The Third District Judicial Nominating Commission has selected five nominees for a vacancy in the Third Judicial District. The position will replace District Court Judge Pat Brian who recently retired. The Third Judicial District is comprised of Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties.
The nominees are as follows: Third District Court Commissioner Michael Evans, Salt Lake City; Robert Faust, attorney in private practice, Salt Lake City; Craig Hall, partner, Chapman and Cutler, Salt Lake City; Assistant Federal Defender Mark Kouris, Utah Federal Defenders Office, Salt Lake City; Assistant Attorney General Carolyn Nichols, Salt Lake City.
A 10-day public comment period will be held before the names are submitted to Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. To submit comments about the nominees, address a written statement to Commission Chair Larry Lunt, c/o Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. Comments must be received by January 20, 2006 at 5:00 p.m.
The commission may request further interviews or an investigation of the nominees after reviewing public comments. After the public comment period, the names will be sent to the governor who has 30 days to select a candidate. The Governor's nominee is then forwarded to the Senate Confirmation Committee, which reviews the nominee's qualifications and conducts a public hearing and interview session. The Senate Confirmation Committee then forwards the final nominee to the Utah State Senate, which has 60 days from the Governor's nomination to confirm the nominee.