Salt Lake City

Serving people all over the Wasatch front, Jarom frequents the Greater Salt Lake area. With Salt Lake City spanning over 100 square miles, Utah’s capital city is the most populated city in the state. Even with it being a large area, Jarom knows the city and courthouses well. 

While the state of Utah has always been viewed as a Republican state, with the majority of residents being conservative, Salt Lake City is noticeably more liberal. Given that Salt Lake City was founded by Mormon pioneers, there is a strong Latter-day Saint population and the city itself has some history and ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example, the founders designed the city to form a grid pattern, with the LDS Salt Lake Temple being the meridian origin.  Because the city is so close to the Great Salt Lake, the city was first called Great Salt Lake City, but in the 1860’s “Great” was dropped from the name. Due to the early economic success Salt Lake City experienced, it was nicknamed “The Crossroads of the West.”  Salt Lake City is more diverse than the rest of the state as it houses many people from diverse and international backgrounds, which leads it to be recognized as a global city. The city values higher education and has attractions like the Natural History Museum. It also holds many conferences year-round where students of various backgrounds can attend to broaden their understanding of different subjects. Utah also claims to have “the best snow on earth” which made it a perfect place to host Olympic Winter games and people can have a great outdoor adventure in places such as Big Cottonwood Canyon. Salt Lake has a rich history. Salt Lake City houses the first Utahstatehouse, which was originally the Salt Lake City and County Building until the Utah State Capitol was dedicated in 1916.

The Third Judicial District compromises Salt Lake County, Summit County, and Tooele County. Salt Lake County is home to the communities of Bluffdale, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Herriman, Holladay, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, Riverton, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, Taylorsville, West Jordan, and West Valley City. Salt Lake City is the county seat and the main courthouse is the Matheson Courthouse. The Matheson Courthouse, located at 450 South State St, serves at the Salt Lake City District Court, Juvenile Court, and Office of Guardian ad Litem. The mailing address is P.O. Box 1860, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1860. Make sure to call the courthouse at (801) 238-7300 because you may be able to resolve any issues over the phone or online. 

The District Court’s Court Executive is Peyton Smith, and the Clerk of Court is Chris Davies. Judges at Matheson Courthouse are: 

Presiding Judge Mark S. Kouris: Judge Kouris received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah. Judge Kouris has served as the Associate Presiding Judge of the Third District from June 2017 to June 2019. He then became the Presiding Judge for the Third District from June 2019 to the present. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Salt Lake Family Justice Center from 2015 to the present. Judge Kouris is also an adjunct professor at the University of Utah College of Law and Salt Lake Community College.

Associate Presiding Judge Laura Scott: Judge Scott received a Bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of Utah in 1990, graduating from Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 1993. She received the Utah State Bar’s Professionalism Award in 2014. Prior to her appointment, she served on the boards of Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity and the University of Utah Crimson Club.

Judge Matthew Bates: Judge Bates graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 2003. Prior to his appointment, Judge Bates served as the Chief Prosecutor in the Summit County Attorney’s Office. He previously worked for the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and in the Litigation and Criminal Appeals Divisions of the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

Judge James T. Blanch: Judge Blanch received a bachelor’s degree with high distinction from the University of Virginia in 1990, graduating from Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School in 1993. Judge Blanch has been a member of the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure since 1999 and is one of the initial members of the Utah Pro Bono Commission. 

Judge Heather Brereton: Judge Brereton received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1995 and a law degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1998. Judge Brereton is located in the West Jordan Courthouse and also presides in Salt Lake City over one of two Mental Health Courts in the Third District.

Judge Su J. Chon: She graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1991 and a Juris Doctorate in 1994. She is a member of the American Bar Association and National Association of Women Judges. She serves on the Court’s Language Access and Community Relations committees and is the co-chair of the Utah Bar’s Modest Means Committee.

Judge Patrick W. Corum: Judge Corum graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Oregon State University in 1993. After a brief career as a chemist, he graduated from the University of Utah College Of Law in 2001, where he was admitted to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor of the Utah Law Review. Judge Corum has served on the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure as both a member and the Chair and is a member of the Uniform Fine and Bail Committee.

Judge Rober P. Faust: Judge Faust received a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark College of Law at Brigham Young University in 1982. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Faust served as president of the Federal Bar Association and has been a member of the Federal Bar Association National Council and Federal Bar Foundation; American Trial Lawyers Association; American Bar Association Litigation, Real Property and Estate Planning Sections, and of the Utah State Bar Litigation Section, Courts and Judges Committee, Natural Resources Section, Real Property Section, Continuing Legal Education Committee and Mid-Year Meeting Committee. Judge Faust has also served on the Advisory Board for Foster Care, Division of Family Services, and as Judge Pro Tempore, Third Judicial Circuit Court of Salt Lake County.

Judge Royal I. Hansen: Judge Hansen received a law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1975. The Utah State Bar selected Judge Hansen as Judge of the Year in 2012 and as a multi-year recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award. In 2016, he was named the third Utah Judge to receive the Peacekeeper Award in recognition of his commitment to the process of peace and conflict resolution.

Judge Douglas Hogan: Judge Hogan received a Juris Doctorate with distinction from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific in 1999. Judge Hogan’s undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Utah in 1996. His private practice included serving as a public defender for Tooele County from 2001 to 2006. Judge Hogan served as the Tooele County Attorney for eight years and held that office until taking the bench in December 2014.

Judge Kent R. Holmberg: Judge Holmberg earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee and a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. Judge Holmberg currently serves on the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and on the Standing Committee on Children and Family Law.

Judge Elizabeth A. Hruby-Mills: Judge Hruby-Mills received a Juris Doctorate from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah in 1993. She graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1984 and earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Vermont in 1986. Judge Hruby-Mills served in leadership roles on the Legal Aid Board, “And Justice for All,” as well as other numerous community and legal boards and committees.

Judge Linda M. Jones: She graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1989, where she was a William H. Leary Scholar and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Contemporary Law. She is a recipient of the Utah State Bar Professionalism Award, has served as president of the board for Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity, and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Judge Keith A. Kelly: Judge Kelly graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in 1981 and with a master’s degree in 1982, both in economics from Brigham Young University. He then received a juris doctorate degree from Stanford Law School in 1985, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. Judge Kelly is currently serving as the supervising tax judge for Utah, along with managing his criminal and civil docket.

Judge William K. Kendall: Judge Kendall received dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and communication from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1993. He graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Richmond, Virginia in 1996 where he was the executive editor on the founding editorial board of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology. Prior to his judicial appointment, he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and the deputy violent crimes section chief at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah where he received the U.S. Attorney’s Award and the People’s Choice Award. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he served as both the anti-gang and robbery coordinator and prosecuted federal racketeering, robbery, firearm, narcotics, and child pornography cases.

Judge Barry G. Lawrence: Judge Lawrence graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 1984. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1988, where he graduated Cum Laude. In 2000, he joined the Utah Attorney General’s Office and worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Litigation Division. While there he practiced in the Torts Section and served as the Torts Section Chief until his appointment to the bench.

Judge Richard D. McKelvie: Judge McKelvie graduated from Weber State College in June 1978, and from the University of Utah College of Law in 1981. Judge McKelvie is director of the Trial Advocacy Program at the S.J. Quinney University of Utah College of Law, a position he has held since 2008. He was awarded the law school’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2011.

Judge Amber M. Mettler: Judge Mettler graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1999. She then graduated magna cum laude with a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2004. Judge Mettler is a member of the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Judge Mettler is located in the Matheson Courthouse.

Judge Adam T. Mow: Judge Mow graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Architecture from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana in 1999. He obtained a Juris Doctor from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah in 2005, where he was a William H. Leary Scholar and the Executive Editor of the Utah Law Review. Judge Mow is an experienced arbitrator and mediator. He received Utah Dispute Resolution’s mediator of the year award and he served on its Board of Trustees. He is also a past chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the Utah State Bar.

Judge Richard E. Mrazik: Judge Mow is an experienced arbitrator and mediator. He received Utah Dispute Resolution’s mediator of the year award and he served on its Board of Trustees. He is also a past chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the Utah State Bar. He served on the board of directors of the Utah Bar Foundation from 2013 to 2019. Judge Mrazik currently serves on the Utah Judicial Council’s Standing Committee on Resources for Self-Represented Parties and on the board of directors of the Utah Avalanche Center. 

Judge Paul Parker: He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Police Science from Weber State University in 1985 and a law degree from the University of Utah in 1988. The majority of Judge Parker’s career was spent as a trial attorney prosecuting felony crimes, including child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide.

Judge Kara L. Pettit: Judge Pettit graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa, magna cum laude, in 1988. She obtained her law degree from the University of Utah’s College of Law in 1995. Prior to her appointment on the bench, Judge Pettit volunteered with several organizations or projects over the years, including the Ada County Human Rights Task Force, pro bono Guardian Ad Litem program, pro bono Legal Clinic at Guadelupe School, and The Road Home Development Committee.

Judge Todd M. Shaughnessy: Judge Shaughnessy graduated from the University of Utah College of Law, clerked for the Utah Supreme Court, and was a partner at Snell & Wilmer in Salt Lake City, prior to his appointment. He is a fellow in the American Bar Foundation, a member of the American and Utah State Bar associations, past president of the Salt Lake County Bar Association, and a Master of the Bench in the David K. Watkiss Sutherland Inn of Court.

Judge Randall N. Skanchy: He received a law degree from Brigham Young University in 1980.  He serves as an adjunct professor for the John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics at Weber State University. Judge Skanchy is a member of the Utah Judicial Council’s Ethics Advisory Committee, the Board of District Court Judges, and chairs the court’s Community Outreach Subcommittee. Judge Skanchy is located in the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse and assigned to a criminal calendar and as one of the Third District Court’s Drug Court judges. 

Judge Andrew H. Stone: Judge Stone graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Mathematics. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi upon graduating. In 1986, he graduated from the University of Utah Law School and was admitted to the Order of the Coif. Judge Stone was admitted to practice before the Tenth, Ninth, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits and the United States Court of Federal Claims, as well as all state and federal courts in Utah.

Judge Vernice Trease: Judge Trease graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Lewis and Clark College and received a law degree from the University Of Utah College Of Law in 1988. Judge Trease is the recipient of several awards including the Women Lawyers of Utah Woman Lawyer of the Year, the Women Lawyers of Utah Mentor Award given, and the Utah Minority Bar Association Community Service Award. Judge Trease also presides over one of two Mental Health Courts in the Third District.

Judge Teresa L. Welch: Judge Welch received four degrees from the University of Utah, including a Bachelor’s Degree in Music (Violin Performance), a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, a Master’s Degree in Philosophy, and a Juris Doctorate (in 2002) from the S.J. Quinney College of Law. She also received a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice (in 2018) from Nova Southeastern University, graduating from Phi Kappa Phi. Judge Welch currently serves on the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence. She is also the managing editor for the Utah Journal of Criminal Law and is a member of the David K. Watkiss-Sutherland II American Inn of Court. 

To read more about the judges presiding over District Three and surrounding areas, visit the Utah Courts page. You can also visit the Utah State Court Directory to see all of the courthouse addresses, including the West Jordan District, and the judges at each courthouse.