SALT LAKE CITY — Three district court judges, a judge from the Utah Court of Appeals, a law professor and a federal prosecutor make up the list of nominees announced Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Utah Supreme Court.
With the retirement of Utah Supreme Court Justice Michael Wilkins, which will take effect in May, six nominees have been selected by the Utah Supreme Court Nominating Commission to potentially fill his seat on the state's high court.
The pool of nominees is drawn from applications that are received following a public announcement of the vacancy, said Utah Courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer.
"The nominating commission meets and they review all the applications and narrow them down to do interviews," she said. "Then, they came up with these names."
The nominating commission will take and review public comments on the nominees for the next 10 days. She said they may elect to conduct additional interviews before sending the comments and the names of the nominees to the governor.
Gov. Gary Herbert has 30 days to interview the candidates and select one of them, whose name will then be turned over to the Senate confirmation committee. Once the committee reviews the candidate's qualifications and holds another public hearing, it will pass along the name to the Utah Senate, which will have 60 days to confirm the nomination.
The following are nominated:
David M. Connors, a judge in Utah's 2nd District Court, earned a law degree from BYU, graduating magna cum laude in 1979. He clerked in the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City before eventually becoming a partner in the litigation department of Chapman and Cutler LLP prior to his appointment in 2008. Connors was the mayor of Farmington from 2002 to 2006 and was appointed to the bench by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr.
Royal I. Hansen, a judge in the 3rd District Court, was appointed to his current position in 2003 by Gov. Michael Leavitt. He graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1975 and clerked for Judge Frank Q. Nebeker of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 1975 to 1976. He practiced law at Moyle & Draper from 1976 to 2003 and is licensed to practice law in both Utah and Washington, D.C. Hansen is the associate presiding judge of the 3rd District Court.
Thomas R. Lee, a professor at BYU's J. Reuben Clark College of Law, graduated from the University of Chicago Law School before clerking for a U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced at the law firm Parr, Waddoups, Brown, Gee & Loveless in Salt Lake City before becoming a faculty member at BYU in 1997. He served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004-05.
Carolyn B. McHugh, a Utah Court of Appeals judge, has served on the appellate court since August 2005 when she was appointed by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. She graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1982, after a time as an editor of the Utah Law Review. McHugh then clerked for federal Judge Bruce Jenkins and later became a shareholder in Salt Lake City law firm Parr Waddoups Brown Gee & Loveless, where she worked until her appointment. She is a past president of Women Lawyers of Utah.
David N. Mortensen, a 4th District Court judge, was appointed to the bench in September 2006 by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. He graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 1993. Before he was appointed to the bench, Mortensen was in private practice as a trial attorney. Mortensen is a member of the Board of District Court Judges.
Jeanette F. Swent, assistant U.S. attorney for Utah, is currently the chief of the civil division in the U.S. Attorney's Office. A graduate of Wellesley College, she earned a law degree at Stanford before receiving a doctorate from Yale. She clerked for Chief Judge Monroe G. McKay of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced law at Parsons, Behle and Latimer. Swent previously served as an adjunct instructor at the U.'s Quinney College of Law.
Anyone wishing to comment on the nominees can send written statements to Gayle McKeachnie, chairwoman of the Utah Supreme Court Nominating Commission, at the Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT 84114. The deadline for the comments is April 22 at 5 p.m.
e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com