John Dow
A new state website offers help to Tooele County voters who face a long ballot on Nov. 4 that includes retention votes for 21 state and local judges.
State and local judges are appointed, but voters get to weigh in on their retention.
Initially, voters cast a retention vote three years after a judge in appointed. After that initial vote, state Supreme Court judges stand for voter retention every 10 years and other judges appear on the ballot every six years.
There are 21 judges on the general election ballot in Tooele County, according to Tooele County Clerk Marilyn Gillette.
In 2008 the state legislature established the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission to provide voters with independent information about the performance of judges that face a judicial retention vote.
The commission consists of 13 members.
The state supreme court and the governor each appoint four members of the commission. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house each appoint two members. The executive director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice serves as the thirteenth member of the judicial evaluation commission.
No more than seven members of the commission may be attorneys. No more than half of each branch of government’s appointees may come from the same political party.
Using volunteer observers and web-based surveys of attorneys familiar with each judge, court staff, and jurors, the commission prepares a report on each judge that is up for a retention vote.
The report includes an overall recommendation on retention and a numeric rating for three statutory categories of performance including legal ability, integrity and judicial temperament.
The commission also rates each judge on procedural fairness and reports a list of adjectives selected by survey respondents that describe each judge.
Judges whose names will appear on the ballot in Tooele County on Nov. 4 are: District Court Judges Robert Adkins, Katherine Bernards-Goodman, Charlene Barlow, Ryan Harris, Deno Himonas, Elizabeth Hruby-Mills, Keith Kelly, Paul Maughan, Robin Reese, Todd Shaughnessy, and Andrew Stone; Juvenile Judges Christine Decker and Julie Lund; and Tooele County Justice Court Judge John Dow.
Justices of the Utah Supreme Court and judges of the Utah Court of Appeals stand for statewide election. Those on the ballot this year are: Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant, Utah Supreme Court Justices Christine M. Durham and Thomas Lee; Utah Court of Appeals Judges James Z. Davis, J. Frederic Voros, Stephen Roth, Gregory K. Orme, and Michele M. Christiansen.
A review of the 16-page retention report for Tooele County Justice Court Judge John Dow reveals that the commission voted 12 to 0 to recommend Dow for retention.
In the statutory categories, Dow scored 4.4 in legal ability, 4.6 in integrity and judicial temperament, and 4.6 in administrative skills.
The maximum possible score for each category is five points. A minimum of score 3.6 is required to be recommended for retention by the commission. Dow scored above the average of all justice court judges in all three statutory categories, according to the report.
Dow was scored 4.6 in procedural fairness by the commission.
Survey respondents selected a combined total of 153 positive adjectives to describe Dow and one negative adjective.
The positive adjectives selected most often to depict Dow were “consistent,” calm,” and “considerate.”
The negative adjective “defensive” was selected once.
Three judges have been ousted by voters in retention elections. Third District Court Judge Leslie Lewis was turned out of office by a 54 percent non-retention vote in 2006. Judge David Young, also a 3rd District Court Judge, was eliminated in 2002 by a 53 percent negative vote. A Beaver County justice court judge was removed by voters in 1994.
The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission reports may be found at www.judges.utah.gov.