Utah voters flock to website evaluating judge performance

SALT LAKE CITY — Traffic rose 58% compared to the last election cycle for a website offering judge performance evaluations in Utah, according to the non-partisan commission that runs the site. 

Where to go: The Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission

The Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC) provides a snapshot of the performance of each judge on the ballot. While voters do not elect judges in Utah, the decision to keep them on the bench rests with Utah voters. 

“Most citizens, most voters don’t spend time in court. So it’s hard for them to have firsthand information on a judge,” said Mary-Margaret Pingree, executive director of JPEC. “We want voters to feel like there’s a place they can turn for unbiased information about judges.” 

Two years ago, JPEC rolled out a revamped site version, making it easier to navigate. At the time, the commission told KSL about 23% of Utah voters leave their ballots unfinished. Now, voters can search for a judge by name or look up the judges on their ballot by county using the website. 

Back in 2022, looking just at the first couple of days since mail-in ballots went out, JPEC recorded 19,276 visits. This year, the site recorded 30,515 visits.

How judge performance evaluations work in Utah

The legislature established JPEC in 2008. It comprises 13 members, appointed by all three branches of government, with safeguards in place to prevent one party from dominating the discussion. 

Pingree said evaluations are performed “blind,” meaning the commissioners don’t know the name, race, or other identifying information about a Utah judge before assessing their performance. They evaluate each judge based on measures including their integrity, administrative skills, procedural fairness and legal ability. Each judge is scored on a 1 to 5 scale; they must score a minimum of 3.6 average in order to get a favorable recommendation from the commission. 

Those evaluations come after a fairly rigorous process. JPEC relies on trained volunteers who observe each judge in action to help gather data for their reviews. They also survey stakeholders, including attorneys, jurors and other court employees, about each judge. 

On the website, the initial search leads users to that favorable recommendation, but clicking on a judge’s name yields more details about their individual evaluation. It details how the judge scored on that 1 to 5 scale compared to their peers as well as the minimum. You can also see a breakdown of how many commissioners approved the rating as well as what the survey results concluded. 

Read more: 

• Site helps inform voters on Utah judges ahead of election season
• Registering to vote in time for November’s election
• How one county in Utah is preparing for high voter turnout
• What is Franked Mail and how could it affect an election?
• Here’s what’s being done to improve election security in Utah