Salt Lake City, UT---The Court of Appeals Nominating Commission has selected six nominees for a vacancy on the Court of Appeals bench. The position will replace Judge Judith Billings who retired Dec. 31, 2008.
The nominees are listed as follows: Diana Hagen, appellate chief, U.S. Attorney’s Office, South Weber; Judge David N. Mortensen, 4th District Court Judge, Springville; Judge Anthony B. Quinn, 3rd District Court Judge, Salt Lake City; Judge Stephen L. Roth, 3rd District Court Judge, Salt Lake City; Jeannette F. Swent, chief, Civil Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Salt Lake City; J. Frederic Voros, Jr., chief, Criminal Appeals Division, Utah Attorney General’s Office, Salt Lake City.
A 10-day public comment period will be held before the names are submitted to Gov. Gary Herbert. Court of Appeals Nominating Commission Chair Gayle McKeachnie is accepting written comments regarding the nominees at the Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. The deadline for written comments is August 21 by 5 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 will forward the final nominee to the Utah State Senate, which has 60 days from the Governor’s nomination to confirm the nominee.