Views from the Bench

• Jurisdiction: Utah,United States
• Citation: Vol. 2 No. 7 Pg. 38
• Publication year: 1989
• Pages: 38

VIEWS FROM THE BENCH Vol. 2 No. 7 Pg. 38 Utah Bar Journal September, 1989

August, 1989

Recent Changes in the Appellate System

Richard C. Howe, Associate Chief Justice

The 1980s have brought many significant changes to Utah's judiciary. Full state funding of circuit and district courts, a more active Judicial Council and Court Administrator's office, and significant increases in salaries and retirement benefits are just a few. Since this writer serves in the appellate end of the judiciary and since space will not permit discussion of all advancements made in recent years, this article will point out the dramatic changes which have occurred at the appellate level. In 1972, a study by the Legislature which I was honored to chair as speaker of the house reflected that while District Judges had been gradually added through the years as Utah's population grew, nothing had been done to increase appellate capacity. The Utah Supreme Court was expanded from three to five justices in 1917 and had continued to operate much the same in succeeding years. The legislative study concluded that something soon would have to be done to handle the ever-increasing number of appeals.

In about 1978, Justice Richard Maughan...