FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2009
Contact: Nancy Volmer
(801) 578-3994
Cell: (801) 712-4545
UTAH SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT TO
JUDICIAL CONDUCT COMMISSION
Salt Lake City, UT---The Utah Supreme Court has appointed Judge Carolyn B. McHugh to serve on the Judicial Conduct Commission, filling the balance of the term of Judge Russell W. Bench, who is retiring from the bench December 31, 2009. Judge Bench’s term on the Commission expires July 30, 2012. At that time, the Utah Supreme Court will consider reappointing Judge Carolyn McHugh for a four-year term.
Under Utah law, the Utah Supreme Court is required to appoint two judges and two attorneys to the Judicial Conduct Commission. One of the judges must be a member of the Utah Court of Appeals, and the other a judge from the district or juvenile court bench. The attorneys must be members in good standing with the Utah State Bar and cannot reside in the same judicial district.
Judge McHugh was appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., in August 2005. She received her law degree in 1982 from the University of Utah College of Law, where she was an editor of the Utah Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Upon graduation, Judge McHugh served as a law clerk to Judge Bruce S. Jenkins of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. She was a shareholder in the Salt Lake City law firm of Parr Waddoups Brown Gee & Loveless until her appointment to the bench.
Judge McHugh is a past president of Women Lawyers of Utah, co-chair of the American Bar Association Conference of Environmental Law, and chair of the Utah State Bar Needs of Children Committee. She has been honored with the Christine M. Durham Utah Woman Lawyer of the Year Award, the Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award for the Advancement of Women in the Profession, the University of Utah Young Alumna of the Year Award, and as the chairperson of the Utah State Bar Distinguished Committee. In 2009, Judge McHugh was named a fellow in the Advance Science & Technology Adjudication Resource Center.
The JCC was constitutionally established in 1984. By statute, the Utah Constitution authorizes the Legislature to establish the composition and procedures of the JCC. The JCC is empowered to investigate and conduct confidential hearings regarding complaints against state, county, and municipal judges throughout the state.
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Nancy Volmer
Public Information Office
Utah State Courts
nancyv@email.utcourts.gov
(801) 578-3994
(801) 712-4545
Fax: (801) 578-3843
www.utcourts.gov
"Utah's courts are committed to open, fair, and independent justice."