This week's announced retirement of Chief Justice Gordon R. Hall from the five-member Utah Supreme Court - to be effective at the end of the year - marks the departure of someone who has had a major impact on the state's entire system of justice.
The 66-year-old Hall has not only served on the high court for 16 years, 12 of them as chief justice, but also has helped reorganize all of Utah's courts. The system looks much different that it did some years ago.Among the changes spearheaded by the chief justice was a move to create a centralized court system and the organization of a Court of Appeals. The appellate court has greatly reduced the backlog of cases awaiting an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
Other innovations under Hall include a yearly performance evaluation for the state's judges and a program of judicial education. As a result, the system has helped produce a more uniform sense of competence and training.
When Gov. Mike Leavitt chooses Hall's replacement, it will be the first Supreme Court appointment by a Republican governor in more than three decades. All of the current five members were named by Democratic Gov. Scott Matheson. Former Gov. Norm Bangerter never had the opportunity to select a justice. If Leavitt serves a second term, he may have the chance to name other justices.
However, politics or ideology plays a small role in choosing Utah justices. Certainly, it is nothing like the magnifying glass that is focused on nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court. The general absence of political conflict can be counted as a plus in the choosing of Utah justices.
The fact that all the current justices are appointees of a Democratic governor has hardly resulted in decisions that would startle most Utahns, despite their state's reputation as a conservative bastion.
This is partly due to the low-key, but careful selection process in which applicants are screened by a bipartisan commission that sends three finalists to the governor. That certainly reduces the size of the net being cast. The governor's ultimate choice must be approved by the State Senate. Even in Matheson's day, that body was - as it is now - essentially Republican in makeup.
In addition, the choice of a Utah Supreme Court justice has always been centered mostly on judicial competency, with nominees essentially belonging to a middle-of-the road ideology.
Certainly, that has been the experience with Hall. His reputation has been one of a keen legal mind, a good judge of character, and an excellent administrator and organizer. He has served Utah well and will be missed as a judicial leader who has made a difference in the system that stretches beyond his legal opinions.