Utah Supreme Court

A convicted killer who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years has been ruled competent enough to be executed. Menzies was sentenced to die in 1988 for killing mother of three Maurine Hunsaker.

Justices affirmed the ruling of a lower court judge who had ordered a new trial for Douglas Stewart Carter after finding issues with how police and prosecutors handled his case.

Third District Judge Laura Scott's ruling found that the Utah Fits All Scholarship program violated the state’s constitution. But after meeting with the parties, she is allowing it to keep operating pending appeal.

It was a tense session between Utah’s legislative and judicial branches, even so, Gov. Spencer Cox says he does not want more power over who leads the highest court in the state.

The Utah Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by seven young people who say the state’s energy policies fuel climate change and harm their lives. But plaintiffs can still amend their case and try again.

The agreement comes after a tense standoff between GOP lawmakers and leaders in the judicial branch over efforts to reform parts of Utah’s court system.

Last July, the Utah Supreme Court upheld Lovell’s murder conviction for killing Joyce Yost in 1985 but threw out the sentence.

Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant’s letter is part of a larger movement opposing legislative bills that would change Utah’s courts. A letter was also sent by 900 lawyers, and the Utah State Bar Association stands in formal opposition, as well.

More than 900 lawyers from across Utah signed a letter of opposition to nine bills aimed at reforming key elements of the state’s judicial branch — everything from judicial retention to who gets to choose the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.

The lawsuit alleged that Moab police did not do enough during a traffic stop to protect their daughter from the man who killed her weeks later. The plaintiffs' lawyer says a state law making governmental agencies immune from lawsuits is unconstitutional and an appeal is planned.

What is the voter’s place in Utah’s Democracy? It wasn't really an out loud question until the Utah Supreme Court stirred up a hornet's nest over citizen-led ballot initiatives.

Even though Amendment D will remain on the ballot, no votes cast will count after the Utah Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to void it from the November election.