic," he quipped to some laughter from lawmakers.
In an unusually blunt address to a joint session of the House and Senate on Tuesday, the Chief Justice waded into the tension between the legislative and judicial branches of government.
"Now I recognize that tensions are high between our branches of government. But that doesn’t make it any less of a privilege to be here with you. I see in this room diligent public servants who care deeply about their responsibilities, serious men and women who are focused on good governance," he began.
Some lawmakers are furious with the judicial branch for a series of rulings judges have handed down on abortion and redistricting. They've filed bills targeting the judiciary.
Lawmakers pledge to tackle top issues as 2026 Utah State Legislature is underway:
"The problem comes when we cross over from substantive disagreement to personal attack, to attacks on motive, integrity, and good faith. This erodes public confidence in our institutions," Durrant said in his address. "On those rare occasions when we strike down one of your statutes as unconstitutional, we carefully and dispassionately explain why. You will never read an opinion where we challenge your integrity or good faith. I ask that you pay us the same courtesy in challenging our decisions. Do it on the merits,not through impugning our integrity."
Durrant's remarks, which called for additional funding for court staff and outlined the efforts the judiciary has made to be more transparent to the public, earned him a polite standing ovation from the House and Senate. FOX 13 News did observe a few lawmakers in the chamber who declined to stand.
Lawmakers are running bills that would make some notable changes to the judiciary, including the potential for snap recall elections of judges; changing the threshold of retention; a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the power of citizen initiatives; and one to expand the Utah Supreme Court to seven members from five.
Senate Majority Whip Chris Wilson, R-Logan, is sponsoring the bill to expand the Utah Supreme Court to seven justices and the Utah Court of Appeals to nine judges. He argued they haven't altered the number of justices since the early 1900s.
"We know with number of filings that have increased, case complexity is something the justices and judges are dealing with and if you compare our state population with the ten states around us? They have either seven or nine justices on the supreme courts," Sen. Wilson told reporters.
That bill is expected to rocket to the top of the legislative agenda with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Critics have accused the legislature of "stacking" the Utah Supreme Court in response to rulings they simply don't like. In his State of the Judiciary address, Durrant left it up to lawmakers.
"That is, of course, your prerogative," he told them matter-of-factly. "I ask only that you weigh the facts and understand the data you’ve been provided, just as we have in developing our requests. If you elect to fund two new justices, please do not do it at the expense of the judicial positions we have prioritized. The need for additional judges is much greater in our lower courts than in the Supreme Court."
