Views from the Bench
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 14 |
Utah’s New Rule Providing for Water Law Case Assignments to Judges Who Have Been Educated About Water Law
by The Honorable Kate Appleby
The Utah Judicial Council (the Council) in May adopted a rule, effective November 1, establishing district court water judges. See Utah Code Jud. Admin. R. 6-104. The new rule provides that the Council will designate “at least three district court judges who volunteer as water judges” and establishes a procedure for assigning certain kinds of water law cases to those judges. Parties in the initial stages of litigation may request such an assignment, and the case will be given to one of the state’s water judges; a request made later in the litigation may be reassigned at the discretion of the judge who already has the case. Judges who volunteer as water judges will either have, or will cultivate, the expertise necessary to adjudicate these often complex and long-in-duration cases with important consequences for the litigants and the state.
Why do water law cases require judges with special training?
Water law cases involve precious public resources, and adjudicating claims to these resources requires understanding not only this complex area of the law, but also water science, management, and technology.
How did this rule originate?
Seeing the need for developing special expertise in the area of water law, the Judicial Council sought to address the challenge quickly and efficiently. The rule is modeled on Utah’s district court tax judges rule, which has long been in place and successfully channels cases to judges who volunteer for this specialized assignment. See Utah Code Jud. Admin. R. 6-103. The proposed water judges rule was posted for public comment and adjusted in part based upon comments received.
Does any case involving water automatically qualify for assignment to a water judge?
No. At the beginning of actions filed under Utah Code, Title 73 (titled Water and Irrigation), Chapters 3 and 4 (Appropriation and Determination of Water Rights respectively), parties may request assignment to a water judge, and it will be assigned to one. For already-pending adjudications, such as cases that were initiated before this rule goes into effect, the judge assigned to the case has discretion to grant a motion to reassign the case to a water judge.
Why is the rule limited to actions filed under Chapters 3 and 4?
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