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This summary report serves to provide a general overview of legislation that may have direct or ancillary impact on the criminal and juvenile justice system.

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC) was established by the legislature in 2008 to help you get to know your judges. Its goals are: (1) To collect and disseminate valid information about each judge’s performance so that voters may make informed decisions about whether or not to retain that judge in office; (2) To provide judges with useful feedback about their performance so that they may become better judges and to thereby improve the quality of the judiciary as a whole; and (3) To promote public accountability of the judiciary while ensuring that the judiciary continues to operate as an independent branch of government. To accomplish these goals, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission conducts multi-faceted evaluations of judges. As judges stand for retention elections, the Commission publishes the evaluation report and determines whether the judge meets or exceeds performance standards. The voters ultimately decide whether or not each judge will continue to serve in office.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivered that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivered that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivered that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC) was established by the legislature in 2008 to help you get to know your judges. Its goals are: (1) To collect and disseminate valid information about each judge’s performance so that voters may make informed decisions about whether or not to retain that judge in office; (2) To provide judges with useful feedback about their performance so that they may become better judges and to thereby improve the quality of the judiciary as a whole; and (3) To promote public accountability of the judiciary while ensuring that the judiciary continues to operate as an independent branch of government. To accomplish these goals, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission conducts multi-faceted evaluations of judges. As judges stand for retention elections, the Commission publishes the evaluation report and determines whether the judge meets or exceeds performance standards. The voters ultimately decide whether or not each judge will continue to serve in office.

This quantitative-descriptive-correlational research sought to determine the level of performance of Lupon Members under the Barangay Justice System as perceived by the constituents of selected barangays in the Municipality of Badiangan, Iloilo, in terms of Knowledge, Systematic Procedures, Decision Making and Interpersonal Skills. A total of 128 constituents participated in the study. They were complainants and respondents of complaints filed in the barangays. The study found out that the respondents’ perceived level of performance of their Lupon Members was “Outstanding” in all categories, which means that they were efficient and effective in performing their duties and roles. It also found out that there was no significant difference in the respondents’ perception of the level of performance among Lupon members when categorized according to sex, age, civil status, educational attainment and occupation. The findings confirm the effective implementation of the Barangay Justice System which helps in reducing backlog cases in actual courts.

Several village disputes in Central Panay have created untold sufferings to indigenous communities due to their violent nature. Some disputes of this nature have escalated to bloody village raids that claimed several lives and untold dislocation of families. Vengeance is considered as a collective village or clan undertaking and is strongly embedded in Panay-Bukidnon culture. It is considered as a shared community obligation rather than a personal pursuit (Rio, 2016). This study aims to understand the lived experiences of those who have experienced violent village disputes and qualitative phenomenological research method was utilized to fully explore the phenomenon. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were conducted in their natural habitat. There are five emerging themes: (1) disbelief that they were able to survive years of village disputes; (2) rationalization of vengeance; (3) the necessity to be brave; (4) sufferings endured in the forest; and (5) the importance of peaceful dispute settlement. Exploring and understanding the phenomenon of village disputes will enable the local Government Units (LGUs), the National Commission on Indigenous People, and Non-government organizations to formulate a more realistic means of maintaining social order in the hinterlands of Central Panay.

This project sought to understand debt collection activities and the processes and outcomes tied to two levels of the judiciary in Utah: Justice Courts, which hear small claims debt cases, and District Courts, which hear cases involving third-party debt collection, evictions, and eviction-related debt.

This video highlights Tom Ross, the executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Tom brings years of experience to the CCJJ as they ensure that criminal justice policies rest on sound data and analysis.

Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant gives his State of the Judiciary speech to the Utah Legislature on January 18, 2022, the first day of the Legislative Session.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

Learn more about the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS). JJYS provides continuum of intervention, supervision, and rehabilitation programs to youth offenders while assuring public safety.

Several village disputes in Central Panay have created untold sufferings to indigenous communities due to their violent nature. Some disputes of this nature have escalated to bloody village raids that claimed several lives and untold dislocation of families. Vengeance is considered as a collective village or clan undertaking and is strongly embedded in Panay-Bukidnon culture. It is considered as a shared community obligation rather than a personal pursuit (Rio, 2016). This study aims to understand the lived experiences of those who have experienced violent village disputes and qualitative phenomenological research method was utilized to fully explore the phenomenon. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were conducted in their natural habitat. There are five emerging themes: (1) disbelief that they were able to survive years of village disputes; (2) rationalization of vengeance; (3) the necessity to be brave; (4) sufferings endured in the forest; and (5) the importance of peaceful dispute settlement. Exploring and understanding the phenomenon of village disputes will enable the local Government Units (LGUs), the National Commission on Indigenous People, and Non-government organizations to formulate a more realistic means of maintaining social order in the hinterlands of Central Panay.

Learn more about the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS). JJYS provides continuum of intervention, supervision, and rehabilitation programs to youth offenders while assuring public safety.

This project sought to understand debt collection activities and the processes and outcomes tied to two levels of the judiciary in Utah: Justice Courts, which hear small claims debt cases, and District Courts, which hear cases involving third-party debt collection, evictions, and eviction-related debt.

This video highlights Tom Ross, the executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Tom brings years of experience to the CCJJ as they ensure that criminal justice policies rest on sound data and analysis.

Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant gives his State of the Judiciary speech to the Utah Legislature on January 18, 2022, the first day of the Legislative Session.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The third category is the "Back-end" which includes stakeholders from Juvenile Justice Services to probation officers and any staff from the Juvenile Court who have contact with youth.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The second category is the "Gatekeepers" which includes stakeholders such as the leadership of law enforcement agencies to school-resource officers.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The first stakeholder category is the "Front-end" which consists of leadership in education to community-based organizations.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers the annual State of the Judiciary on January 19, 2021.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The first stakeholder category is the "Front-end" which consists of leadership in education to community-based organizations.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The second category is the "Gatekeepers" which includes stakeholders such as the leadership of law enforcement agencies to school-resource officers.

While reversing inequalities at birth for minority youth are beyond the scope of the juvenile justice system, what is concretely possible is reorienting current policy to invest in evidence-based policy interventions that create social buffers and protective factors for youth, their families, and communities. The policy toolkits, in conjunction with the full report, serves as a guiding tool to ensure that disparities are not only exacerbated but to guide meaningful policy discussions on innovative interventions within the stakeholder's jurisdiction and to guide meaningful collaborations across agencies to develop a robust continuum of care for youth in Utah. Each policy toolkit has been uniquely customized with relevant policy strategies for each of the identified stakeholders in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The third category is the "Back-end" which includes stakeholders from Juvenile Justice Services to probation officers and any staff from the Juvenile Court who have contact with youth.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers that Utah Courts annual State of the Judiciary Address.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

Chief Justice Matthew Durrant delivers the annual State of the Judiciary on January 19, 2021.

Over the last five years, Utah has analyzed its criminal justice system and focused considerable attention on the drivers of its prison population. Now, the areas of probation and parole are taking a more prominent role in reform conversations as stakeholders recognize the impact that supervision populations have on their prison populations as well as in the community. This trend is also occurring nationwide: 45 percent of all prison admissions are for supervision violations, and nearly a quarter are for technical violations (noncompliance with one or more rules of supervision). In fact, as a result, on any given day, nearly 1 in 4 people in prison in the U.S.—about 280,000 people—are there because of a supervision violation.ii There are, however, numerous steps Utah can take to improve its community supervision system while strengthening community safety.

2020 State of the Judiciary Address to Senate and House 2020 Legislative Session, by Honorable Matthew B. Durrant, Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court, January 27, 2020 at the Utah State Capitol.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

From plowing state highways on snowy days to keeping the state's economic engine humming to supporting Utah's most vulnerable, state government employees work diligently to serve the citizens of Utah. We know they are dedicated and committed to public service. Still, everyone can improve. That's why Governor-elect Cox and Lt. Governor-elect Henderson asked dozens of volunteers to look under the hood of state government departments. Most of these volunteers didn't have expertise in their assigned subject areas because the incoming administration wanted a fresh look at how departments were serving you, the state's customers. The teams who examined the state's 25 departments provided great insights, praised performance and, in some cases, offered ways to make state government even better over the next four years.

There are four main goals of this report are to: 1. Share findings from a targeted focus group with housing and employment specialists in Utah who have subject matter expertise in working with justice-involved clients; 2. Connect the recommendations of these subject matter experts to existing data and research from the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) or other state agencies; 3. Look at national literature in order to provide empirical support for the recommendations that the housing and employment specialists suggest when discussing how to improve community supervision for justice-involved clients. National literature will be interwoven throughout this report; and 4. Provide recommendations for future research and policy in connection to the needs of justice-involved clients and agencies within Utah’s criminal justice system.

Underlying the challenge of addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system requires a careful understanding of the context in which the disproportionalities among youth occur beyond the front-end contact with the system. In doing so, this creates an intersectional framework for understanding how inequality proliferates across youth outcomes particularly that of racial and ethnic minority youth across multiple dimensions in physical, behavioral, and mental health, education, and risks factors for delinquency.

Over the last five years, Utah has analyzed its criminal justice system and focused considerable attention on the drivers of its prison population. Now, the areas of probation and parole are taking a more prominent role in reform conversations as stakeholders recognize the impact that supervision populations have on their prison populations as well as in the community. This trend is also occurring nationwide: 45 percent of all prison admissions are for supervision violations, and nearly a quarter are for technical violations (noncompliance with one or more rules of supervision). In fact, as a result, on any given day, nearly 1 in 4 people in prison in the U.S.—about 280,000 people—are there because of a supervision violation.ii There are, however, numerous steps Utah can take to improve its community supervision system while strengthening community safety.

From plowing state highways on snowy days to keeping the state's economic engine humming to supporting Utah's most vulnerable, state government employees work diligently to serve the citizens of Utah. We know they are dedicated and committed to public service. Still, everyone can improve. That's why Governor-elect Cox and Lt. Governor-elect Henderson asked dozens of volunteers to look under the hood of state government departments. Most of these volunteers didn't have expertise in their assigned subject areas because the incoming administration wanted a fresh look at how departments were serving you, the state's customers. The teams who examined the state's 25 departments provided great insights, praised performance and, in some cases, offered ways to make state government even better over the next four years.

From plowing state highways on snowy days to keeping the state's economic engine humming to supporting Utah's most vulnerable, state government employees work diligently to serve the citizens of Utah. We know they are dedicated and committed to public service. Still, everyone can improve. That's why Governor-elect Cox and Lt. Governor-elect Henderson asked dozens of volunteers to look under the hood of state government departments. Most of these volunteers didn't have expertise in their assigned subject areas because the incoming administration wanted a fresh look at how departments were serving you, the state's customers. The teams who examined the state's 25 departments provided great insights, praised performance and, in some cases, offered ways to make state government even better over the next four years.

There are four main goals of this report are to: 1. Share findings from a targeted focus group with housing and employment specialists in Utah who have subject matter expertise in working with justice-involved clients; 2. Connect the recommendations of these subject matter experts to existing data and research from the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) or other state agencies; 3. Look at national literature in order to provide empirical support for the recommendations that the housing and employment specialists suggest when discussing how to improve community supervision for justice-involved clients. National literature will be interwoven throughout this report; and 4. Provide recommendations for future research and policy in connection to the needs of justice-involved clients and agencies within Utah’s criminal justice system.

Underlying the challenge of addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system requires a careful understanding of the context in which the disproportionalities among youth occur beyond the front-end contact with the system. In doing so, this creates an intersectional framework for understanding how inequality proliferates across youth outcomes particularly that of racial and ethnic minority youth across multiple dimensions in physical, behavioral, and mental health, education, and risks factors for delinquency.

From plowing state highways on snowy days to keeping the state's economic engine humming to supporting Utah's most vulnerable, state government employees work diligently to serve the citizens of Utah. We know they are dedicated and committed to public service. Still, everyone can improve. That's why Governor-elect Cox and Lt. Governor-elect Henderson asked dozens of volunteers to look under the hood of state government departments. Most of these volunteers didn't have expertise in their assigned subject areas because the incoming administration wanted a fresh look at how departments were serving you, the state's customers. The teams who examined the state's 25 departments provided great insights, praised performance and, in some cases, offered ways to make state government even better over the next four years.

Annual report of the Utah Judicial Council and the Utah State Courts.

2020 State of the Judiciary Address to Senate and House 2020 Legislative Session, by Honorable Matthew B. Durrant, Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court, January 27, 2020 at the Utah State Capitol.

2019 State of the Judiciary Address by Honorable Matthew B. Durrant, Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court, January 28, 2019 at the Utah State Capitol.