SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant announced Friday that he will be retiring from the bench effective August 31. Durrant has served 14 years as chief justice, making him the longest-serving chief justice in Utah history.
Appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in January 2000 by Governor Michael Leavitt, Durrant would become chief justice in April 2012.
This is the second opening on the Utah Supreme Court this month. On May 8, Governor Spencer Cox shared a letter of resignation from Justice Diana Hagen.
Prior to her resignation, Hagen had faced questions of an inappropriate relationship with lawyers who worked on the redistricting lawsuit.
In total, Governor Cox will now have 4 new justices to put on the bench. The Utah State Legislature passed a bill this year expanding the Supreme Court's membership to 7 justices.
Utah Judiciary says that Durrant led the courts through modernization efforts, expansion of technology services, and initiatives focused on professionalism, access to justice, and public trust in the courts.
“Serving the people of Utah and working alongside dedicated judges and court employees across the state has been the honor of a lifetime,” Chief Justice Durrant said. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to help strengthen the administration of justice in Utah.”
Durrant also served as the chair of the Utah Judicial Council and oversaw the creation of the Office of Fairness and Accountability.
“Chief Justice Durrant is a deeply respected jurist, consummate public servant, and genuinely extraordinary person,” said Governor Spencer Cox. “For decades, he set aside private life and personal gain, devoting himself fully to the people of Utah and to the faithful administration of justice."
The Utah State Bar responded to Durrant's resignation announcement, saying, "Few judges leave a mark on a state’s legal system the way Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant has. Over the course of his tenure on the Utah Supreme Court, and particularly in his years as Chief Justice, he brought to the bench something that cannot be taught in law school: genuine wisdom, paired with the kind of quiet integrity that earns lasting respect."
They point to Durrant's work in expanding access to the court without sacrificing public trust.
Before his 2000 appointment, Durrant served as a trial judge starting in 1997.
He earned an undergraduate degree from BYU and received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984.
