Both fit the profile of the person most expected Gov. Mike Leavitt would want sitting on the Utah Supreme Court.
Many even predicted that Michael J. Wilkins and Matthew B. Durrant would be the ones Leavitt would choose to fill the vacancies left by the retirements of justices Michael D. Zimmerman and I. Daniel Stewart. Tuesday's announcement just confirmed those predictions.
Both Wilkins, 51, and Durrant, 42, have backgrounds in civil and criminal law, have judicial experience and have exhibited fairness on the bench. Perhaps even more telling, both were appointed by Leavitt to their current judicial assignments — Wilkins to the Utah Court of Appeals in 1994 and Durrant to the 3rd District in 1997 — and both are close friends of the governor, have joined him in past political circles and share his conservative philosophy.
"I think the court will now be fairly conservative," said University of Utah law professor Edwin Firmage.
However, Wilkins and Durrant say judicial conservatism is different than political conservatism. Interpreting the law and not establishing it is the way they view their new roles. Both believe they will provide the same equal justice for all Utah residents that the state's highest court has been doing for the past several years.
"This court in Utah has a long tradition of fairness, and I look forward to continuing to contribute to that," Durrant said.
Wilkins added, "It's not as though we're going to make a major shift on the court."
Some had hoped Leavitt would use the opportunity to add more diversity to the court by selecting a minority or another woman justice. Currently, Justice Christine M. Durham is the only woman on the high bench, and there has never been a minority justice on the Supreme Court in its 103-year history. Of the 14 candidates passed on to the governor by the Appellate Court Nominating Commission, one was an American Indian and two were women.
"Not to appoint at least one of them I view as a missed opportunity to do something really significant with this court," Firmage said.
However, others, including Stewart and a majority of Utahns recently polled for the Deseret News, say appointing a judge mainly on race and gender would be a mistake. Other qualifications are more important, and if the most qualified candidate also happens to be a minority or a woman, then that is just icing on the cake.
Still, Leavitt defends his record of appointing minority and women judges. Of the 52 judges he has now appointed, about 20 percent are minorities or women, which is about the same percentage as active women and minorities of the Utah State Bar.
"By any measure my appointments have diversified the court, and I have done so by choosing the most qualified candidates," Leavitt said.
The race and gender issue aside, legal observers are praising the selection of Wilkins and Durrant. Both have proven to be capable jurists and get praises from attorneys for their thoughtful and precise rulings.
"Those are the same qualities as justices Zimmerman and Stewart, so I don't really think things will change much," said Brigham Young University law professor Lynn Wardle.
Firmage and Wardle say making Supreme Court nominations is among the most important decisions a governor makes because of the lasting impact the nominations have on the state long after a governor has left office. Supreme Court justices are appointed for a 10-year term before facing a retention election. The mandatory retirement age for a justice is 75. Wilkins and Durrant, if confirmed by the Senate later this month, could sit on the Supreme Court for more than two decades each.
Leavitt says he recognizes there will be milestones to his legacy as governor. Nominating Wilkins and Durrant to the Supreme Court "is clearly one of them."
Three of the five Supreme Court justices will now be Leavitt appointees. He selected Justice Leonard Russon to sit on the high bench in 1994.
The two nominations are typical of Leavitt's past judicial assignments where he has chosen candidates from his Republican affiliation. Firmage says most governors across the country follow the same pattern. But the law professor said the current Utah Supreme Court is recognized as one of the finest in the country because former Gov. Scott Matheson ignored party label when selecting justices.
"I would like to see a continuation of the Scott Matheson tradition without much regard to partisan affiliation," Firmage said.
Leavitt says Wilkins and Durrant reflect the qualities he looks for in a judicial candidate. He says both have personal integrity, common sense, are fair, thoughtful, teachable and believe in interpreting the law and not making it. He has complete confidence "that both will endure and also dignify the court."
Wilkins, Bountiful, is a graduate of the University of Utah law school. During 17 years in private practice, he specialized in corporate and business law. For the past year he has served as the Court of Appeals presiding judge and has at times sat in on the Supreme Court. Leavitt says Wilkins has "unmatched energy and enthusiasm for the law" and his experience will allow him to hit the ground running.
Durrant, Salt Lake City, graduated from Harvard Law School. In private practice he worked in copyright, trademark, contract and intellectual property law. Most of his district court caseload involved criminal cases. Leavitt calls him a "thoughtful, scholarly and articulate judge who understands and will uphold the constitution."
The two nominees say they look forward to the confirmation process when the Legislature convenes later next week. Senate leaders say it's likely that both will easily be confirmed.