The S.J. Quinney College of Law is honored to celebrate our alumni on the bench—and all judges—this week during Judicial Appreciation Week.
Our college has a long tradition of alumni whose distinguished legal careers have led them to become judges. Two alumnae, Justice Diana Hagen and Justice Jill Pohlman, joined the Utah Supreme Court in 2022, and alumna Michele Christiansen Forster is the presiding judge of the Utah Court of Appeals. We are incredibly proud of them, along with the many other Utah Law alumni who sit on the bench.
The college is hosting several events in celebration of Judicial Appreciation Week:
On Tuesday, April 4, the final round of the college’s annual Traynor Moot Court competition will be held in the moot courtroom.
Members of the Utah bench will make up the moot court judging panel, including Justice Diana Hagen of the Utah Supreme Court, Judge Dianna Gibson of the Third District Court, Magistrate Judge Jared Bennett of the United States District Court, District of Utah, and Judge Dustin Jansen, a tribal judge for the Ute Tribe.
The moot court competition and celebration of the competitors will conclude with a reception to which all judges and competitors in any student competition are invited, if they wish to attend.
On Wednesday, April 5, the Utah Court of Appeals will hold oral arguments in the College of Law’s moot courtroom. We are honored to welcome Presiding Judge Michele Christiansen Forster, Judge Gregory Orme, Judge Amy Oliver and Judge Ryan Tenney to the panel. Students are encouraged to attend and see real-life appellate cases and attorneys in action.
Utah sits in the privileged position of having some of the best judges in the country. Our merit-based selection process ensures that special interests do not have a role in selecting our judiciary. We are honored to be able to celebrate both our alumni who are judges and all judges sitting on the bench in Utah during this year’s Judicial Appreciation Week.