Behind the Bench: What Utah Keeps Confidential About Judge and Lawyer Complaints, and What It Makes Public

A social media post shared with The Weber County Hive in September 2026 makes a series of claims about Utah's courts: "Cox appoints the judges"; the judiciary is "exempt from FOIA and GRAMA laws"; the "Utah State Bar is a private corporation- not gov"; lawyer complaints are "hidden behind closed doors"; "judicial complaints and scandal are hidden from the people"; and "state judicial oversight" is "dominated by Utah State Bar Corp members."

Those claims can be checked against the Utah Constitution, state statutes, the Utah Supreme Court's own rules and the annual reports of the two offices that handle complaints. The record supports parts of them and contradicts others.

The claims, checked against the record

How judges are chosen and kept

Article VIII of the Utah Constitution sets the process. When a vacancy opens, the governor "shall fill the vacancy by appointment from a list of at least three nominees certified to the governor by the Judicial Nominating Commission." If the governor doesn't act within 30 days, the chief justice makes the appointment. The Senate must decide within 60 days, and approval takes "a majority of all members of the Senate."

Complaints about judges

Utah Code 78A-11-112 says complaints, papers, testimony and the record of the Judicial Conduct Commission's confidential hearing "may not be disclosed" until the Utah Supreme Court enters its final order. The statute allows exceptions, including disclosure on the Supreme Court's order, at the judge's request, for a criminal investigation, and to the Legislative Auditor General and the Senate's judicial confirmation committee. When a complaint is dismissed, the complainant is told.

Complaints about lawyers

The Utah Constitution gives the Supreme Court power, "by rule," to "govern the practice of law, including admission to practice law and the conduct and discipline of persons admitted to practice law." Under the court's Rule 1-561, lawyer discipline proceedings are confidential until the Office of Professional Conduct files a formal action. They become public "upon filing an Action." The rule allows earlier disclosure in some cases, including when allegations have already appeared in the news, involve a criminal conviction, or the lawyer waives confidentiality.

Who sits on the oversight bodies

Utah Code 78A-11-103 sets the Judicial Conduct Commission's 11 seats. The statute guarantees a non-lawyer presence through its public seats, but it does not keep lawyers out of the legislative seats. The Speaker and the Senate President each appoint two legislators, with no more than one from their own party. The Supreme Court appoints two Bar members and two judges. The governor appoints three public members, with Senate confirmation, who may not be Bar members, no more than two from the governor's party. Terms are four years, capped at eight.

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which grades judges for voters, has 13 members, according to Ballotpedia's summary of the statute. They are appointed by the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, the governor and the executive director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. No more than seven may be lawyers, and no more than half may be from one party.

When the confidentiality rule was tested in 2026

The confidentiality statute described above was tested in public this spring, and the Legislature changed the law in the same session.

What H.B. 186 changed

Other 2026 court bills

Several other 2026 bills changed how Utah's courts work. Here is what each one does, in plain terms, and where The Weber County Hive has covered it.

All passed in the 2026 General Session. Summaries from the enrolled bill texts on le.utah.gov.

Open-records law and the courts

Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act applies to the courts, the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts. What the judiciary is not subject to is GRAMA's appeals process. Court records are handled under the Utah Code of Judicial Administration's own records rules, Rules 4-201 through 4-206. Separate statutes, like the one covering JCC files, make certain records confidential regardless.

What the Utah State Bar is

The Utah State Bar says it "was formally established as an administrative arm of the judiciary, operating under the authority of the Utah Supreme Court" in 1931. It is registered with the Utah Division of Corporations as a nonprofit corporation, with a filing date of June 24, 1991. That is a registration date, not the Bar's founding. It operates under the Supreme Court's constitutional authority over the practice of law. The court sets the rules for admission and discipline, and lawyer discipline cases are decided by screening panels and the courts.

Where the public can look

Grades, and what could be done better

Each part of the system is graded separately on The Weber County Hive's five standing questions: power, transparency, financial accountability, environmental impact and community impact. Grades reflect what the public record shows, not the conduct of any individual. Meeting a legal minimum is not treated as above average.

What could have been done better for the public

Each option below addresses a gap already documented in this piece. None requires naming a judge or lawyer in an unresolved complaint.

Questions the public can ask, and who can answer them

Each question comes from a gap documented above. Asking in writing or at a public meeting puts the answer on the record.

What the record shows, and what's still open

The law balances two interests here. Keeping complaints confidential protects judges and lawyers from public harm over complaints that turn out to be unfounded, and protects people who complain. The cost is that the public sees only the small share of complaints that end in public discipline, and has to trust the process for the rest.