Utah Senate confirms 2 new justices to state Supreme Court

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate confirmed Jay Jorgensen and Stephen Dent to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, filling two new seats on the expanded seven-member court.

Jorgensen was confirmed by a vote of 22 to 7, while Dent’s nomination was approved 24 to 5. Jorgensen’s appointment was advanced on a party line vote, with the one third-party senator joining all Democrats in opposition. Dent earned the support of one Democrat, Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City, in addition to all Republicans.

“I stand before you today full of gratitude for my family, for my country, for my state and for the worthy cause we are all engaged in — the cause of self government, separate power and rule of law, and I am ready and grateful to spend myself in that worthy cause,” Dent told the Senate after being confirmed.

Jorgensen, who grew up in the small Duchesne County town of Ioka, thanked senators and the governor.

“I never imagined that I would get to serve at the highest level of this state,” he said.

All Democrats and Sen. Emily Buss of the Utah Forward Party voted against confirming Jorgensen. Several cited concerns about his residency when casting their opposition votes.

Jorgensen, senior legal counsel at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moved back to Utah in 2020 after spending much of the prior two decades outside of the state. He then served as a Latter-day Saint mission president from 2022 to 2025 in Chile. Jorgensen said he accepted the job with the church before returning to the state.

Supporters of Jorgensen’s nomination said he fulfilled the Utah Constitution’s residency requirement since he intended to return to the state after his church service, but opponents disagreed.

Some critics have also criticized both appointees for lacking any experience as a judge. Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, cited those concerns as she cast her “no” vote on Dent, who has worked as a federal prosecutor. Plumb has a background in medicine and said she “can’t imagine” asking someone who has never removed someone’s appendix to perform the procedure.

But Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, pushed back. He said both appointees are “at the top of their legal field.”

“There is no settling here,” Brammer said.

The two men are now set to fill two brand-new seats on the high court, which lawmakers and Gov. Spencer Cox added earlier this year.

There are still two additional seats to fill on the Utah Supreme Court. The governor has said he plans to announce two new appointees in the next few months to replace Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, who is retiring, and Diana Hagen, who resigned last month.